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Galaxy 95T2 Review

Robb

Honorary Member Silent Key
Dec 18, 2008
11,432
3,651
323
Silicon Valley CA, Storm Lake IA
Funny thing happened when I looked for a review for this radio. I couldn't find one - strangely enough. There may be one on the www, but I didn't find it. Maybe someone can give that info now that I've written one myself. Either way, these are my impressions that come to mind for this radio.

This is Galaxy's 'Big Rig Series' radio. It is their most powerful 10 meter radio to date. Did I say 10 meters? But it can also be easily modified to do CB as well. The one I have has already been modified for 11 meter/CB use. This radio has an eight band selector switch to boot. Best to have a tech do it and tune it up, and give you a guarantee at the same time if you are buying a new one. Or buy a used one that has already modified. It just so happens, that I have one for sale here:
http://www.worldwidedx.com/forum-swapshop/37560-galaxy-dx-95t2-practically-nib.html#post165190

I'm writing this review from first hand knowledge after using it for a very short period. I also have a Galaxy DX 99V that I use every day in my mobile. The 99V had impressed me so much that I bought another Galaxy when the opportunity presented itself. But this is one of many radios that I have to sell. Sad to see this one go.

This radio has all of the features that anyone would want. It has a roger beep, that is controlled by a switch on the faceplate. This switch will also allow you to choose between the echo and off. I don't know why anyone would have the roger beep and the echo on at the same time, but you can't do that with this radio. The echo depth/level controls are found on the inside of the radio chassis. They cannot be adjusted without using a small nylon flat blade screwdriver and only by taking the bottom panel off to get to them. They should have done something about this feature; but the dial face is already so stuffed with controls and no place to put them anyway. Not a really big deal, as I usually just set them and forget it - then turn it off or on from the panel switch. Galaxy echo units are very desirable and sought after to be put into radios that don't have echo. Says something positive about the echo this radio has. I think my Magnum OmegaForce echo is cleaner, but others may disagree. It took just a moment to set the controls the way I liked it, and then I replaced the cover and screws and turned the radio back on.

Talk back on Galaxy radios is something that one must be made aware of. They tend to be too loud and need to be modified so that feedback isn't a problem. So Galaxy took a different approach with this radio with the talk back circuit. The mic gain knob can be pushed to turn the talk back either on/off. There is an attenuation switch above this knob to be able to give a low/med/high volume to talk back. I use the talk back long enough to check how the echo sounds, and then I just shut it off. It's not because I don't like the sound of my voice; I just don't want any chance of feedback from occurring. Any radio with talk back and powerful mic gain can feed back, and it isn't a pleasant thing.

I used a Astatic D-104 handheld mic on it, the mic itself was turned up about 2/3 of the way up. The mic gain on this radio is pretty hot, turning it past the 10 o'clock position was impossible. It would just feedback. But it didn't need to be turned up that high. It worked quite well and was loud when I got a radio check. Using a stock mic and turning up the mic gain to the 2 o'clock position made the radio transmit like it had a power mic. The mic gain in this radio is very hot. I didn't have a noise-canceling mic around to try it out. But I bet it would be perfect for this radio. I did use a Turner +3 mic on it, and it worked pretty well. Just be sure not to turn the mic gain too high on this radio. A little bit goes a long, long way. Grounding the radio to the power supply is a must to keep feedback on any radio and amp combination. This one is no different.

The meter has a switch that can change it to display modulation, SWR, and RF power output. I checked the SWR function for accuracy against my Dosy meter. It was spot-on. The meter is large, well lit, and easy to read. One of my favorite things about these radios. When transmitting, the light in the meter changes from white to red - kinda nice. There is also a red LED below the meter that can be turned on to show over-modulation - a feature that I think should be used on more radios. The same switch that turns this function on or off will flip the other way and give you a +10kc frequency shift. I turned the meter function to RF power, and adjusted the dead key power to 20-25 watts; this yielded the best swing output on AM - 150 watts peak power - or more when I whistled. For SSB, I turned the RF output knob to the halfway point. I got a radio check from a distant friend that said it sounded clear, bright, loud, and on frequency. The amp is mounted on the bottom of the case with a very sturdy/solid heat sink. It has a temperature-controlled fan inside the amp (one of the quietest fans - I could barely hear it!) No kidding. It didn't get hot after a minute conversation; but I never like to do it longer than that with any amp I use. It did get a little warm. The same as any linear would if it is not being over-driven. Galaxy radios have a reputation for having excessive drift on SSB. I really didn't notice any appreciable drift on this one in a warm room. AM/SSB/FM receive sensitivity is one of the strongest points on a Galaxy radio; only one of the reasons I like them so much...

One feature that I thought was especially cool on this radio, is the clarifier knobs and the clarifier knob selector switch. That's right. There are two knobs for the clarifier - coarse and fine (I think this is something that is found on some of the better 10 meter radios - and I like it). Very handy. The switch will affect this function. Switching it from 'RX only' clarifier function, TX/RX clarifier function, and TX clarifier function. The fine clarifier knob also can be pushed in to turn off the NB/ANL function - and there is a LED to let you know if it is on or off.

Pushing the dimmer knob will turn off/on the frequency counter. The dimmer control will dim the faceplate and meter light. This is a nice feature and can be set to where you like when driving down the road. So many radios don't have this function and can make them a nuisance when driving many miles at night. Much easier on the eyes. If it is to be used in the shack, I just turn it half the way up and let it be.

My overall impressions of this radio are very positive. When I talked on channel 6/AM during a skip day, guys that would otherwise ignore me told me to shut up! Which is no small feat on 'Da Bowl' with motor mauling mobiles and some high-powered base stations from across this country. My Magnum OmegaForce never got that kind of response, and it does pretty well on its own. This radio doesn't run hot when I talked for a minute - just a little warm. As I said - I never do that for long. The fan is quiet that you must strain your ears just to be able to hear it when it runs and is controlled automatically. These high-powered export radios sell for a pretty penny - but many radios in the 10 meter/export radios with built-in power will also demand the price. This one is worth it; with every possible extra in there in a single package. Well put together and a looker - too.

The Galaxy 95T2; the 'Mister T' of mobile export radios.
I give it two thumbs-up...

Excerp from Sparky's CB Shack:
Noteworthy features include :
A High-Performance output circuit that uses two Toshiba 2SC2290 power transistors to generate 50 watts for AM/FM and 150 watts for SSB operation
Chassis incorporates a solid aluminum finned rear section as a heatsink
Additional heat sink on the bottom of the radio with an internal Micro cooling fan increases the radio height from 2.5 to 3 inches
Same main circuit board as our DX 2517, DX 93T, DX 48T and DX 45MP
"StarLite" faceplate is matte black with all lettering backlit in green and blue
Switchable sixth digit provides five or six digit frequency display
Our exclusive "SuperSlider" circuit maximizes frequency control by switching the Fine clarifier between Receive/Transmit and Receive Only operation or completely out of the circuit with one slide switch. The Coarse clarifier operates on both receive and transmit unless the SuperSlider switch is off. When switched off, both clarifiers are out of the circuit.
Retro-look red modulation lamp (with On/Off switch) flickers like the old neon lamps of the Fifties and Sixties
Front mic jack
Variable power output control
Red channel and frequency digits
Heavy duty DC power cord
Strange and Unusual Features:
The echo has internal controls only. It is our famous dual control echo circuit without any controls on the front panel. The On/Off switch is there, but to adjust the echo sound, the bottom cover must be removed. Locate the rectangular metal box containing the echo board. Do not open this box. Use a small plastic tuning tool to gently adjust the trimmer pots inside the holes marked "ECHO" and "TIME." These pots are somewhat fragile so it is best not to use a metal screwdriver.
A single slide switch controls both the Echo and the Roger Beep. They can both be off, but they cannot both be on at the same time.
Changes To DX95T-2 There is now a receive gain pot in place of the variable talkback control and the 40dB pad switch has been changed to a Low / Med / High Talkback switch.
 
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High pitch noise coming from faceplate backlight inverter is big - for me.
In mobile is hard to hear that, at my base station it is annoying. Had to switch it off.
Mike
 
Oh I totally understand the purchase. It's just that if I had a choice between having a 99 or a 95T, I'd go for the 95T by a factor of about ten million! The 95T is just a much nicer radio with a better RX, better frequency stability, more power, etc. Plus it looks WAY cooler with the starlite faceplate.

I don't mean to hate on the 99 too much, but it is just older, inferior technology.
 

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