[R-390] my first Hamfest - found a 390A, not sure what to do about it

[Cecil Acuff]

I would be interested in what modern radio you can buy for $650 that will perform at the level of a finely restored R-390A does.  If you are talking about all the bells and whistles like 1000 memorys and scanning and 1hz digital displays etc...you are not talking basic radio performance.  

It's the same reason I will have over $750 in an old Drake R4C by the time I have it where I want it.  It will perform in the same realm of receivers costing three times that but won't have all the bells and whistles.  

It's all based on what it's worth to you...personal value!  And as long as they can be sold on the auction site for $750 to $1500 they are not something to be passed up for $350 if you have the spare change to buy it...I think that's where Roger is coming from.

Just my 2 cents worth though...

Cecil




  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: 2002tii 
  To: r-390 at mailman.qth.net 
  Sent: Saturday, February 14, 2009 5:35 PM
  Subject: Re: [R-390] my first Hamfest - found a 390A, not sure what to do about it


  Roger wrote:


    Never, never, never,never walk past an R390 or R390/A. 
    No such thing as two high a price. 

  You've gotta be kidding.  Almost all the prices I see for 390s and 390As these days are too high.  

  Don't get me wrong -- I love these receivers, and I value knowing how to get good results with them "just like our forbears did."  It's like shooting a flintlock or a WW I battle rifle with original sights, or "walking" a telescope to the nebula you want to see, or determining your position with celestial navigation aids -- it gives you a sense of accomplishment and an appreciation of how folks before us did things.

  But most of us don't necessarily want to dwell in nostalgia-land all the time.  So we put scopes on our modern rifles, let computerized "go-to" telescopes find our nebulae, use GPS receivers to find our position -- and use modern radios for much of our listening to make it easier and more efficient to find and listen to the signals we seek.  So the prices of boatanchors must be compared to the prices of modern radios that will do things better and more efficiently.  By this standard, $650 for a 390A is -- in my opinion -- WAY more than it is worth.  Collectors will disagree, but who cares about them?  I'm talking about radiomen (and women) -- people who are going to use them for what they were designed to do.  Sometimes users have to compete with collectors -- if you want to shoot a Winchester 1886 or a Colt Woodsman Match Target, you can't avoid paying more than it is worth as a shooter because collectors have driven the prices up.  But there is no need do do that with 390s and 390As.  Pass up collector-priced radios.  Be patient, learn where to look, and decent ones are available for much less.

  Best regards,

  Don 


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