[Milsurplus] Galaxy COMM-1A Commercial HF Transceiver

[Mike Morrow]

Hi all,

At last weekend's Huntsville hamfest I picked up a late 1960s commercial Galaxy SSB COMM-1A, a rig I had never seen before.  It's a size and approximate configuration similar to the Galaxy III ham rig of the same era.  However,

(1)  It's in olive drab paint, front panel included.
(2)  It operates on four crystal-controlled channels.
(3)  It has USB/LSB capability, but not CW.
(4)  It requires operator peaking of the final PA stage (2 x 6HF5) after a new channel is selected. 

My unit is set for 4440, 5214, 5820, and 7360 kc.  I know US Army MARS at one time used the 4440 and 7360 kc frequencies.

The only info I've found on the net is a short description of the slightly earlier COMM-1, in which the 1967 price is listed at $495 (equivalent to about $3000 today) without accessories or power supply.  

Has anyone on the list ever used or is otherwise knowledgable on the commercial Galaxy rigs?  They certainly are not what I would call mil spec.  Does anyone recognized the frequencies and know the likely using organization?

I remembered my US Navy MARS activity in the late 1960s on 4010 and 7375 kc, and CAP on 4630 kc, which leads me to think that this rig would have made a pretty good MARS/CAP rig 35 years ago.  It can cover a wide range of frequencies below 9 mc, apparently.  But it would have been a pretty expensive limited-use item for most ham budgets.  The popular Heathkit MARS/CAP rig HW-18 of the same era was much cheaper, but only covers frequencies in about the 4 to 5 mc range.

73,
Mike / KK5F