[R-390] Where's my C553?

ka1ydi ka1ydi at gmail.com
Thu May 22 01:20:36 EDT 2008


I've had my R-390A for six years now, never really got a chance to fix 
it up, would prefer to reinvest those funds in a new rig, and so I've 
decided to sell it.  Before I do so, I wanted to at least get it 
working.  I know that C553 is a "must replace" cap, and that I 
shouldn't even think about applying power before doing so.

I found this page:
http://www.r390a.com/html/C-553.htm
but when I took out the IF deck and turned it over, I found myself 
looking at this:
http://b.imagehost.org/view/0430/100_1233.jpg
Here's another view:
http://b.imagehost.org/view/0330/100_1235.jpg

I'm confused.  I'll admit that I'm a newbie, but I've poked around the 
rest of the R-390A enough to know what a Vitamin Q cap looks like, and 
I'm not seeing one.  Is it possible that one of the ceramic caps is 
C553 in this one?

If so, I'd like to know if it needs to be replaced or not.  I know that 
some people have argued that having an Orange Drop for C553 improves 
performance, but my main concern is just getting it to work.  I'd 
prefer not to replace it if it doesn't pose a threat to the filters.

On a side note, does anyone know why I have a big brown cylinder in my 
receiver, rather than a grey case that says "Collins" like in the 
r390a.com pictures?

I'm not sure if this is relevant, but this particular R-390A is a 
Motorola, part of the 1958 contract.

Thanks!



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