[R-390] R-391

[Paul H. Anderson]

The R-391 is a pretty straightforward beast to get running if nothing
serious is broken.  Like Barry says, dried grease is the biggest problem.

The locking keys are available from Hank Arney.  You can also make them,
but it requires a little bit of care to make sure the business end is
right.

The R-391, like other autotune or motor tune Collins radios, have slip
clutches in them that are intended to let the motor drive keep turning
while the tuning mechanism stops against a pawl.  What happens is the
grease in these seize up, so instead of slipping the clutch, the gears
grind and the bearings next to the motor get mashed to a pulp.  Actually,
if your receiver is like the one I worked on, it can tolerate a _little
bit_ of that, but not much.

Unless you know the autotune has been used in the last few years, it is
probably better to remove the tuning unit and soak it in solvent for
awhile.  I soaked mine in kerosene for a week, which also helped the other
problem, which is grit in the mechanism.

The third problem I ran into is that the motor brushes readily wear out,
so it will not work, or frequently stop.

Others have reported problems in the control relays, although mostly I
suspect this would be dirty contacts.

I haven't found a good source of parts, although the basic autotune and
drive motor is used in multiple radios, like possibly the T-195.  I
believe the CU-286 uses the same tuning mechanism exactly as the R-391.
The spare motors I have I got from Fair Radio, and are almost certainly
from T-195's, but may be strong enough to run the R-391 autotune
mechanism.

BTW, as always, I'm looking for a restorable C-974, a CU-286, and a
PP-629.

Paul

On Tue, 6 Jul 2004, Bob Camp wrote:

> Hi
>
> Don't have a 391 so I can't comment on it directly. What kind of shape
> is yours in?
>
> What I'm getting at is that spare parts for these beasts can be a pain
> to find. The stuff that is common between the 390 and the 391 should be
> hard enough to come by (but not impossible). However if some of the 391
> specific stuff is broken then you will have a real tough time. I have a
> 390 not an A that has been waiting on a parts source before I start the
> restore process.
>
> One exception: the locking inserts for the knobs  are a common problem
> item on the 391. There was a run made to replicate them a while back.
> Hank may still have some running around. If I remember correctly he did
> them at the same time he did a run of knobs that many of us got in on.
>
> Another possible parts source would be David Medley. He seems to be the
> resident fount of R390 not an A supplies. He has a web site and has
> always been a good source of both information and parts.
>
> A 391 restore is certainly a worthy project. There aren't many of them
> out there. It may take a while, but hang in there on it.
>
> 	Enjoy!
>
> 		Bob Camp
> 		KB8TQ
>
>
>
>
>
> On Jul 6, 2004, at 9:43 PM, Clay Curtiss W7CE wrote:
>
> > I yield!
> >
> > I joined the group precisely because I have nothing to offer it, but
> > hoped
> > to learn a lot.  When you have nothing to say, it is best to listen and
> > learn rather than to waste everyone's time with stupid questions.  I
> > have a
> > Collins R-391 (S/N 145) that I plan to eventually restore.  I have
> > been in
>
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>

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| Paul Anderson           Public Data Queries, Inc. |
| paul at pdq.com            734-213-4964 x308         |
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