[R-390] R-390A Buying Tips

[Cecil Acuff]

I agree with that....

Participation on a list like this is a give and take....  and certainly if 
you are willing to dish it out you had better be willing and able to take 
it.

I've been here for many years...way back into the Nolan Lee years...and I 
don't plan to go anywhere.  I'm certainly in the camp of replacing what 
needs to be replaced whether it's done out of me determining it's need for 
replacement (I am capable) or based on common wisdom.  (that does exist 
here)  I also believe some things can be done better than were done back in 
the 50's...Such as the 10 turn pot upgrade.

Live and let live....

Cecil...

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "James Miller" <JMILLER1706 at cfl.rr.com>
To: "Dallas Lankford" <dallas at bayou.com>; <r-390 at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Friday, January 14, 2005 10:02 PM
Subject: Re: [R-390] R-390A Buying Tips


> And don't forget the diodes to replace the flaky rectifier tubes'
> Or the surge limiter;
> Or the 10 turn pot to replace that poorly designed single turn meter 
> adjust
> circuit;
> Or the PTO that has been torn down, rebuilt and linearized to within 50 Hz
> everywhere;
> Or the DISC ceramic caos that have been replaced anywhere they touch the 
> AGC
> line and screens (yes, their dielectrics leak too)... added about 20 dB to
> signal levels.
> How far shall I go?
> Both of my 390As arrived as basket cases, practically dead.
> Now they will probably outperform 95% of the untouched museum pieces 
> around.
> And I have a couple of degrees in EE and Advanced Calculus, for what 
> that's
> worth.  But I didn't let that get in the way of truth and reality.  Now
> let's put our Jacobians, LaPlace transforms and matrix inversions aside 
> and
> enjoy our valves.
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Dallas Lankford" <dallas at bayou.com>
> To: <r-390 at mailman.qth.net>
> Sent: Friday, January 14, 2005 10:07 PM
> Subject: [R-390] R-390A Buying Tips
>
>
> 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.
> _____________________________________________________________
> Win a new Icom IC-756PROIII and help QSL/QTH.net
> Details at: http://mailman.qth.net/index.html
> _____________________________________________________________
> R-390 mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/r-390
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/faq.htm
> Post: mailto:R-390 at mailman.qth.net
> Unsubscribe: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/options/r-390
>
>
> -- 
> Internal Virus Database is out-of-date.
> Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
> Version: 7.0.300 / Virus Database: 265.6.8 - Release Date: 1/3/2005
>
>
>
>
> -- 
> Internal Virus Database is out-of-date.
> Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
> Version: 7.0.300 / Virus Database: 265.6.8 - Release Date: 1/3/2005
>
> _____________________________________________________________
> Win a new Icom IC-756PROIII and help QSL/QTH.net
> Details at: http://mailman.qth.net/index.html
> _____________________________________________________________
> R-390 mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/r-390
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/faq.htm
> Post: mailto:R-390 at mailman.qth.net
> Unsubscribe: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/options/r-390
>