[Milsurplus] Re: R808

[Brad Latta]

  Hi all,
            Regarding the replacement for the R-808, the National  R-1490,
it must have been a good design electronic wise. I used to own a couple of
National FRR-59A's,  (WRR-2), supposedly the replacement for the R-390A, the
recovered audio from these radios was the best I have heard from a tube rx,
the basic priciples of that design are still used in micro-wave (EW)
receivers today!
 I guess the maintenance on them, & the fact that sensitivity dropped off
above 20 Mcs (especially if they weren't quite aligned exactly), made them
too expensive & time consuming for the navy to maintain.  I sure wouldn't
mind having an un-modified R-1490, despite the mechanical & connector
problems.
                regards, Brad. (bl@qualifi.com.au)