[R-390] looking around for r390-a

[blw]

> One other thing - a dirty unit is not necessarily a bad unit - just be
> careful that what you're looking at isn't hiding corrosion.  The best unit
> to spend your money and time restoring is one that will look great when
> you're done, and that means the least amount of corrosion and physical
> damage.  Even in spite of corrosion and physical damage, you can still
> usually repair them.
> 
> Paul

Paul and others,

Not trying to be contrary here as this is a good discussion, but.....

I had a very good friend buy my second R-390A at Dayton about 7 years ago.
He is a downright good guy who undercharges for everything. Anyway, he is a
long story that I won't get into now unless someone has seen Larry driving
around in his truck with 2 trailers behind him. Last seen heading for Lima,
Oh or Florida or Alabama. He is the guy who parked his  rack of Collins
R-390As in front of the wife's washer and dryer. She had to get him to roll
it away every time she wanted to do the clothes. Anyway, Larry was very
excited about this super clean one that he got for $365. And, it was the
cleanest radio I've ever seen. Every bit of it looked like it came off of
the line yesterday. This radio had to have been preserved somewhere. Wire
bundles were clean and shiny. Not a speck of dust could be found anywhere.
Also, there was not a drop of lube on any of the gears. The best I can tell,
this radio had the TMC mod done to it and it has the tapped holes on the
back of the chassis for part of mod that I've seen elsewhere. It has the TMC
mod tag on the front panel. It came with the Utah plate with top and bottom
covers. It also came with the black meters. It has a 67 EAC chassis, power
supply, and AF deck. I think the IF and RF decks are EAC too due to
manufacturing looks and peculiarities when compared to everything else.
Funny thing is that it had a S-W tag on the front.

I haven't done much to the radio yet. I keep putting off the work as it has
major problems everywhere. Low sensitivity below 8 mHz. Calibration points
are off just about everywhere. I tried to align it with a friend a few years
back and it wouldn't align past the first mixer. I forget the details at
this moment, but I have my notes in the manual. I figure that this one needs
to be recapped everywhere and everything inspected closely.

The point is that while I appreciate the condition of the radio, it isn't
ready for much at the moment. I know that it will be a good one when I'm
finished with it one day. Looks were deceiving on this one.


Barry