[R-1051] R-390 vs. R390A

Wed Feb 7 16:23:58 EST 2018

Yes sir was very good at it even on a rolling ship.
Loved the SRC 20 RF amp. Was a solid 125W 2X4cx250s on AM. But take the
protection off and it was an easy 400 watts and clean. Especially in low
duty cycle SSB.
Not saying I ever did such a thing being a Ham on a ship. But had many good
contacts in San Francisco on 432 when we were not under way.
Regards
Paul
WB8TSL

On Wed, Feb 7, 2018 at 3:15 PM, Nick England <navy.radio at gmail.com> wrote:

> Ha! If you can tune up a URC-9, anything else is easy!
> Nick
>
> On Wed, Feb 7, 2018 at 1:59 PM paul swed <paulswedb at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > I have to say stuff sitting around is just as bad as stuff being used.
> > Everything deteriorates one way or another.
> > But essentially they deteriorate at different rates and what we don't
> > realize is the optimum life is some place between the two.
> > The 390 mechanics are a nightmare. I have never had to work on them in
> the
> > Navy. At the point I ran into them they were entertainment radios only.
> > R1051s were the main radio circa 1970. I worked on UHF radios that were
> > quite amazing mechanically SRC 20/21 urc9 exciter. There was a magical
> > touch to tuning them across 220 MHz of bandwidth.
> > I can still remember my first visit to Guam and walking into a radio hut
> > that had racks and racks and racks of R390s.
> > All off just sitting there. Quite the sight. The Guam environment was
> > really nasty for radios. I restored the Collins KWM2 to operation in the
> > ham shack.
> >
> > Back to the main theme. I simply do not see people pulling boat anchors
> > around like I used to.
> > Think that may come down to dealing with the weight and the interest in
> > digging into the radios.
> > These radios really are amazing but what can you say the ole iPhone works
> > as well for most communications.
> >
> > Staying clear of the you've been nuked discussion.
> > Regards
> > Paul.
> >
> >
> > On Wed, Feb 7, 2018 at 11:40 AM, Ray Fantini <RAFANTINI at salisbury.edu>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > Thousand years ago I had a R-390 that I bought as a basket case, Had
> the
> > > manual and tried and tried to get the mechanical systems aligned on
> that
> > > radio but was never able to get it to work right on all the bands.
> > Endless
> > > cams, gears and some strange issues that when you got the radio to work
> > in
> > > one band segment it refused to work in another!
> > > Have been told of the nicer sound filters and superior B+ regulation
> and
> > > the like on the R-390 but have to say after that trauma of trying to
> get
> > > that R-390 up and running will stick with the R-390A, maybe it's just
> > > memory but the R-390A at least for me is about a thousand times easier
> to
> > > work on and have the striping, cleaning and mechanical alignment down
> to
> > a
> > > simple process that's all easy to follow from the manual so I will stay
> > > away from its non "A" brother.
> > > This entire R-390A operation on my part is only an attempt to try to
> > > generate revenue to have additional funds to piss away on other
> projects
> > > and to try to offset the high cost of shows like Dayton.
> > > But starting to think about what I have to shell out for radios that
> have
> > > been in storage for decades, the labor involved in just getting these
> > > radios cleaned up and working again and the logistics of loading up and
> > > dragging them around starting to question the wisdom of the entire
> > project.
> > > At the point now of thinking that at $400 to $500 each am just breaking
> > > even but do have the small satisfaction of seeing radios that have been
> > > languishing around in storage for twenty or so years coming back to
> life
> > > and maybe being useful to someone else.
> > > Funny thing, you would think that the radio just sitting around and not
> > > being used for a long time would not have as much affect as it does but
> > > just think about it, if you parked a car and did not do anything with
> it
> > > for twenty years do you think you can just get in it and drive away?
> > >
> > > Ray F/KA3EKH
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: r-1051-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:r-1051-bounces@
> > > mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Lester Veenstra
> > > Sent: Wednesday, February 07, 2018 10:40 AM
> > > To: 'R-1051 Discussion Group' <r-1051 at mailman.qth.net>; 'Military
> Radio
> > > Collectors Association' <mrca at mailman.qth.net>; 'milsurplus' <
> > > milsurplus at mailman.qth.net>
> > > Subject: Re: [R-1051] Frostfest AAR
> > >
> > > I bought the "Ratty" looking R-390/URR ($200)!!!.  Better receiver than
> > an
> > > A
> > > (INHO) and a little surface dust accumulated in storage is a minor step
> > in
> > > getting it back in service.
> > > But  first I still have to get these two R-1051s singing.   I good fest
> > and
> > > I hope the have the courage to grow it back to the two buildings it
> used
> > > to occupy.
> > >
> > > http://r-390.com
> > >
> > > Lester B Veenstra  K1YCM  MØYCM  W8YCM   6Y6Y
> > > lester at veenstras.com
> > >
> > > Physical and US Postal Addresses
> > > 5 Shrine Club Drive (Physical)
> > > HC84 452 Stable Ln (RFD USPS Mail)
> > > Keyser WV 26726
> > > GPS: 39.336826 N  78.982287 W (Google)
> > > GPS: 39.33682 N  78.9823741 W (GPSDO)
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > ______________________________________________________________
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> --
> Nick England K4NYW
> www.navy-radio.com
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