On 17 Mar 2005 18:09:44 -0800, wrote:

What does being tube or transistor really have to do with how good the
reception of a receiver will be anyway? Nothing, as far as I know.

Nothing really...There are good and bad of both types...
The real deal in hearing something like that is selectivity.
And unfortunately, that usually means more $$$$ for the radio..
Balderdash!

http://www.broadcasting-history.ca/e...ceiver_lrg.jpg

''Probably the most revered receiver from the 1950s and 60s was, and
still is, the Collins-designed R390A/URR. Made by several
manufacturers under contract to the U.S. military, this radio was once
considered "Top Secret" because of its exceptional performance.

Many serious broadcast DXers managed to get their hands on the famed
R390, and the receiver is revered by many as superior to the
solid-state radios produced today. Hundreds of them have been restored
and maintained, and occupy prominent places in the homes of DXers all
over the world.''

''A personal experience which speaks volumes about the performance of
a properly working R390A happened only a few years back. A group of
some of the "heavy hitters" in the SWBC DX community, myself included
went on a DX'pedition to Cape Hatteras, NC. Known for its incredible
radio conditions as early as 1902, Cape Hatteras was the scene of some
of the early research done by radio pioneer, R.A. Fessenden. Today,
this remote location is a top choice for Medium and Shortwave
Broadcast DX'ers.

Quite an array of receivers had been brought along including a Drake
R8 and R8A. A pair of Watkins-Johnson HF-1000's, an R388, R390A and a
JRC NRD-535. It was a particularly good morning with extraordinarily
quiet conditions and a strong opening into the Pacific and Asia.
Around 1130 UTC I checked 3304.8 for the Radio Republic Indonesia
outlet in Dili, once Portuguese Timor. Although it had not been
reliably logged since the late 70's, it was there that morning weakly,
just a het in the R8A.

Everyone quickly tuned to the frequency determined not to miss the
opportunity to log such a rare station. However, even the $4,000
Watkins-Johnson receivers could not extract more that a few words of
copy. Our R390A was equipped with a Sherwood SE-3 synchronous detector
and I quickly tuned to 3304.8.

The R390A and Sherwood SE-3 extracted recordable audio from that
signal when no other receiver we had could. That put the receiver in a
whole new category not only for me but the others in attendance.

Of the R390A's I own, 3 are capable of sensitivity performances in the
..07-.08uv for 10db S/N + N using the 4 kc filter and standard AM
detection. I know of few receivers available today at any price able
to duplicate of that level of performance''

http://www.r390a.com/html/history.htm