[R-390] Christmas Wish List (part 2) comments

[W. Li]

Speaking for myself, I really appreciate Roger's post
re RF s/n test in the R-390's. It illuminates a part
of this hobby that many of us were not aware of when
we were on active duty. In a way, most folks are
compulsive and perfectionists in the confines of our
warm and unpressured shop environments (for example:
Nolan Lee's saga on his 1967 EAC unit); and it is
quite a shock to see what actually went on in the
"real world" of field facilities in the 60's. 

The real value in this kind of post lies in
emphasizing what is of utmost importance (picking up
low strength, intelligible signals) and what is
desirable (silky smooth gear train action), and what
is not so key (matching serial numbers).

Scientific theory (ie: high powered math) is very
important in deriving S/N ratios, impedance matches,
etc. and loads of intellectual fun.... but is often
forgotten or lost when it comes down to actually doing
stuff.  Here these two disparate processes are shown
to be actually intertwined. The fun lies in the fact
that we may take as much of one or the other as we
wish at any point in time. In the final analysis, it
is the wrench-turner that gets the job done, and for
that we can all thank Roger in his current postings.

Today, we have the distinct advantage of the Y2K
manual Pete's beautiful schematics, and Barry's OCR
texts, and Al's work... all in one invaluable
publication. 

BTW, I have seen the original 1958 TM-11-4000 service
manual; and it would be a very good addition of have
on our archives as a pdf document.

"Pearls" is only an attempt at collating current posts
on specific subjects for fast and easy retrieval.  

W. Li
Mercer Island

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