[R-390] R-390A Buying Tips

[Dallas Lankford]

There are so many of those parking lot of doom R-390A's floating around (puns intended) that one should be extremely cautious about buying any R-390A's.  For a long time I couldn't think of a foolproof way to identify them, so as not to get burned (or should I say rained on?).  But duuhuhh.  The answer is as plain as the nose on my face.  Look at the capacitors dummy says me to myself!  If it has a bunch of bright orange capacitors in the IF deck, there is a high likelihood that it sat in a parking lot for several years.  You might miss a few good R-390A's by culling the ones with the bright orange capacitors, but such is life.  Or if it has a bunch of brown beauties with big cracks, especially with cracks painted white, then you know you have a loser.  Be sure to bring an 8X loupe and look for microscopic cracks along the mould lines.  Those are also losers.  The capacitor replacers have done us fastidious R-390A buyers a wonderful service by helping to identify the ones we do not want.  Also look for grit in all the nooks and crannies.  It is really difficult to get all the grit out of a parking lot R-390A.  And look closely at all the screws.  If you see any rust, don't buy.  The screws are stainless and can tolerate damp environments, but if you leave stainless out in the rain for a while, it will start to rust.  I must admit that I did not think of all of these tips myself.  And I would like to give credit where credit is due.  But to keep the rotten tomatoes directed at me only, I have kept my sources anonymous.