[R-390] I just HATE it when this happens...

Fri, 09 Jan 2004 03:09:24 +0000

BUY IT. You will hate yourself in the morning if you dont. Then if your 
concious bothers you for having too many of them, I will take it. John

John Page K4KWM
Hollow State since 1953
(ex W8PKU,N8BLB,NA8O)

>From: Mahlon Haunschild <[email protected]>
>Reply-To: [email protected]
>To: [email protected]
>Subject: [R-390] I just HATE it when this happens...
>Date: Thu, 08 Jan 2004 20:27:19 -0600
>
>Hi.  Well...  umm...  OK, here's the story:
>
>Colleague of mine accosts me four/five months ago, asks "You do something 
>with R-390s, don't you?"  I cautiously assent that I have been known from 
>time to time to dabble in old tube radios, and one of them was indeed the 
>R-390A (over the years I've learned not to admit too much in such 
>conversations, you see).  Colleague owns up that he has an R-390 that's 
>been in the attic for ten years, would I be interested in it?  I allow as 
>how I wouldn't mind taking a look at it.  What next?  So, he's got me 
>thinking about this, and time passes, and I think he's forgotten about me, 
>and I meet up with him again, and remind him, and, well, it takes him until 
>today to get the receiver to me to take a look at. Finally got it home & 
>stripped the covers off of it this evening.
>
>Get this:  it's all Collins, from the '55 contract.  Correct silk-screened 
>front panel in nice shape, considering it's almost forty years old.  
>Original Simpson meters.  Interior is surprisingly clean except for the 
>crud that filtered through the slots in the top cover onto the IF and 
>crystal oscillator decks.  Incredibly, both electrolytics test OK on my 
>capacitor checker (they are Spragues, which seem to last longer than others 
>I've seen).  Looks like some conscientious maintenance activity has applied 
>most of the field changes, including replacing the rectifier tubes with s/s 
>rectifiers. Dymo tape on top cover (yes, has all three covers) leads me to 
>believe that it has the 7/74 HR product detector mod (haven't pulled the IF 
>strip yet, so don't know for sure).
>
>Now for the bad news:  the gear train is super-clean, but bone dry.  No 
>grease, no oil.  That's bad, because just about every split gear spring and 
>the Oldham coupler spring is corroded rotten.  Where can I get some of 
>these?  ALso, because of its vintage, it needs a cap kit to replace all of 
>the BBsOD.  I can't imagine that they all survived ten years in a  Florida 
>attic without some major "life changes", if you know what I mean.
>
>So, the question I'm faced with tonight is:  do I buy it?  As if I need 
>another one of these (I've already got two, after all).  MOMMY!  HELP ME!  
>I'M SO CONFUSED!!!!! :)
>
>regards,
>
>Mahlon - K4OQ
>
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