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

[Cecil Acuff]

Well I wondered about prices on the R-388 after your note so I hit Ebay to 
see what was up and the last one that sold on there went for $960.  That's 
right up there with the prices of the R-390 and "A".  Strange thing is the 
R-390/URR (the man's radio) usually doesn't bring the kind of money the "A" 
does.  They are harder to find and are more dependable....but cost 
less....go figure.  I'd choose the R-390/URR over all of them for a long 
term keeper and daily driver.  That along with a nice SP-600JX.

Cecil Acuff
K5DL
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kenneth Arthur Crips" <crips01 at msn.com>
To: <r-390 at mailman.qth.net>; "Bob Young" <youngbob53 at msn.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 30, 2008 1:23 PM
Subject: Re: [R-390] WTB: R-388/URR or R-390A


>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
>
>
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