[R-390] Auction R-390A

[Bob Camp]

Hi

The radio obviously has been worked over by somebody at some point in 
it's history. I would say that is not a real good indicator if you want 
to get a reasonable radio to restore. Of course if you know the guy who 
did the work, or at least the era the work was done in that might not 
be as big an issue. A radio done up in the 1960's is going to have a 
whole different batch of things done than a radio done in the 1990's.

One thing that you can say about a 1960's mod radio - usually they have 
*not* spent ten out of the last thirty years out in the rain. They also 
usually have original meters on them.  Both issues might make them a 
bit more desirable, depending on what you plan to do. There's always 
that fully digital DSP wide band IF/Audio mod ....

I have seen almost as many "solid state" power supplies with bent tube 
sockets as without. As far as I can tell the tube socket bending was a 
"good idea" rather than a mandatory part of the process. Not to start 
anything, but as far as I can tell bending the tube sockets does not 
impact the performance of the radio ....

Now if we just could pop into the time machine and grab a bunch of 
these back in the good old days. Of course we can't and a lot of us do 
not have the ability to look over twenty or thirty radios before buying 
one. It's been a lot of years since I saw more than a half dozen radios 
all for sale in the same place (other than Fair Radio).

If you are looking for that "one good radio" then it's always a tough 
search. If you are looking for another radio to add to the collection 
then the decision is a bit easier. I still do not think that the R-390 
is a good radio for the "home appliance's are to complex for me" crowd. 
They still require a bit more care and feeding than your average VCR. 
Every time I see the bids on the auction sites I wonder if some of 
these people know what they are getting into or not.

	Take Care!

		Bob Camp
		KB8TQ






On Feb 19, 2005, at 9:17 AM, Barry wrote:

> Kind of minor, but the KC knob isn't original.
>
> I was trying to figure out if there might be a way this might still be 
> a
> functioning receiver.  The P/S could be modded, the ballast could be 
> shorted
> with the proper 12B?? tubes or there's an under-the-chassis resistor.
>
> I don't know for sure, but if the missing tubes in the AF unit are the 
> final
> power tubes, then if the guy was tapping off the diode load through an
> external amp, then the final PA tubes can be removed, just to keep down
> heat, right?
>
> While easily replaced, the B+ fuse is a problem.  The radio sure won't 
> work
> without that (unless the previous owner decided it wasn't all that 
> necessary
> and just shorted it).
>
> Just my $0.02.
>
> Barry(III) - N4BUQ
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "richard may" <richardmay at hotmail.com>
> To: <r-390 at mailman.qth.net>
> Sent: Saturday, February 19, 2005 6:53 AM
> Subject: [R-390] Auction R-390A
>
>
>>
>>    Sure  got  quiet here lately. Guess everybody is burned out 
>> discussing
>>    ballast tubes. Anyway, I was looking at an R-390A (#5752624165) 
>> listed
>>    on  you know where. This is a pretty nice looking receiver in that 
>> the
>>    wiring and chassis looks pretty clean. Although the seller doesn't 
>> say
>>    if it fires up or not, it appears to be not functional. Here is 
>> what I
>>    see.  The  cal/osc  plug-in  is  missing, one fuse cap is missing, 
>> the
>>    screw  on  the  crystal  deck  is  missing indicating possible 
>> missing
>>    crystals.  some  tubes  are  missing.  The  3TF7 is missing, no 
>> way of
>>    knowing  if  a  resistor  mod  has  been made. The rectifier tubes 
>> are
>>    missing,  the unbent  sockets  tell  me  the power supply has not 
>> been
>>    modified  with  diodes. I also believe this receiver has been 
>> dropped.
>>    Look  closely  at the bent ear on the side panel and the sheared 
>> screw
>>    on the faceplate.
>>
>>    Buyers, beware. If you are looking for a functional receiver, you 
>> have
>>    some work to do. Just my thoughts. Have a nice day. Richard
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