[R-390] They followed me home <GRIN>.

[Philip B Atchley]

Hello all.

Well, today Don and I drove up to Palo Alto and picked up our R-390A's. 
Both turned out to be EAC units from the FR-36-039-N-00189 (E) Contract. 
SN's 6137 and 3715.  

I haven't fired em up yet as I believe in the old adage, "Haste makes
waste", especially in regards to old tube gear.  

QUESTION 1: Seeing as how these units have the rectifier tubes in place,
how high do I need to bring the Variac before they will start conducting
enough to start forming the caps, at least some?

They are both in good condition, with meters, all covers and so forth. 
The #3735 "looks" much nicer on the front panel, has IEC tube shields,
regulator tube etc. As I haven't pulled them yet, I'm not sure if all the
modules in either unit are original or not.  BOTH units have the 26Z5
rectifiers in placerather than sand-state devices.  Not sure how good
they are.  

Don has already told me that I can pick-N-choose modules to make myself a
'Best' set as he know mine will get a lot of use.  
 
QUESTION 2:  One unit has what appears to be a Collins PTO, the other a
Cosmos unit.  Assuming they both work well, which one should I put in "my
keeper"?

I intend to run both units up and give them a thorough checkout before
doing a complete re-cap.  They were supposed to both be playing when put
in storage two years ago, though he said both had problems on certain
bands.

73 de Phil  KO6BB
Loving home provided for wayward Boatanchor Receivers
ko6bb@juno.com
Merced, Central California
37.18N  120.29W  CM97sh

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