[R-390] Interesting R390A

[chacuff]

I've done all of the above...(oops below)....

You think the R390 series gives you wrist problems...try an R-1051 with it's 
decade frequency tuning...

The early version is the most repairable of the series...all descreet 
components.  Starting with the B models there were IC's that are now 
unobtanium....strange how we can buy tubes from 100 years ago still at 
reasonable prices but some IC's seem to have left the planet.

Of course the earler models were the oldest and probably the most used of 
the surplused radio's but for reasons mentioned above was my first choice of 
a keeper if you can find a clean one.

The positive things about the R1051:

Very stable...set it on a frequency once the thing warms up and it won't 
move for weeks....

Great SSB radio...much better than the R-390 series...

Would do sideband diversity receive for great ECSS reception of AM with two 
IF strips and two audio amps.  Set it on a SW station...zero beat the 
carrier with it in DSB, hook up a speaker to each audio out and selective 
fading was greatly reduced...and it was locked on due to it's stability.

The Down side:

You can't work on the thing unless you have a handful of extender cables and 
the manual and a box of spare modules.

Modules from the "Plain" and the later models are not all interchangeable.

The beast is as much a mechanical nighmare as it is electronic.  Actually I 
saw about as many problems with the mechanical parts of the RF deck as I did 
electrical/electronic problems with the Frequency Standard...and the Six 
Pack module has both mixed together.

If one is determined to learn to fix them it is doable...I've been down that 
road and after 6 or 7 years there wasn't enough demand to keep all the stuff 
needed to service them so I sold it all(read gave it away) and moved to my 
pile of R-390's and SP-600s.  Much more fun to work on and to listen to.

Cecil
K5DL
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Randy and Sherry Guttery" <comcents at bellsouth.net>
To: "R-390-List" <R-390 at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Friday, April 27, 2012 1:41 PM
Subject: Re: [R-390] Interesting R390A


> Why replace a 1051?   Don't know - but I can make some
> semi-intelligent "guesses"...
> 1) ever try doing any SWL'ing on a 1051?
> 2) ever repair one of the "early" versions of the 1051?
> 3) the earliest 1051s had some serious reliability issues -
> eventually resolved... true - but some people just didn't
> "like" them - and any excuse was good enough.
>
> again - just my .02 - and probably not worth that...
>
> -- 
> randy guttery
>
> A Tender Tale - a page dedicated to those Ships and Crews
> so vital to the United States Silent Service:
> http://tendertale.com
>
>
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