[R-390] Comparing R390A w/Period Devices

[Doug Hensley]

Thanks Bob.  Before all the leg-pulling & non-sense started, a post was

curious about period alternatives to the R390A.  That is a natural question

as most period alternatives (e.g. RA-17, CRM-R6A, 51J4, etc.) can be operated

for hours on end without fatigue whereas the R390A cannot.


Given the unpleasant and tiring wrist movements necessary to operating

the R390 or R390A over a period of time, it seemed a good question to me.


I used both the R390 & R390A in the Navy for a long time, at sea and ashore.

I was not the only ham on most ships but I never saw anyone tuning or wanting

to tune the R390A after hours.  One ET I knew used to use an AN/URC-32A in the

transmitter room for SWL'ing.  On one ship (USS Cochrane, DDG-21 often seen

on old reruns of Hawaii Five-0), we had, in addition to the R390A's, two National

monsters called the SRR-19 and its large HF variant.  Clumsy, awkward layout and

control design but always used before the R390a's with the exception of in port

after hours listening to local broadcast band (AM station).


The R390A works well in its military environment and mission but is a poor choice

for a ham radio or SWL set.  YMMV.


Cheers & thanks for your email,


Doug W5JV








________________________________
From: Bob kb8tq <kb8tq at n1k.org>
Sent: Tuesday, January 9, 2018 7:56 PM
To: Doug Hensley
Cc: r-390 at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [R-390] Comparing R390A w/Period Devices

Hi

Consider that the R-390A contracts overlapped for a lot of years with things like
the R-1051 and a whole series of similar US radios. As mentioned in another post
the EK-07 overlapped with it almost from the start. The Russians also had their answer(s)
to the EK-07 style radios. The 390A stayed in production for a *long* time. There were
a *lot* of things it might get compared directly to.

Bob

> On Jan 9, 2018, at 5:13 PM, Doug Hensley <w5jv at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> Could someone compare:
>
>
> R390A with RA-17.... with 51J4 .... with Radiomarine CRM-R6A ... ??
>
>
> Thanks,
>
>
> Doug W5JV
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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