[R-390] Crystals

[Tisha Hayes]

The "cant get that any more" about crystals is a little humorous. I heard
that at a hamfest from a guy who was very bitterly complaining that he
cannot order FT-243 crystals.

Now of that, no, you probably cannot get newly made FT-243 crystals but if
you are going to be passionate about using those rocks in a radio then you
should also know that you can pull out the crystal wafer and either lap it
down by hand or move the frequency slightly lower by increasing the mass on
the crystal wafer with pencil writing.

I probably have 200-300 FT-243 crystals stored in rows by rows in cardboard
boxes. Maybe when I retire (in 15 years) I will resort to hand grinding the
crystals for custom orders and charge $30 each for them.

With the availability of so many scrapped and scavenged R-390A's on the
auction sites you might need to pay $100 to buy an RF deck with the
crystals intact. Those socket mounted ones for the calibrator that are in
the back corner may be a bit harder to find.

Often it seems that the complaints about something being available is
either related to a call to a manufacturer when they say "do you make
crystals for the R-390A?" Well, their answer is going to be no. You are
asking someone to do the leg-work for you to dig up the crystal specs so
they can sell you one crystal (or two or three). There just is not enough
margin in it for the inside sales-person to go on a hunt for you. When you
call, know exactly what they are going to ask and have it ready. Your
success rate will go way up.

-- 
Ms. Tisha Hayes. AA4HA

*""It is not because things are difficult that we dare not venture. It is
because we dare not venture that they are difficult." -Seneca"*