Why didn't the use of tubes help those models?
MK

Dynamic range. Overload immunity. ...........

Because of tubes? I dunno...All of my radios have
good enough dynamic range, and none overload...Tube,
or solid state...That doesn't tell me too much...
Only cheaper radios have poor dynamic range, and
overload...:/
But, we ain't talking about R-390's. We are talking
about tubes themselves vs solid state..
I'm still waiting to hear why the use of tubes
didn't help some radios to avoid being pieces of junk...
If tubes themselves are so great, *all* tube radios
should be about on the level of a R-390. But they ain't...
Not by a long shot. The old collins/R390's, etc, etc,
and the collins A and S amateur line, and the older 4 line
drakes are about the only tube radios that I still consider
worth using. All the rest are basically junk, for
my needs. I'm sure this will attract flames 0-plenty,
but I'm picky. I demand *very* good stability.
The collins and drakes basically used the same type
of circuitry. A collins or drake is just as stable
at 30 mc as it is at 3 mc. And the readout scale is
the same also..You can't say that for many other
old tube rigs. I can think of a few that are best
used as doorstops...Unstable at higher freq's,
and drifty as a Chicago snowstorm.
Both my kenwood and icoms can be turned on dead cold,
and never need to be retuned to clarify a SSB signal.
Ever. I can sit on freq for weeks at a time,
and never have to touch up my tuning..."Sure, they
may microdrift with temp changes, but it's never enough
to notice by ear" Most tube rigs can't do that.
I know my drakes can't. They can come close, but after
about a day, you will usually need to touch up the
tuning a tad. I don't know how a R-390 fares
in this regard, but if it's *rock* stable, it's the tube
exception to the rule. And if it is, it's probably cuz
it has a xtal oven, etc...Not cuz it uses tubes...
I won't mention that most of my tube gear needed annual
alignment tweaks and tube checks/changes to keep 100%
up to par.
My solid state rigs never change...Don't have to be fussed
with every few months, if you leave them on all the time
like I did/do. I still like tube radios, and still have a few,
but I'm not blind to reality...There are not many tube radios
that are up to R-390 standards. Tubes look warm, and may add
slightly to the BTU rating of the heating system in the
winter, but they ain't the magic answer to SW-MW nirvana...
Heck, I hardly use mine anymore..Overall, I find them inferior
for *everyday* use. IE: readout resolution, stability, tuning
rates, memories, heck , I could go for days...
The R-390 is a great radio, but not all tube radios can
claim to be R-390's.....Quite possibly none can. The collins
and drake ham radios are fairly close though. But neither of
those were cheap radios when they were built either.
MK