[R-390] My 'new' '67 EAC is now "on line" 8^) Ballast Tube question.

[Phil Atchley]

Hi.
Well, it looks like all the trials and tribulations associated with this =
PTO
are over.  The receiver alignment went very well, a new 3 wire power =
cord
has been installed and the unit placed in its CV-979 cabinet.   The
alignment was already very close and just needed a light tweaking.  A =
modest
improvement in gain was noted when some of the Xtal oscillator trimmers =
were
adjusted. =20

Only one minor glitch was noted during alignment.  The 28 MHz band was =
dead,
removing its Xtal and tightening up the pins of the socket cleared that
problem.  Whew, thought I had a bad Xtal at first.

It is now on line in one of the DXing positions.  Temporally in the
righthand position I'll rearrange the bench to put it in the "left seat"
(next to the computer) after it's had a thorough burn-in and I've got
confidence in it.  Right now I'm listening to Radio Australia (21740 =
KHz) on
it.  Of course that is no big challenge here on the left coast.
=20
I did do some listening on the 20 Meter band and SSB seems to be working =
as
it should since I did the Lankford AGC/BFO mods.  I've found that one to =
be
worthwhile.

It's now been running a couple hours or so and there doesn't appear to =
be
any heat build-up in that cabinet.  It is just warm to the touch.  I =
plan on
leaving it on all afternoon/evening and do some DXing with it this =
evening.

BALLAST TUBE QUESTION:  In all the R-390A's that I've had previously =
(that
still had the ballast tube) I seem to recall the filament having just a =
dull
glow in only a small part of the filament.  This one glows fairly =
brightly
over nearly the entire length of the filament and makes me feel uneasy =
in
that I'm afraid it's nearing the end of its lifespan (seems I recall =
reading
that was an indicator).  No, my line Voltage is under 120 VAC, =
especially
this time of day with everybodies A/C running.  Do I have cause for =
concern?
Perhaps I should start looking for a 12BH7 tube (I did the 	12BH7 mod
while recapping the IF strip).

73 de Phil, KO6BB

****************************************************
*  DXing THE WORLD WITH THE FOLLOWING EQUIPMENT.   *
*  RECEIVERS:                                      *
*    '67 EAC R-390/URR Surplus Receiver.           *
*    YAESU VR-5000 Wideband,  REALISTIC DX-392.    *
*    Home built Longwave "Hybrid" CW receiver.     *
*    Others which pass thru or are waiting repair. *
*  ANTENNAS:                                       *
*    Coil Loaded 18.5 Meter Long Sloper.           *
*    Roof mounted Hustler 6BTV 6 band Vertical.    *
*    Scantenna Scanner antenna at 7 Meters high.   *
*  LOCATION: Merced, Central California.           *
****************************************************




---
avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean.
Virus Database (VPS): 7/10/2003
Tested on: 7/14/2003 11:05:44 PM
avast! is copyright (c) 2000-2003 ALWIL Software.
http://www.avast.com