[R-390] Pricing Question

Fri Nov 18 23:51:11 EST 2005

Well that brings me to my story which I have never told here, of how I got 
my first R-390A.  I had been looking for one for quite a while...I didn't at 
that point have any boatanchor radio's...I was active on the ham bands 
chasing DX on a Yaesu FT-1000D.  (long since gone..sold it and bought my 
wife a computerized sewing machine...ain't love grand.)

Anyway I had been talking to a local guy, I have spoken of before, about 
buying one from him since he had a pile of them.  We could never get 
together...mostly because he would never commit.  I decided to call an 
elderly Amateur Radio friend who is now SK...his call was KB5QBU.  I called 
and asked Fred if he had or knew anyone that had an R-390 for sale.  His 
response was...."Funny you should call...I just went and retrieved one from 
a fellows home that I had lent to him a few months back...he died in a plane 
crash and it's in the trunk of my car and I was dreading having to get it 
out.  If you will come get it out it's yours."  Of course it didn't take me 
but a few minutes to get over there and get it out for him.  Turns out he 
was a member of MARS and had signed the thing out many years earlier.  He 
did some paperwork to have it retired or decommissioned or whatever it is 
one does to get it off the books.  It's a very clean Motorola..with all 
Motorola modules.  Original meters and all covers.  He gave me a binder with 
some manuals in it and they turned out to be for the R-391 which I traded to 
our list admin for a correct original R-390A manual many years ago.

My only regret looking back now is that the same day Fred offered a very 
nice looking old National receiver...a VLF as I remember it...probably an 
RBL or some such and I didn't take it. (I had what I had come for...couldn't 
imagine me needing another old tube radio..HA)  He was cleaning 
out...worried about what his wife was going to do with all the stuff if he 
passed on.  I'm sure it went in the trash....

Turns out as I later found out...his wife died a few years later and he 
moved out west to live with his son where he died just a few years ago.

One things for sure....I was bit hard by a bug that day...I didn't see the 
symptoms until much later.  I have the incurable disease now.   Probably no 
less than 20 boatanchors reside in the shop now....along with an Icom 756 
Pro II just to keep things balanced!

Where does it end?  I find myself driving down the road looking at trash 
piles in front of homes folks have moved out of or cleaned out, hoping to 
spot a discarded boatanchor....haven't yet but I can only imagine how many 
have gone to the landfill undetected.....

Cecil...
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "mikea" <mikea at mikea.ath.cx>
To: <R-390 at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Friday, November 18, 2005 10:02 PM
Subject: Re: [R-390] Pricing Question

> On Fri, Nov 18, 2005 at 08:06:51PM -0600, bw wrote:
>>
>> > That and the 'chatter' on the list about this specific auction raised
>> > its awareness.
>> >
>> > I have a receipt from Slep Electonics (remember him?) dated 6/28/72 for
>> > "1 ea. R-390A Receiver with manual...... $750".  It's a Motorola in
>> > very nice shape, BTW.
>> >
>> > According the the BLS CPI calculator, that's $3,574.16 in 2005 dollars.
>>
>> I don't have a receipt from the Dayton fest in 1994, but I have a mint
>> looking 67 EAC bought for $365. It came with the Utah plate, and 
>> top/bottom
>> covers too. I don't think the radio ever saw service and was probably on 
>> a
>> shelf the whole time.
>>
>> Somebody on this list found one in a dumpster. I can't remember who that 
>> was
>> or if he is still around. Quite a few guys have had one given to them.
>
> I've had 3 R-390A given to me: an EAC, a Stewart-Warner, and an Amelco.
> I bought an R-390 from Rick Mish, and it's a lovely piece of work.
>
> When I was TDY to Osan AB, ROK, I saw all the R-390 (or R-390A) rigs in 
> the
> MARS shack being tossed into a dumpster, and couldn't rescue any for 
> myself
> because I was leaving the next day and my hold baggage had already gone
> out. That *hurt*.
>
> -- 
> Mike Andrews, W5EGO
> mikea at mikea.ath.cx
> Tired old sysadmin
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