[R-390] TUBES

[Mike Melland]

On Fri, 15 Feb 2002 13:30:36 -0500

  Roy Morgan <roy.morgan@nist.gov> wrote:
>At 12:26 PM 2/15/02 -0600, Mike O'Brien wrote:
>>In the dim recesses of my fading memory, I seem to recall 
>>plans
>>announced about five years ago by Western Electric 

All this talk of tubes had me thinking over noon.  I just 
returned from lunch with the LTC that is the commander of 
our regional ROTC units based here at the college I work 
at.  Earlier I learned he was a "signals" officer and he's 
been very helpful scrounging parts for me for various 
receivers, including my R-390A.  I asked about the 
military supply of vacuum tubes and he tells me that they 
had a warehouse full of new tubes at the last base he was 
assigned to two years ago.  He informed me that many of 
the tubes were routinely surplussed as they got older and 
rotated with fresh stock. He informs me that many of the 
current tubes in US Army stock were made by Philips in 
Germany.  Must be NATO purchases ??? Interestingly he was 
in the Gulf and actually had to request R-390A's be sent 
there from Germany.  Apparent;ly according to him some of 
their sofisticated receivers had trouble with static 
damage due to charges from all the blowing sand ??? I 
don't know if he's kidding me or not on that..... but he 
sure is familiar with the R-390A for a guy that entered 
service probably in the late 1970's or early 80's. 

Mike

--
Michael Melland, W9WIS
Winneconne, WI USA