[R-390] Re: My R390A

[Todd Bigelow - PS]

GLEN GALATI wrote:

> YOU SAY "KW-1"?  My heart sinks and I cry each night knowing I was part of a
> small team that was told to "DISMANTLE" one of these COLLINS TREASURES of
> the GOLDEN PAST.

*GASP!*  Dismantled?? Hmm.....a few individuals keep track of the serial number
list and I do recall hearing that several had been reduced to parts. Perhaps
this is one?

Another good story is the one about one or two KW-1s left behind in Cuba by the
CIA when ol' Fidel took power. Rumor has it that they were pressed into
broadcast service and who knows - maybe they're still purring away?

Only as time passes do we have the hindsight to see the value of such things(I
don't think this applies to the gov't, though - I site the great R-390 massacre
as proof). I'm fortunate in that when I'm called to account for my radio sins
I'll only have to explain a couple of old floor model radios I dismantled, a
BC-455A that I modified in college, and a few old tube-type CBs I tore apart.
The good side is that it gave me a deep appreciation for all old gear, so I
search it out and restore/use/preserve it for the future, now. I do miss the
days of $2 NIB ARC 5 radio gear, though...

I can't imagine what I'd have done with an R-390 back then. I probably would've
squirreled it away until later if it didn't work. Some things are just too
beautiful to tear apart.

73, Boomer