[R-390] Re: A (very) big project

[DQ]

'Perhaps it's time to engage in what may be seen by some as
insane: re-manufacture the R-390a.'
 
Unfortunately the key word here is insane. I just don't think
that the end consumer support base would be broad enough at this
point in time to support an undertaking the size and scope
necessary to recreate the instrument as a whole.
 
'After all, we know how to re-build them.' 
 
Re-building is done with existing resources, whereas the
manufacture/remanufacture of them would involve re-creation
rather than re-building, which is a horse of an entirely
different color. This entails the design and manufacture of
tooling for the stamping of all the various modules and
cabinetry, setting up all of the necessary equipment for making
that incredible gear-train, finding and securing adequate
supplies of the numerous electronic components that are no
longer available, etc, etc, ad infinitum...
 
'The supply of these radios is, despite the interest and
forward-thinking of surplus dealers and the tinkerers, traders
and preservers among us, drying up.  Evidence the cost of these
beautiful beasts - even un-restored.  And it's likely that the
value of our R-390 stock will not be dropping anytime soon.'
 
This story is not unlike the numerous devotees of the venerable
all metal bodied '32 Ford (ALL models), and it is most likely
going to end up in the EXACT same fashion. One by one, by one,
people are stepping up to the plate and recreating bit and
pieces of the R-390a. They are finding and filling niche markets
as they become necessary. It's the age old motor of capitalism
.... supply and demand. As certain critical components become
unavailable, someone takes the bull by the horns and designs and
manufactures that component, thus creating an inventory of a
previously extinct piece. The process is not totally unlike the
design of the radio itself, its modular. This process will
undoubtedly continue until finally,..... someday, ........you'll
be able to build an entire R-390a from the various components
remanufactured by a plethora of individuals that have
specialized in one small aspect of the process.  It will most
likely be just like the all steel '32 Ford situation in that in
the beginning the quality of the various parts, pieces, and
modules will vary for a while, with some being top-notch and
others being so-so at best. The playing field will eventually
even however, with the poor quality remanufactures either
improving their product, or being forced out of the game
entirely by those others holding higher QA/QC standards. In the
end, when you can finally build one of these radios, it will
still be a brand new modular built unit, it's just that there
will be no coordination in the creation of the modules, which is
what Collins did, yes?  You also won't be able to buy one off
the shelf, at least not at first. In the beginning you will have
to endure the formidable task of gathering all of the numerous
and voluminous parts and pieces, and then put it together
yourself. This will ONLY happen if you are well heeled enough to
bear the HUGE cost of collecting all the necessary components,
but it WILL be possible. In the end, the brand new
remanufactured R-390a will happen by accident rather than
design, which is exactly what happened with the '32 Ford. There
were FINALLY enough pieces being re-manufactured that it became
possible to create an entire automobile. You can now (and it's
been possible for quite a while now) build a 100% complete, all
steel '32 Ford without the need for so much as one, single
original part. They are ALL remanufactured components, and as
more and more time has gone by the selection of top quality
parts to do it with has become truly astounding. This is going
to happen to the 390.I just know it is
. One has to bear in mind
that the '32 Ford is not the ONLY vehicle that has undergone
this process, it's just that it was the FIRST. Only the true
classics are popular enough to garner the vast interest
necessary to sustain this process. I feel safe in saying that
the R-390/R-390a receiver is one of the very few radios ever
created that genuinely stands a chance of actually making it
through this long and arduous process. IMHO as a layman and a
consumer, it is one of the few truly remarkable
electro-mechanical devices of the last century. I also believe
that in the long run it will not only stand the test of time,
but continue to evolve into an even MORE remarkable creature as
this evolution process continues to refine, and define, what
could eventually be universally acknowledged as the 'best that
ever was'....
 
My $.02 worth 
. (Ok, ok, ok, maybe it’s a nickel) ...... Quig
(The SWL crippled up biker guy out in crazy, creepy California
w/a beautiful Arney/Parkinson thoroughbred Stewart-Warner
R-390a)




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