Fw: [R-390] Fair Radio Blue Strippers and other Ramblings

[Lee Bahr]

How do you restore a blue stripper when it does not have an engraved front
panel?  Did you have the front panel re-silk screened or did you just
replace it with an engraved front panel from another radio?  Or have both
methods been employed?  Seems to me a radio with no meters and facing a
re-silk screen process would get the project up into big bucks fast.  (Maybe
the blue comes off leaving a nice grey panel) I guess if you got lucky and
got a blue stripper with an engraved front panel it would not be too bad a
project if you had to repaint it.  Missing meters really bugs me though.

Since getting interested in R-390As a year ago, I have been able to find 4
of them now and they were not too expensive.  In fact, they cost me less
then a blue stripper and they all have meters. ($75 to $250).  I have not
restored them as yet so I don't know what is totally facing me.  I bought
two replacement cap kits and a couple extra IF decks and a couple extra RF
decks to get me going.  Two of the R-390As were missing the power supplies
but a member on here was kind enough to sell me two replacements at a
reasonable cost.  I also purchased the R-390A and SP-600 videos from Hi-Res.
I also downloaded from the internet the manual.  (It took 3 ink cartridges
to do it)!  (It's wonderful)!  Now I need to start restoring before time
runs out!  (I am 67).

If I was going to start this quest all over again, I think I would approach
it the same way as I have done in the past.  Don't be to quick to buy but
look around.  Maybe I just got lucky, but I think finding a R-390A locally
or within driving distance will probably provide a better project requiring
less work for a better price.  There are no shipping charges and you can see
what you are buying.  I guess if I bought a blue stripper I would want to
restore it too as I am dumb enough to believe every R-390A should be
restored, although not a project for everyone.  It sure would be a great
accomplishment to do this.  You certainly would want to take a lot of
"before" and "after" pictures to appreciate the project once completed.

The amount of knowledge on R-390As on this reflector is awesome.

Lee
w0vt
Houston