[Milsurplus] I came upon a R390A/URR EAC

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

On Fri, Jan 29, 2016 at 8:58 PM, John Hutchins <jphutch60bj at gmail.com>
wrote:

> All -
> Well considered and offered a sum for both, the one with no top cover was
> filled with sawdust, in a 30" sloped cabinet, with a heavy line
> conditioner.  The weight and mess was not worth the  effort.  The seller
> thought it was worth more being in a larger cabinet.  So I took to haggling
> over one that had all the outside parts and a "nice small" black wrinkle -
> tex  cabinet to boot.   I do not plan to restore the unit, as I have no
> time to do so;  The job kind Ah getN- N -the way of my hobby.  So I saved
> what I could.
> I am located in Austin Texas, South Austin, that is.
>

Congrats on the find, Hutch. Better to save one than none, even if you
can't keep it. They're great receivers, fairly easy to work on, but can
certainly chew up a chunk of your time getting one back into prime working
condition.

A couple things to keep in mind. First, in probably 99% of the cases, the
front tag means nothing. Since most of these sets went through depot
servicing and are of a modular design, a 100% EAC unit would become a
mongrel the first time something serious enough broke to require a module
swap. You're likely to find modules from Motorola, Teledyne, Collins, EAC,
Capehart, and numerous other manufacturers installed. The bad module would
be swapped out for a working example and the defective one put on the shelf
for later repair, after which it would end up in another R-390A. Tags were
even swapped when panels were repainted. Nothing wrong with this if someone
is just looking for a decent, complete set to clean up and use. Few folks
require a 'purebred' with all matching modules as it really gains you
nothing but bragging rights, something that means less everyday in the
world of old radios.

Second: meters - does it have them installed? Are they the correct ones? If
so, that's a BIG plus going forward as later on down the road the gov't
started pulling them due to the scary/icky/menacing radioactive material
used to make them glow. As long as you don't crush them and sprinkle on
your food or sleep with one taped to your face, you should be just fine.
I've had both R-390 and A models for decades now. My three year old
daughter is a bigger threat to my health.

Lastly, being fairly clean/complete/working to some degree of course makes
a difference in the price. Cracked clamps on the gears are a problem that
doesn't usually reveal itself until you try tuning in a signal. But again -
if you're selling as-is, not trying to hype it like the yo-yo on ebay does,
no problem. Buyers won't expect a perfect set for a cheap price.

Of course, if it *is* a completely EAC-built unit with no hacks and it
cleans up and works, there are folks out there who pay $800 and up just to
have one. EACs were the late production units, they even sold some on the
civilian market back in the late 60s/early 70s. The tag has a little rocket
ship on it. Collectors go nuts for those.....

Good luck with it, and thanks again for saving it from an unknown future.

~ Todd,  KA1KAQ/4
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