[R-390] What is the difference between 390 and 390A

Tue Apr 12 20:29:30 EDT 2005

I love the 453 and the R-11 for that matter. Back in the 1980's I stuck a
good product detector in an R-11A and it really performed. Used it to Q-5
everything - my TCS, ARR-15 and even an ARC-2 which is as broad as a barn.

Mike WB2UID

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bob Camp" <ham at cq.nu>
To: "Michael Murphy" <mjmurphy45 at comcast.net>
Cc: "'R-390A List'" <r-390 at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Monday, April 11, 2005 10:23 PM
Subject: Re: [R-390] What is the difference between 390 and 390A

> Hi
>
> Well here it goes:
>
> 190KC to 490KC BC-453? ARC-5 Command set is an 8
> The 390A is a 9.
> The 390 not an A is a 9.1 +/- 0.5
> Harris RF-550 w/551 is at least  7.
> Gotta get the R&S in there, maybe a 8.99976 +/-3.13742 (it's German -
> we need to be precise)
> There's the Racal RA-17, give it a -17 with all the original cooked to
> oblivion by now resistors still in place.
> Need to put the Heath SB-301 in there somewhere above a 5 or so.
> I would put the R250M2 in at least in the 6's from what I have heard.
> Be nice to see one.
> SP-600-JX-any at least an 8
>
> On the other end of the scale:
>
> AM section of your car radio -2
> Stations received by the FM section of your car radio -9
> Anything satellite radio -10
>
> Optional points (may be additive):
>
> Radio's painted *very* bright colors (including stripes) -3
> Radio's named after American Presidents -5
> Radios designed to cover 2 to 22 MHz in one band 3/4 inch wide -12
> Any radio made before 1920 +10
> Radios with "massacre" in their name -3
> Radios with LED's built into the antenna -12
> Any radio that saved a life while turned off  +5 (Motorola MX-300 in
> bludgeon mode comes to mind)
> Any radio that saved a life while turned on +12
> Any radio with more than 35 tubes in it +6
> Computer driven black box radio (including those with 35 tubes) -9
>
> Of course this is only the abbreviated list ....
>
>
>
>
>
> Enjoy!
>
> Bob Camp
> KB8TQ
>
>
>
> On Apr 11, 2005, at 9:48 PM, Michael Murphy wrote:
>
> > That's right Bob.  We like all of them. What we need is a radio
> > performance
> > scale. Let's call a command set receiver a 2 and an R-390 a 9.  This
> > ought
> > to bring out the natives..
> > Here is the scale:
> >
> > 1. Knight Space Spanner
> > 2. ARC-5 Command Set
> > 3. Heath HR-10
> > 4. BC-348
> > 5. Hallicrafters SX-28
> > 6. National HRO
> > 7. Hammarlund HQ-180
> > 8. Drake R4B
> > 9. R390A
> > 10. Murphy MB-40
> >
> > Mike Murphy   WB2UID
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Bob Camp" <ham at cq.nu>
> > To: "ROBERT YOUNG" <youngbob53 at msn.com>
> > Cc: <r-390 at mailman.qth.net>
> > Sent: Monday, April 11, 2005 5:12 PM
> > Subject: Re: [R-390] What is the difference between 390 and 390A
> >
> >
> >> Hi
> >>
> >> Obviously item number 4 is a prerequisite. We *never* get rid of
> >> radios, we just keep adding to the pile.
> >>
> >> Enjoy!
> >>
> >> Bob Camp
> >> KB8TQ
> >>
> >>
> >> On Apr 11, 2005, at 4:34 PM, ROBERT YOUNG wrote:
> >>
> >>> I'd like to thank all of you for taking the time to answer my
> >>> questions of
> >>> which I'm sure I'll have plenty more in the next months. You've
> >>> helped
> >>> me to
> >>> decide which one to buy:
> >>>
> >>> 1. 390
> >>> 2. 390A
> >>> 3. SP-600
> >>> 4. keep my HQ-180
> >>> 5. many others.
> >>> haha!
> >>>
> >>> Bob Young
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> ----- Original Message -----
> >>> From: "Damon Raphael" <w7md at comcast.net>
> >>> To: "ROBERT YOUNG" <youngbob53 at msn.com>
> >>> Cc: <r-390 at mailman.qth.net>
> >>> Sent: Monday, April 11, 2005 3:08 PM
> >>> Subject: Re: [R-390] What is the difference between 390 and 390A
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>> Hello Bob,
> >>>> I use a HQ-180, R390 and R390a.
> >>>> The 390 radios have more accurate frequency readout, to start. This
> >>>> is
> >>>> not surprising since they cost a fortune in 1950s and 1960s dollars
> >>>> when
> >>>> they were manufactured. They have the best freq readout of probably
> >>>> any
> >>>> non digital radio ever made.
> >>>> The 390 and 390a have the ability to listen to "wider" signals which
> >>>> means better audio fidelity when you want to listen to broadcast
> >>>> music.
> >>>> What the HQ-180 has, that the 390s don't, is a tunable notch filter.
> >>>> I use the Hammarlund mainly for SWL and the 390s for ham radio. The
> >>>> mechanical filters in the 390a are more effective for rejecting
> >>>> interference than the LC filters in the 390, but may give somewhat
> >>>> poorer quality audio fidelity at the same bandpass width.
> >>>> The R390 may be a little more sensitive than the 390a. It has an
> >>>> extra
> >>>> stage of RF amplification but this probably doen't really make much
> >>>> difference as both radio are very sensitive; otherwise, the Collins
> >>>> engineers wouldn't have removed the extra stage in the redesign to
> >>>> make
> >>>> the 390a.
> >>>> If you get a 390 or 390a, then you will have a considerable expense
> >>>> in
> >>>> getting it restored to its original operating specifications. There
> >>>> are
> >>>> only a few people who know enough about these radios to properly
> >>>> restore
> >>>> them.
> >>>> Hope thmis helps,
> >>>> Damon Raphael, W7MD
> >>>> Tucson, AZ
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> ROBERT YOUNG wrote:
> >>>>> Hi,
> >>>>>
> >>>>> I'm new here, I'm a BCB dx'er and plan on buying a Collins within
> >>>>> the
> >>>>> next
> >>>>> year and was recommended to come here for help by a fellow member
> >>>>> of
> >>>>> the
> >>>>> NRC. I'll probably have a lot of questions and my first one is what
> >>>>> is
> >>>>> the
> >>>>> difference between the 390 and the 390A? Which would be better for
> >>>>> BCB
> >>>>> DXing? Also I use a nice HQ-180 right now, can anyone compare the
> >>>>> two
> >>>>> for
> >>>>> me? thanks,
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Bob Young
> >>>>> _____________________________________________________________
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> >>>>>
> >>>>
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> >>
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