[R-390] WTB: R-388/URR or R-390A

[Kenneth Arthur Crips]

I have in good working order an 1967 EAU R390A/URR, as well as a nice 
R388/URR.
My favorite of the two is the R388. As you know doubt know the R388 is the 
military version of the Collins 51J3, and the R388A is the same version of 
the 51J4. I have both the R390A, and the R388 in the same rack.  The way I 
usually DX is I use the R388 to hunt and the R390A to zero in. Some of the 
reasons why I like the R388 is it is easy to work on and it does not use any 
hard to get tubes, so you don't have to wonder when your 3TF7 is going to 
crap out or the one of 26Z5W's in the power supply are going to go. Having 
said this about the R390A there are easy work a rounds for both the ballast 
tube and the rectifiers, so if these hard to get tube fail is isn't a big 
thing. I also have an SP600 the JX-17 version.  I don't include it here 
because my radio needs to be overhauled it is very deaf. I plan on getting 
the Hi-Rez restoration video to help me this monster working up to snuff. 
The major thing I don't like about the Super Pro 600 it is a booger to work 
on in mechanical sense. As somebody on this forum remarked in pass years 
SP600's are like digging into a burrito, you have to take stuff apart. to 
get to something you need to take apart, so you can take something apart to 
get at what you need to work on. It seem like whenever I work on my SP600 I 
end up with smashed fingers, bleeding, speaking in far distant tongues.

The prices on R390 of both types are simply outrageous.  For some reason the 
R388's do not get the high prices the R390's do.  My choice would be an 
R388.  I have compared My R390A, and R388 with my R9200 Sunair commercial 
full digital receiver. I can tell you there really isn't all that much 
different between the two with my my antenna which is a dipole in an 
inverted "V" up 40 feet with 65 feet of insulated multi strand copperweld 
wire.  The R390 beats out the R388 when you are trying to listen to that 
weak station that is perched on a frequency next to World Wide Reborn 
Missionary Radio ;) Because neither the R390 or the R388 have a product 
detector SSB reception is not the best, with for HF AM broadcasting isn't 
really a big thing. But once you start listening you will get interested in 
listening to utility stations, Military, and especially the Coast Guard. 
These station are always side band. The best thing you can do is to get 
yourself one of the sideband adapters. The one I have is a ELDICO SBA-1, 
there are many others. The SBA-1 gives my R390A, a product detector, notch 
filter, improved audio, etc. You may have watched the show Deadliest Catch, 
listening to the Coast Guard during the crab seasons out of Dutch Harbor is 
like listening to the wild West. Then there is the "Night Watch Net" which 
shift around in frequency but if you happen to catch it you can listen to 
one after another as the com' station at USAF bases check in. Then you can 
listen to the Military HF aircraft frequencies and listen to some of the air 
traffic.  I once listened to a flight of B52 on their way to Serbia on a 
cruise missile attack. Then there was the mysterious aircraft over the 
pacific that came up on the pacific air traffic control frequencies and 
asked permission to climb through commercial air corridors and was climbing 
to 95,000 feet.

Between the R388's, and the R390's you really can't make a bad choice. It is 
one of those "whatever you get the best price on" deals.


Kenneth A. Crips, W7ITC, Cheyenne,
Wyoming. with The Chew Crew; Ladybug,
Chic', and Cowboy, Irish Terriers who
are Red furred House ninjas with 10th degree Black belts in Bed Fue, Mooch 
Fue,
Chew Fue, and Con Artist Fue