So i was browsing the Bay of E’s and came across a ton of radios cheap that were listed as parts or repair. Not much caught my eye except for a Galaxy DX-959. The listing showed it powered up without much else tested. I took a chance on it. I got it this week and tossed it on the bench. The face plate and exterior was in pretty nice shape, inside was untouched. Nothing clipped, removed, or jumped.
The obvious issues i spotted:
SO-239 antenna connector was cross threaded and loose. This caused the “hot” wire to become unsoldered from the board.
Mic connector lock ring was very loose and the board was spinning around in the case.
All the main boards ground screws were quite loose.
3 of the front panel controls were very loose and wobbly.
Once i dug through my spare parts box i found another SO-239 i pulled from another radio. Replaced it and resoldered the bad connection. Tightened up the mic plug board and checked that the connections were still good. Tightened up every screw i could find. Pulled the face plate off and tightened every nut on all the controls. Powered the rig back up and adjusted the RF power for 2 watt dead key on low and 8 watt dead key on high, and adjusted the AM and SSB ALC for 90% modulation (i did NOT clip the limiter). The radio now swings 2w-15w on low and 8w-25w on high on AM (according to my meter). TX audio is spot on now with my Superstar DM-1000 power echo mic attached. I left the clarifier alone as unlocking it usually causes issues on SSB and the radio was surprisingly pretty much dead nuts on RX and TX. Then since i had it apart i did the “ghetto” channel mod by adding 2 switches for uppers and lowers. You gain about 25 channels above 40 and 25 below 1 with this simple mod.
Cut P5 and install a SPST switch inline (lower channels)
Cut P6 and install a SPST switch inline (upper channels)
I did have to modify my mounting bracket because of where i put the switches though (brain fart) and use a smaller thumb screw on that side. Put it all back together and i now have a really nice DX-959 i spent less than $100 on. For now i think i’ll use it in the garage as my Frankstein 5555n2 needs some more love as it keeps falling apart. Then maybe i’ll eventually sell it for a nice profit. Haven’t decided yet.


The obvious issues i spotted:
SO-239 antenna connector was cross threaded and loose. This caused the “hot” wire to become unsoldered from the board.
Mic connector lock ring was very loose and the board was spinning around in the case.
All the main boards ground screws were quite loose.
3 of the front panel controls were very loose and wobbly.
Once i dug through my spare parts box i found another SO-239 i pulled from another radio. Replaced it and resoldered the bad connection. Tightened up the mic plug board and checked that the connections were still good. Tightened up every screw i could find. Pulled the face plate off and tightened every nut on all the controls. Powered the rig back up and adjusted the RF power for 2 watt dead key on low and 8 watt dead key on high, and adjusted the AM and SSB ALC for 90% modulation (i did NOT clip the limiter). The radio now swings 2w-15w on low and 8w-25w on high on AM (according to my meter). TX audio is spot on now with my Superstar DM-1000 power echo mic attached. I left the clarifier alone as unlocking it usually causes issues on SSB and the radio was surprisingly pretty much dead nuts on RX and TX. Then since i had it apart i did the “ghetto” channel mod by adding 2 switches for uppers and lowers. You gain about 25 channels above 40 and 25 below 1 with this simple mod.
Cut P5 and install a SPST switch inline (lower channels)
Cut P6 and install a SPST switch inline (upper channels)
I did have to modify my mounting bracket because of where i put the switches though (brain fart) and use a smaller thumb screw on that side. Put it all back together and i now have a really nice DX-959 i spent less than $100 on. For now i think i’ll use it in the garage as my Frankstein 5555n2 needs some more love as it keeps falling apart. Then maybe i’ll eventually sell it for a nice profit. Haven’t decided yet.

