[R-390] Any help for a beginner?

[Bill Hawkins]

Well, I hope someone else will give you their order for doing things.
I am not all that procedure-oriented. I'd try the set, find problems
and fix what's broke. I would not attempt to refinish the front panel,
because I could not make it look as good as it is now. Clean it, sure.

But you didn't mention practicing your mechanical skills. You can do a
pretty good job of degreasing and re-lubing without major dis-assembly.
OTOH, you can screw up the set forever if you forget any detail.

If I had several R-390A sets and wanted to do a teardown and rebuild
just because it felt good, I'd pick the worst set and make it my practice
set. Begin by removing the Audio, PS, and IF modules, then remove the
front panel. But first, get a pencil and pad and an ice cube tray or an
egg carton. As you remove things, write down what you did. Put any loose
hardware into compartments for each step. This will make it possible to
replace everything just the way the manufacturer intended it to be built.

You can't tear a set down, clean and replace everything, and still
remember how you took it apart - especially if you are also working to
someone else's schedule. I have ice cube trays and muffin tins full of
parts from equipment I have opened just to look at it. By the time I got
around to putting the thing back together, I had the parts but I couldn't
remember what they were for.

>"I want to do it right the first time."

That is a noble goal, but quite impossible for a complete tear-down of
something as complex as an R-390A. Sort of like sitting down at a piano
for the first time and playing an unfamiliar piece of music perfectly.
Plan on making mistakes, and plan on practicing. Plan on your practice
set never becoming fully operational to factory specs. But the second
set has a better chance.

Regards,
Bill Hawkins