[R-390] Standy or Off?

Sun Feb 27 14:35:27 EST 2005

Well let me clarify my position.  What was asked was what the radio liked 
best as far as ensuring longevity.  That is what I addressed.

As far as my equipment I power everything down when I leave the shop. 
(except the PC) I probably sacrifice longevity in doing so but I have the 
peace of  mind that I'm not exposing myself to an unnecessary risk of a fire 
that would take everything that is near and dear to my heart.  My shop is 
separate from the house so you see where I am going with this.

I usually go out and power up the work bench and a couple of radio's a few 
hours before I expect an evening of work to commence that way everything is 
warmed up nicely...including the shop if it's winter.

I am also a little untrusting of things like my SX-28A and leaving it on 
unattended because the cloth wiring is showing it's age and frankly I don't 
trust it.  I don't worry as much about the R-390A's and the SP-600's as they 
are built to a higher standard to start with.

I don't trust any newcomer to the shop for a while no matter the make, so 
they are not left unattended and powered up.

I still believe if one took two otherwise identical R-390A's and placed them 
side by side, left one on 24/7 and only switch the other on when you sat 
down to listen the 24/7 would prove to be more dependable.  The exception 
might be the radio listener that only used his radio once every couple of 
months....

Cecil...

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bob Camp" <ham at cq.nu>
To: "charles bolland" <ka4prf at peoplepc.com>; "R-390 HF Receiver List" 
<r-390 at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Sunday, February 27, 2005 10:54 AM
Subject: Re: [R-390] Standy or Off?

> Hi
>
> My preference would be for most radios to be turned off. Having something 
> "smoke off" out here in the country with nobody home is an *expensive* 
> sort thing. That has nothing to do with what's best for the radio.
>
> There is no doubt in my mind that the radios work better after a few hours 
> of warm up. There is also no doubt in my mind that ballast tubes mostly go 
> from power cycling or vibration. They love to be on all the time in a 
> fixed environment.
>
> If you are going to run a radio 24/7 there are a few things to be careful 
> about:
>
> 1) The RFI filter is ahead of the fuse. It's well worth the effort to 
> check it out carefully. The only thing protecting it the breaker box.
>
> 2) The line cord is a hand wired part on most of these radios. Make sure 
> that the hot and neutral are correctly wired. The fuse and line switch 
> should be in series with the hot lead rather than the neutral lead.
>
> 3) I must admit that not every fuse in the known universe is in stock  in 
> the basement. From time to time substitutions get made. Check both the 
> fuses in the radio to be sure they are both the correct type and rating 
> (no 32 volt DC fuses allowed ...). If the ovens are turned off on the 
> radio the line fuse can be dropped in value from the normal listed value. 
> This is a *very* good idea in this case.
>
> 4) Think about what happens if a part cooks out. Setting the radio on a 
> box of reloading supplies probably isn't a real good idea. Properly 
> spacing it out in a metal rack away from walls and furniture probably is a 
> good idea.
>
> 5) Check the electrolytics in the power supply. They have enough energy 
> associated with them that they can be a problem if they go out. 
> Fortunately they normally just drop in value rather than short out. When 
> they get very leaky they will start to get hot and that's not good.
>
> 6) Think about where the smoke detector and radio are located (you *do* 
> have a smoke detector in the radio room don't you?). Most smoke rises ....
>
> I will admit that in most cases this is much to do about nothing. R-390's 
> do not burst into flames on a regular basis. The power transformers in 
> them seem to be reliable and even if they do go the metal can is a pretty 
> good fire barrier. Of course there is the smell.
>
> Speaking of the smell. The rectifier that drives the antenna relay is an 
> issue. They are known to fail and when they do they both smell bad and the 
> stuff is bad for you to breathe. If your radio still has an original 
> rectifier in it you have a classic dilemma. Do you *really* want to 
> replace a perfectly good working part? In general that's not a good idea. 
> If you don't and it goes with nobody home - wow ...
>
> If you run the radio 24/7 then at least disconnect the antenna during 
> thunder storm season. R-390's are rugged radios., but RF transformers 
> simply were not designed to take the kind of energy a near by lightning 
> hit induces in an antenna. With a direct hit, well that's why we have home 
> insurance ....
>
> One good thing about 24/7 operation. A warm radio is a dry radio. A lot of 
> the strange problems in components are related to humidity issues. If you 
> are in a high humidity area this could be a significant issue.
>
> Another thing about 24/7 operation - you are more likely to *use* the 
> radio. This also is a very good thing.
>
> Take Care!
>
> Bob Camp
> KB8TQ
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Feb 26, 2005, at 7:54 PM, charles bolland wrote:
>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> I've burnt out a couple of Ballast tubes over the months and I am a 
>> little
>> "gun" shy now.  I don't want to ware out other tubes in my set, so I am
>> wondering which will prolong the life of any tubes in my receiver best of
>> the three following options?
>>
>> 1. Completely off when not in use - thinking about turning the set on and
>> off all of the time.
>> 2. Standby when not in use - thinking some tube still burning all of the
>> time.
>> 3. On when not in use - thinking all of the tubes are hot all of the 
>> time.
>>
>> Any comments will be appreciated.
>>
>> Chuck
>>
>>
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