[R-390] Motorola vs EAC

[Cecil Acuff]

My vote on the panel was just in case it had to be refurbished.  Certainly 
no performance gains either way..

Cecil...
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <Flowertime01 at wmconnect.com>
To: <R-390 at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Saturday, March 27, 2010 5:10 PM
Subject: Re: [R-390] Motorola vs EAC


> 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
> </HTML>
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