[R-390] Fair Radio R-390A Question?

[Don Reaves W5OR]

Welcome to the R-390 list, Ronnie.

I think you will find that rebuilding a Fair Radio R-390A is not beyond your
capabilities. You obviously have an appreciation and a desire to learn about
the receiver.  That's 80% of the battle already won.  And you have the good
folks right here who are standing by to help with advice and encouragement,
most if not all of us with the same experience of bringing one or more of
these great receivers back to life.  Most of the ones I have heard about
from Fair respond well to cleaning up and lubricating and fixing the obvious
problems.  One of the nice things about the R-390a is that they were
designed with modular construction and it is easy to obtain interchangeable
modules for troubleshooting purposes.  And there is a wealth of web
information just waiting to materialize on your browser screen.  We can't do
much to lower the cost of the receivers - the supply is low and the demand
seems steady.  I saw a nicely restored R-390(nonA) over the weekend that was
being sold for $1K. The satisfaction of restoring one of these classics with
your own hands is, well, as they say on the credit card ad, priceless.  The
risky part of getting a R-390 is the damage likely from UPS shipping.  In my
opinion, Fair Radio is incredibly lucky shipping heavy boatanchor stuff, and
they can and do right any wrongs.  I shudder to think of the total tonnage
wrapped in nothing by crumpled newspaper that has come my way from Fair
Radio over the last 30 years.  <grin>

You should certainly download the Y2K R-390A manual - an absolutely
essential reference, and start looking it over before you decide what to do.

Don Reaves W5OR
w5or@comcast.net
R-390 list manager


> the do it myself thing is probably what I will have to do. I have a great
> desire to learn this rig and to make a great receiver better by doing a
> complete rebuild, I am just wondering if this is too complex of a rig to
> start with. Should I hold out for a rig that I can see before I
> buy or take a chance? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
> Thanks
> Ronnie
> KE4VPN
>