[R-390] R-390A Lubricant ?

[Flowertime01 at wmconnect.com]

Dick, W1KSZ

A long, old and honored subject, but happy you ask.

Mobil 1 synthetic motor oil.

You need not buy a quart unless you have some use for the quart.

Stop by your Mobil station and raid the trash can for a couple empty 
containers.

You can likely drip more than enough out of a bottle or two to lubricate your 
receiver.

Other 10W 30 oil was standard military procedure in its day.

The new synthetic collects less dust over time.
Will not turn stiff and gunky as quick as regular oil (if ever).

If someone were give you a small sampler needle oiler at a trade show, that 
oil is good.

Practice was to hang the receiver over the edge of the shop sink,
Use diesel fuel to flush and air to blow dry the RF gear train.
We also used the RTTY washer solvent if available.

Just putting the whole deck in the RTTY washer and "degreasing" the whole 
deck was frowned upon. But I have confessed that sin before and done my penance.

Then oil and blow the oil into places and blow the excess out.

The problem was not to contaminate the bushing in the antenna trim so that 
you get a short.

Never mind what we were running down the drain.

These days we wash decks in the dish washer and dry in the oven at (low heat) 
220 for an hour or so.

A popular choice today is to wash them out on the lawn table and flush with 
the garden hose as part of the summer PM process. Let the decks dry for a day 
or two.

Simple green is considered to cause corrosion. Other "soaps" work well)

A problem is ground lugs within the deck growing an oxide over years and 
ground points developing opens. Its just a mechanical problem.


Mostly you recap your R390, At that time you just loosen and retighten all 
the bits of hardware. Give it all a bath. Reoil it, Realign it, and use it for 
several years.

You blow out the dust from time to time with compressed air and wash the 
front panel with soap and water to remove the finger prints. Do signal to noise 
test and change tubes as needed. Realign when you change tubes. Tube life is 
8000 to 9000 hours of operating time. Most R390 tubes will run twice that long or 
more. But that is all another subject.

Roger AI4NI
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