[R-390] R-390/A Rescue

[John KA1XC]

Great story Roger,
it helps make up for the all too common tales of  mindless R-390 destruction
that one hears.
And that was some chain of events leading to your catch; you definitely
deserve "Hero" status for saving another great old radio from the landfill.
I guess that repairman never heard of Ebay!

With your background you should have no problem with repairing the "A", it's
construction is a lot more straightforward than it's predecessor.

John

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "KC8OPP Roger S." <kc8opp@yahoo.com>
To: <r-390@mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Sunday, March 28, 2004 6:36 AM
Subject: [R-390] R-390/A Rescue


> Hello group,
>
> This is one of those stories that had I not been
> involved with would be a bit hard to believe,  But
> what follows is the absolute truth.
>
> A week back while finishing up an AM QSO on 40M, A ham
> from KY called me and said that he had been listening
> to the conservation about R-390s.  He had delivered
> his to a local ham for repair a while back.  The radio
> was deemed "beyond economical repair" so he had told
> the repairing ham to dispose of the radio.  He passed
> along his name and telephone number and of course I
> gave him a call.
>
> When I called to see if the radio was still available,
> there was a short pause on the line.  The R-390 was
> available, but to dispose of it he had tried to put
> the radio out for the trash man and was told that it
> was to big and bulky and would have to be in smaller
> pieces to be allowed in the trash.  So he proceeded to
> dis-assemble the radio by taking out all of the
> modules, removing the front panel and controls, and
> taking apart the main chassis and he was about to take
> the VFO apart.  He said he would stop taking it apart
> if I was interested..........DUH!
>
> Well 630 miles and $25 later there is now a
> Stewart-Warner #1858 R-390/A in the basement shop.
> The only thing missing is the antenna relay, which had
> been replaced with some yet to be determined hay-wire
> so-239's.  Came complete with original meters and ID
> tag, plus all the tubes covered with IERC shields.
>
> Some assembly is required, but should not be to
> difficult.  Most of the cut wires are still long
> enough to make the connections.  The frame is back
> together, front panel now has the harness and all
> controls and should start making the connections this
> weekend.  Did I mention that he also included the
> operations and maintenance manual.
>
> The VFO is a cosmos, but all of the modules are
> Stewart-Warner.  The RF deck mech alignment has
> slipped, but overall looks OK.  Initial plans are to
> re-assemble, repair and align.
>
> This is the first 390/A here, but should fit in OK
> with the three non A's already in service.  I may have
> some questions for the group regarding particulars of
> the A model as this project moves along.
>
> I do have some pictures of the pile of parts and am
> taking more as the re-assembly moves along.  A friend
> has a web site so will see if we can put some info and
> pictures there.
>
> Sorry about taking up so much bandwidth with the long
> winded story, but I will try to keep ya'll posted as
> things move along.
>
> Gary, WB8BEM came along for the ride and will back me
> up on this rescue story, like I said in the beginning,
> almost un-believable.
>
> 73's
> Roger
> KC8OPP
>