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Reviews For: Galaxy V Mark 3

Category: Transceivers: HF Amateur HF+6M+VHF+UHF models - non QRP <5W

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Review Summary For : Galaxy V Mark 3
Reviews: 13MSRP: 450.00 (1968 ad)
Description:
80 thru 10 meter Transceiver
Product is not in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00134.4
AD4DQ Rating: 2022-04-08
A really cool old tube rig! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I have been operating tube radios for over 30 years now. I also repair, rebuild etc.... I am on tube radios daily. I found this radio less than a year ago and got one with the matching power supply and speaker. I find the receiver really nice, clear and punchy with body. Some other radios sound high pitch and scratchy. Output power is normal for a radio with 300-500 watts pep input. I have 3 of these radios now. They are fun to operate and im happy to add these radios to my collection. If you like old tube radios and find one of these pick it up and you will be happy with it.
K4DSB Rating: 2021-09-15
Well made, nice performance and incredibly powerful Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This radio had a very hot receiver and the only complaint was the dial. geared downed to the dial, the bandspread was red for some bands and blue for others. It had resistance, you could not spin it, the outer ring could speed the process. The frequency was the band plus the bandspread numbers and a little hard to see. The front was well layed out, and tuning was easy ( standard drive, dip, load repeat till max power. Unlike solid state rigs, you re-tuned the final whenever you changed frequencies. The sweep tubes ( horizontal TV type and BIG) Could hit hundreds of peak watts. I had to add a fan over the output finals cage. Audio reports excellent and real punch. Hybrid circuit ( some solid state ) was kinda common at the time.. solid and never broke Miss this cool radio ...OH it has an external and heavy power supply
WB0SNF Rating: 2016-05-01
under rated Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Hi. I got my MK2 in 1980, my first sideband rig though I was first licensed in '63. The 12 volt regulator burned out 3 times in about 4 years and put in a a better one. That's about the extent of the problems. It has a great receiver, sensitive, selectivity good and great agc. Plenty of transmit audio and surprisingly good cw note which, way back, I did a lot. Two speed drive great if up to snuff and lubed every ten years. Band switch is light so best not to change bands with B+ on as the make and break eventually makes a crispy critter out of contacts.
A really fun radio to use and can hold its own with most of the best radios of the day.
K0KVR Rating: 2012-06-22
K0KVR Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Back in the 60s this was my favorite radio. I had toured WRL labs in Counsel Bluffs, Iowa and watched them being made. I used mine for both fixed and mobile use. It easily slipped out of my car to become my fixed rig when home from college in Des Moines. It worked great and never had a problem. I would sched Friday evenings with my best friend Bob, WA0ATE who was in Iowa City at U of Iowa, from my school at Kansas University. I worked my first DXCC with this rig to a 2 element homebrew 15 meter quad.
NH2CW Rating: 2007-03-03
great rig but funky xtals Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I had a GT550 for a number of years and I serviced all the Galaxies the neighborhood, including MkIII's. Sooner or later they all came calling at my house with defective carrier oscillator crystals. They would slowly crawl out of the filter passband, or simply die. Once replaced and realigned, the Galaxy gave a lot of bang for the buck. I agree that it wouldn't be the general choice of contesters but it was a heck of a rig for its day. Lotsa umph!
N7YA Rating: 2007-03-03
My first rig, i liked it Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The Galaxy V was my first rig in 1983, i bought it at a swap meet the day i passed my first test in Alaska, it was a solid rig, had harmonic issues...i was calling CQ on 80 one night when a station answered me saying i was QRMing his qso on 40, i apologized and cleared off quickly. we all learned some lesson at one point or another, Frank, KL7FH took it and reworked it (he had the tools and knowhow), i would like another shot at one. I was 17 years old, i didnt know what i had. There was something cool about warm tubes and crackling signals on a cold Alaskan night...i miss that. now its soft LED's on a warm Desert night. Maybe i will give it another shake if i run across one at a swapmeet, with the experience ive picked up since then, im sure i will have a much greater respect for the rig.
W2RBA Rating: 2005-01-23
OK Rig Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Ah, yes, I remember those heady days of 1971 when I got my first transceiver, a used Galaxy V Mk III! It ran fine for about 2 months and then developed an intermittent in the receiver audio. When that finally got to be too much trouble, I packed it off to Hy-Gain/Galaxy and they did a good job fixing it. Well, then it was the bias circuit for the finals which went and by gum, I was *not* sending it in, I was going to fix this myself. Finally found some obscure resistor which was way off resistance, replaced it and then it worked. About this time (1978) I came to know about Ten-Tec gear and the old Galaxy V was packed away and eventually sold. Well, you know it goes: I am trying to recreate the ham shacks I've had over the years and really wanted another Galaxy V, so I bought one (at a pretty reasonable price) on Ebay. Got it about two months ago. The finals were soft (no surprise) and I replaced them. Then the power supply gave out. Got new capacitors for it (man, have you seen the size of modern 400V electrolytics compared with the capacitors of days gone by?!) but now a new problem has developed -- which is about par for the Galaxy V series, I conclude. But nevertheless, when it worked well, it got me on the air (with something like 300 watts! Omigosh!) and performed its job decently. At least it looks nice...I think.
KI0KM Rating: 2004-11-19
Great rig Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have two of these which are in regular use. By the serial numbers, they were manufactured close to the same time in mid-summer of 1968. They are quite sensitive, and the selectivity is better than average. Where they really shine is on transmit! Power output is well over 350 watts on the lower bands, and near 300 on 10 meters. No need for an amplifier with these! These came with a "drift chart" added to the manual. Both of mine are well within the specs, less than 200 hz for the first 15 minutes, then rock solid after that. A great vintage rig.
KB0LPM Rating: 2004-04-05
Great Tube Rig Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought my Galaxy V, Mark 3 with the Deluxe Accessory Console from my Uncle Bruce's estate back in the mid 70s. It's been a great radio and I've only operated it on CW. And since I was a novice when I got it I had to keep it's 500 watt power cranked down to 100 watts. Sad thing is I really don't use it anymore and I keep thinking I should find it a good home where someone would really appreciate it. A really nice radio, the smell of the warm tubes brings back many memories for me.
K8BVJ Rating: 2003-01-27
Great rig from the 60's Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Well! here's my experience with this great rig which I purchased from eBay a while back. The Galaxy V mark III looks new and the only thing I had to do with it was change the power supply caps, needed to clean up the audio and cw note a bit....it sounded kind of raspy at first.
Using a Shure 444 and a D104 I received beautiful audio reports from the guys. On CW the fellas cant believe I am using a Galaxy...received beautiful reports here too and the cw note is perfect.
The rig does'nt drift at all after a half hour warm-up. Certainly puts my Swan 350C and Swan 500c to shame.
This rig is a keeper and will be used a lot on the air along with my other classics.