[R-390] Motorola vs EAC

[Flowertime01 at wmconnect.com]

Ben,

I think the etching on the panel has little or no impact on receiver 
performance.
If you are thinking of the item as an investment, I suggest other items 
that have longer and proven better long term return on investment.

Consider the mechanical aspects of the gear train and how smooth or how 
much it grinds as being more important than the existing paint job if any. 
Having meters with the correct performance and dial scales is also useful. How 
bad or good or adjustable is the VFO spread? How good or bad is the output of 
each of the crystals?  What if any of the original caps are suspect? If the 
caps have been replaced, how good or bad was the workmanship?

What does the wire harness look like? Is the shielded conductor jacks all 
corroded? Is the insulation getting very brittle because it has been exposed 
to poor choices of cleaning solutions? Are the tube sockets and connectors 
reasonable corrosion free on the contact surfaces?

How does the band switch wafers look? How much surface area makes contact 
on each wafer section at each switch position?

Do you buy an auto on paint job or engine performance?

Motorola as a manufacture is renowned for its quality. EAC won the last 
contact as the low bid.

The EAC are certainly the last production runs and thus newer than the 
Motorola's. The EAC's are though to be free of the nasty black beauties.
The EAC's being younger are thus likely to have mechanical filters that 
being young will last more years.
The EAC meters are likely to last longer like the filters just being 
younger have more years of life left.

I will give $50.00 credit to an original name plate tag. 

The rest of the performance difference between receivers can be corrected 
by lots of hard work selecting the best parts and getting them installed with 
skill. Better quality caps and resistors make a difference. Selecting good 
tubes just takes time and after 4,000 hours or so of use you have to start 
that process all over again any ways.

Just my thoughts, that may or may not have any validity in or out of this 
reality.

Roger 
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