[R-390] Parts Needed, new R-390A owner & questions...

[odyslim at comcast.net]

Well put Gene. I agree with every word you wrote. 

 I too have several.. More than I will ever need. I have one that must
have sat on one frequency for 20-30 years. It is as new as can be. And
then I have one that is so used and beat up. The sides are camouflaged, each
knob with a half moon around it, a different module from each manufacturer,
bent corners, and works just like the day it rolled off the line. This one
has never given me a problem and I have owned it for 10 years. I have 
never needed to align it or make any repairs. I just keep it fed with
a steady diet of JAN tubes and it keeps pluggin on. When Im not using it
to listen to Mil stuff, it is playing bluegrass music on Friday night
on WBCQ.

Regards, Scott

----- Original Message -----
From: Gene Beckwith <W8KXR at neo.rr.com>
To: wli <wli98122 at yahoo.com>
Cc: R390A <r-390 at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Fri, 11 Sep 2009 18:48:21 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: Re: [R-390] Parts Needed, new R-390A owner & questions...



R390x Gents,

One further thought re panels...I've done several..from bare metal to 
pristine . . . but....I have two St J. Blue Striper's from Fair ... 
several years ago...both had the blue stripe, a yellow and a black one, 
one over the other....They both cleaned up with some effort..the point 
is that I left a tell tale bit of blue under the Veeder Root...as a 
symbol of their history and reminder of what real veterans these 
machines are...and then there are a couple of others that have an 'eye 
brow' over both dials...good grief....what they must have heard and the 
hours they were in service...and where were they?  And then there is an 
authentic R-390A with orig manual from a boomer class sub tender...It 
was probably a rack mounted radio among many...and is in very good 9.5 
cosmetic condx...no need to refinish...it's authentic as it gets...what 
a treasure!

So, the point is what is ur interest .. and what fascinates each of us 
with these best of the best radios...? 

I'm fortunate to have several...in various flavors..all are treasured 
and representing various aspects of our hobby and interest in history, 
tinkering, and appreciation of this wonderful expression of our 
technology at its best...

Agn, 73 to all

Gene
W8KXR. 





wli wrote:
> Steve:
>
> Nice to have you join the group. May I recommend downloading the Y2K manual  off the Web along with the very nice compedium of notes collected by Perry Sandeen et al; listed as *Y2K-R3*. Together they make a great addition to the published JAN manuals.
>
> By now, you have seen that we are a varied bunch; with some desiring a pristine near factory fresh unit restoration, and the others happy with a slightly beat up fully functional unit. No question, a restored panel and knobs look swell. It is the insides that are equally, if not more important. 
>
> Some of us have specialized in doing a ground-up restoration of all or part of a R390A for very reasonable charges. They are to be commended in a labor of love. I am much more lazy, and have chosen to spend all my time and effort on function: swapping tubes for minimum noise and reasonable gain, replacing deteriorated components, and mechanical-electrical alignment.
>
> Fair sells m-BNC connectors that have had the coax cut off short... for something like $3.50. I have bought some and made nifty BNC-to-mBNC 6 inch adapter cables to feed signals into the IF deck. They have been invaluable in alignments and assessing stage gains.
>
> Chuck Rippel's mod of the precision ten-turn 100 ohm pot makes adjustment of the Line Level meter real easy.
>
> As Gene says, jump in and get started, or you will miss all the fun.
>
> W. Li
> Mercer Island, WA
>  
>
>
>       
> ______________________________________________________________
> R-390 mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/r-390
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:R-390 at mailman.qth.net
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>
>   

______________________________________________________________
R-390 mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/r-390
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:R-390 at mailman.qth.net

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html