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All I want for Christmas is an R-390
This gives someone plenty of time to find one.. :) Course, it will have to
be shipped in pieces because of the weight limits. :) Take care, all, and stay well. -- Illigitimus non tatum carborundum *Don't let the *******s wear you down* |
They can be shipped by truck. Nothing else like having a semi-truck pull up in
front of the house and knowing your new receiver has arrived ! jw wb9uai |
Brenda Ann wrote:
This gives someone plenty of time to find one.. :) Course, it will have to be shipped in pieces because of the weight limits. :) Take care, all, and stay well. Brenda: I want one too! Does it weigh more than an SX-28? -- Brian Denley http://home.comcast.net/~b.denley/index.html |
"Burr" wrote in message nk.net... So what do they cost? Burr If one can be found, most likely as much as, and maybe more, than your 650 is worth. BTW.. I'm gaining ground on that. Everything but the mode switch and speaker switch seems to be working pretty well. I'll keep my fingers crossed that they will stay that way. I see from a couple little spots that this poor thing has had some rough handling sometime during it's lifetime. Hope all is well.. |
"Brenda Ann" wrote in
: This gives someone plenty of time to find one.. :) Course, it will have to be shipped in pieces because of the weight limits. Fair Radio Sales sells them by the armloads, and gets them shipped somehow. |
"donutbandit" wrote in message ... "Brenda Ann" wrote in : This gives someone plenty of time to find one.. :) Course, it will have to be shipped in pieces because of the weight limits. Fair Radio Sales sells them by the armloads, and gets them shipped somehow. Yep, they can freight them, or pay the extra to have UPS or FedEx take them as over weight. I don't have those options, ergo would have to have it shipped in pieces (thankfully, they do come apart into recognizable modules). |
Brenda Ann
Actually, The trick is to remove the power supply module and ship them seperately. There is even someone who sells crates especially for the R390/R390A. I am fortunate in that I have both models and love them. They do kinda spoil you for other radios tho. ;-}} Try the R390 List on qth.net. You will find everything you need to know and then some. 73 Chuck Brenda Ann wrote: "donutbandit" wrote in message ... "Brenda Ann" wrote in : This gives someone plenty of time to find one.. :) Course, it will have to be shipped in pieces because of the weight limits. Fair Radio Sales sells them by the armloads, and gets them shipped somehow. Yep, they can freight them, or pay the extra to have UPS or FedEx take them as over weight. I don't have those options, ergo would have to have it shipped in pieces (thankfully, they do come apart into recognizable modules). |
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You got a boat, Brenda Ann? R-390 will anchor it even in strong
winds!....(c; On Mon, 8 Mar 2004 12:54:57 +0900, "Brenda Ann" wrote: This gives someone plenty of time to find one.. :) Course, it will have to be shipped in pieces because of the weight limits. :) Take care, all, and stay well. -- Illigitimus non tatum carborundum *Don't let the *******s wear you down* Larry W4CSC POWER is our friend! |
Unless you are a truly hard-core DXer with tube electronics
maintenance skills and equipment, you are asking for trouble. The things are difficult to tune, require annual tweaks, use parts no longer made, burn copious amounts of electricity and will ruin any piece of furniture you put them on top of. On Mon, 8 Mar 2004 12:54:57 +0900, "Brenda Ann" wrote: This gives someone plenty of time to find one.. :) Course, it will have to be shipped in pieces because of the weight limits. :) Take care, all, and stay well. |
Sounds like a "keeper" to me!
"David" wrote in message ... Unless you are a truly hard-core DXer with tube electronics maintenance skills and equipment, you are asking for trouble. The things are difficult to tune, require annual tweaks, use parts no longer made, burn copious amounts of electricity and will ruin any piece of furniture you put them on top of. On Mon, 8 Mar 2004 12:54:57 +0900, "Brenda Ann" wrote: This gives someone plenty of time to find one.. :) Course, it will have to be shipped in pieces because of the weight limits. :) Take care, all, and stay well. |
How
could anyone even compare any Collins design/product with a portable? I am outraged. This is absurd. The audio reproduction and flexibility of having so many controls is nothing remotely available on ANY receiver I encountered in solid state receivers (commercial/milspec/consumer/amateur). |
Jim wrote:
Jim wrote: I bought them just so I could say I had owned them, and sold them both after about 6 months.**This*was*about*15*years*ago.***Every*"rad io owner/collector" should own one or the other at some point, just to see one in action.***They*are*marvels*of*mechanical*complexit y,*but*no match for even a $150 portable.***My*Radio*Shack*DX-440*is*a*better radio. When the R-390 and -390A are up to snuff, they're in that top 1 percent -- in performance -- of the world's receivers of any era.**Regrettably,*not many people today have the knowledge and inclination to bring them up to "depot" specifications.** If your radios were no better than a DX-440, they were sadly in need of repair/tube replacement/alignment.** -- John Miller, N4VU, who used to get paid to sit in front a pair of them, but likes them anyway.** Receivers, current or past: Hammarlund HQ-180A Collins R-390A RS DX-440 Sangean ATS-909 Icom IC-R75 Drake R8 |
Indeed, they are unbeatable when properly set-up. But unless you need
that extra 5% of tough signal performance, an R75, for less money, is just as competent. On Wed, 10 Mar 2004 13:10:03 GMT, John Miller wrote: Jim wrote: Jim wrote: I bought them just so I could say I had owned them, and sold them both after about 6 months.**This*was*about*15*years*ago.***Every*"rad io owner/collector" should own one or the other at some point, just to see one in action.***They*are*marvels*of*mechanical*complexit y,*but*no match for even a $150 portable.***My*Radio*Shack*DX-440*is*a*better radio. When the R-390 and -390A are up to snuff, they're in that top 1 percent -- in performance -- of the world's receivers of any era.**Regrettably,*not many people today have the knowledge and inclination to bring them up to "depot" specifications.** If your radios were no better than a DX-440, they were sadly in need of repair/tube replacement/alignment.** |
"Arthur Pozner" wrote in message ... How could anyone even compare any Collins design/product with a portable? I am outraged. This is absurd. Is it outrageous or absurd for for some people to prefer crystal stability, low power consumption, digital readout that's both precise and accurate, portability and reasonable cost? If DX-440s were available in 1955 for $250, how many would the government have bought? The audio reproduction and flexibility of having so many controls is nothing remotely available on ANY receiver I encountered in solid state receivers (commercial/milspec/consumer/amateur). Maybe because there's no market for that anymore? Anything they did 50 years ago can be done better today. But only if people want it. My SX - 62 is certainly capable of hi fi AM reproduction. Maybe even better than a Collins designed product, if such a thing is possible. And I hear shrill AM. The AM broadcasters are now preemphising the trebles and deemphisizing the bass. It wasn't long ago that most stations had their own individual sound, some better than others. Now they are processed for the lowest common denominator radio. You just can't win. I sure can't see getting outraged at anyone prefering a modern solid state radio. It's the most practical choice. Frank Dresser |
David wrote:
Indeed, they are unbeatable when properly set-up. But unless you need that extra 5% of tough signal performance, an R75, for less money, is just as competent. It really is. For everyday use, the R75 has some significant advantages over the R-390A; it's my "daily driver." -- John Miller Email address: domain, n4vu.com; username, jsm Only two of my personalities are schizophrenic, but one of them is paranoid and the other one is out to get him. |
"Arthur Pozner" wrote : About the merits of the R-390 ================================= Somebody else added in a comment about the R-390/R-390A. However, there is a *world* of difference between the R-390 and R-390A. Anyone who has owned both will know all about it. Audio quality and filtering are among the most dramatic differences. But, as long as we're talking audio .. many will also remember the Hammarlund SP-600 .. another boat anchor. It was another analog receiver, but not with the odometer-like frequency readout like the R-390 & R-390A. Instead, the SP-600 had several bands covering up to 50 MHz, but the "bandspread" dial was soooo widely indicated, that (e.g. on 60 meters) each single KHz could be indicated by about 3/8-inch on the large main tuning knob rim. Pretty derned good for a boat anchor. But,the audio .... the audio ... could not be matched by anything either then or now. And, I have owned (literally) every major performer receiver since the war (WW2). |
"Arthur Pozner" wrote in message ... | How | could anyone even compare any Collins design/product with a portable? | I am outraged. This is absurd. | The audio reproduction and flexibility of having so many controls is | nothing remotely available on ANY receiver I encountered in solid | state receivers (commercial/milspec/consumer/amateur). ---- As the poster alluded above, the R-390 was a Collins design, and they also made some. But, the R-390 was a military specification number, and it was made by several companies, including: Stewart-Warner, Motorola, Electronic Assistance Corp, as well as Collins. There were, indeed, varying points of difference in quality .. but, all of them met the 'military specs' which did not necessarily mean that was the best which the receiver could do. Military Spec was a minimal common denominator all had to meet.| |
R-390(non A) does not have the audio output power level of
SP-600. It has 0.5 W vs 2W. The LC filters in wide IF position must be very similar- 16Kc and 13Kc (slightly more in Collins). Just for fun I connected Sony 7600 to a Hi-fi stereo not long ago. Sounded pretty decent for a portable on SW (especially with the synch on). Did synchronous detectors exist in the fifties? |
How
could anyone even compare any Collins design/product with a portable? I am outraged. This is absurd. The audio reproduction and flexibility of having so many controls is nothing remotely available on ANY receiver I encountered in solid state receivers (commercial/milspec/consumer/amateur). I know. That was a silly statement to say that. It'd be like taking a knife to a gun fight. Not even a fair comparison. |
BubbaBob wrote:
Jim wrote: On Tue, 09 Mar 2004 17:22:03 GMT, David wrote: Unless you are a truly hard-core DXer with tube electronics maintenance skills and equipment, you are asking for trouble. The things are difficult to tune, require annual tweaks, use parts no longer made, burn copious amounts of electricity and will ruin any piece of furniture you put them on top of. Amen to all of that. I used to have both (390 and 390A). They are a perfect example of Rube Goldberg-ish design, the reception is nothing spectacular and the audio quality is mediocre at best. I bought them just so I could say I had owned them, and sold them both after about 6 months. This was about 15 years ago. Every "radio owner/collector" should own one or the other at some point, just to see one in action. They are marvels of mechanical complexity, but no match for even a $150 portable. My Radio Shack DX-440 is a better radio. Jim I used to repair R-392's when I was in the Army. If one is set up properly, its performance is astounding. However, I've never seen one in civilian life that was properly maintained (other than my own and the ones I set up for friends). The 392 and its sister R-390's are high maintainence items and almost no one takes the time or has the knowledge and technique to make them sing. What's the best source of information on getting the most out of these receivers? -----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =----- http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! -----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =----- |
starman wrote:
What's the best source of information on getting the most out of these receivers? A good place is the *second* link at the following URL. (The first link, Al's page, is also good. Lots of good links on both.) http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&i...A+OR+%22R-390A 22%29&btnG=Google+Search (If your mail reader splits the link into two lines, it may be necessary to cut and paste.) -- John Miller Email address: domain, n4vu.com; username, jsm I'd love to kiss you, but I just washed my hair. -Bette Davis, "Cabin in the Cotton" |
My Radio Shack DX-440 is a better radio.
Whaaa ?.... while an R-390A isn't for the "electronically challenged" it is far from a maintenance problem once properly aligned. A healthy, properly aligned R-390A should have sensitivity at 4 KHz of under .5 microvolts in AM.... and they are remarkably stable. My R-390A is still in perfect tune and it's been up and running 24/7 (except during storms) for 2 years now. The R-390 series is NOT a difficult radio to work on... especially compared to some solid state radios of late with their surface mount components. What's the best source of information on getting the most out of these First, there are a few R-390/R-390A gurus out there. The "Grand Master" Rick Mish (Toledo,OH) http://www.dxing.com/r390/mish.htm Chuck Ripple (Myock, NC) http://www.r390a.com Walter Wilson (Augusta,GA) http://r-390a.us/ Excellent info available here too: http://r-390a.net/ http://www.r-390a.net/Pearls/ The R-390 / R-390A receivers are arguablly one of the finest HF receivers ever built. I have used them both as a hobbiest and professional.... along with Racal, Harris, Watkins-Johnson, Cubic and other receivers. The military went so far as to call several hundred out of mothballs in 1991/92 for use. What other military receiver can you name that has been manufactured from 1951 through 1986 ? BTW.... check out the links on my web page to my R-390A listening post..... "X2" all the way baby ! Mike -- Michael Melland, W9WIS Winneconne, WI USA http://webpages.charter.net/w9wis |
Michael Melland wrote in message ... My Radio Shack DX-440 is a better radio. Whaaa ?.... while an R-390A isn't for the "electronically challenged" it is far from a maintenance problem once properly aligned. A healthy, properly aligned R-390A should have sensitivity at 4 KHz of under .5 microvolts in AM.... and they are remarkably stable. My R-390A is still in perfect tune and it's been up and running 24/7 (except during storms) for 2 years now. The R-390 series is NOT a difficult radio to work on... especially compared to some solid state radios of late with their surface mount components. What's the best source of information on getting the most out of these First, there are a few R-390/R-390A gurus out there. The "Grand Master" Rick Mish (Toledo,OH) http://www.dxing.com/r390/mish.htm Chuck Ripple (Myock, NC) http://www.r390a.com Walter Wilson (Augusta,GA) http://r-390a.us/ Excellent info available here too: http://r-390a.net/ http://www.r-390a.net/Pearls/ The R-390 / R-390A receivers are arguablly one of the finest HF receivers ever built. I have used them both as a hobbiest and professional.... along with Racal, Harris, Watkins-Johnson, Cubic and other receivers. The military went so far as to call several hundred out of mothballs in 1991/92 for use. What other military receiver can you name that has been manufactured from 1951 through 1986 ? BTW.... check out the links on my web page to my R-390A listening post..... "X2" all the way baby ! Mike -- Michael Melland, W9WIS Winneconne, WI USA http://webpages.charter.net/w9wis SO... now I have to ask... again... Was it five years back that there was a big flap at the Pentagon? Some hams raised a big noise about all those 390's, 390a's and assorted Collins gear that was being destroyed---even had photographs on the web of hundreds of those rigs strapped together on pallets in the salvage yards waiting to be crushed. Some fellow, Top Brass, was also a ham and said that gear was going to turned over to the ham community instead of being destroyed. What happened to all that stuff? I have yet to see it on the shelves of surplus dealers. Maybe it made it's way to Russia or China perhaps. RG |
RadioGuy wrote:
SO... now I have to ask... again... Was it five years back that there was a big flap at the Pentagon? Some hams raised a big noise about all those 390's, 390a's and assorted Collins gear that was being destroyed---even had photographs on the web of hundreds of those rigs strapped together on pallets in the salvage yards waiting to be crushed. Some fellow, Top Brass, was also a ham and said that gear was going to turned over to the ham community instead of being destroyed. What happened to all that stuff? I have yet to see it on the shelves of surplus dealers. Maybe it made it's way to Russia or China perhaps. Naah... http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&l...-1&safe=off&q= 28R390A+OR+%22R-390A%22%29+%22fair+radio%22&btnG=Google+Search -- John Miller Email address: domain, n4vu.com; username, jsm A memorandum is written not to inform the reader, but to protect the writer. -Dean Acheson |
That was the St Julian's Creek Massacre.
Many of the radios ended up at Fair Radio. They were distinguishable by a broad blue paint stripe down the front.... and lots of sand and debris inside from being stored outside in a heap for over a year. Mike, W9WIS |
"Michael Melland" wrote in message ... That was the St Julian's Creek Massacre. Many of the radios ended up at Fair Radio. They were distinguishable by a broad blue paint stripe down the front.... and lots of sand and debris inside from being stored outside in a heap for over a year. Mike, W9WIS Here's the pictu http://www.r390a.com/html/radio_rape.html Frank Dresser |
J999w wrote:
They can be shipped by truck. Nothing else like having a semi-truck pull up in front of the house and knowing your new receiver has arrived ! jw wb9uai It's also possible to ship it by bus, like Trailways. This is one of the safest ways to ship heavy/fragile equipment. -----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =----- http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! -----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =----- |
Thanks, Frank, for the link. Sad.
The R390A/URR Ultimate Performance, General Coverage AM & CW Receiver It works fine for SSB, too. In 1960, during a sea trial on the USS Little Rock as a Philco Tech Rep, I used one to run phone patches. The rig was a 1500 watt TMC vfo phasing rig. (It had an 8 Hz frequency variation due to the vibration on the variable capacitor caused by a bent propeller shaft. LOL) I had such great luck with the stock R390A (in the main transmitter room) and the Navy guys in Radio Central were having so much trouble with the TMC ssb adapters they had down there, they started using the 390's without the adapters as I suggested. G Bill, K5BY |
"WShoots1" wrote in message ... Thanks, Frank, for the link. Sad. I suppose that's how the government treats much of it's oblselete surplus. Not as something which will be useful and valueable to someone else, but as scrap. Anyway, the picture was taken years ago, and it seems Fair Radio ended up with many of these radios. I was seriously considering getting a R-390 a few years ago. I have some test equipment, and the servicing documentation is excellent. I figured I could get it going very nicely. I didn't. Hobby money's a little tight now, and I really don't have the space. Oh, well. Other radios are more practical, but few are so cool. Frank Dresser |
Frank D.: Other radios are more practical, but few are so cool.
My late wife, Ruby, N5GIN, was more interested in ham radio when the radios looked like real radios instead of kitchen appliances. She would have appreciated that say, "Real radios glow in the dark." I always wanted a JRC shipboard station. It was neat. It was clean looking yet it looked business like. And it had everything. Retuning the HF transmitter for the ham bands would have been no problem. The European made 400 watt ssb stations were really super. Those were nice little packages. I know that people like Fair Radio would come along and buy a complete inventory of surplus stuff at pennies a pound. I guess that was more efficient for the Government. 73, Bill, K5BY |
WShoots1 wrote:
I know that people like Fair Radio would come along and buy a complete inventory of surplus stuff at pennies a pound. I guess that was more efficient for the Government. On balance, we should probably be very thankful that they (people like Fair Radio) did. -- John Miller Email address: domain, n4vu.com; username, jsm A straw vote only shows which way the hot air blows. -O'Henry |
"WShoots1" wrote in message ... Frank D.: Other radios are more practical, but few are so cool. My late wife, Ruby, N5GIN, was more interested in ham radio when the radios looked like real radios instead of kitchen appliances. She would have appreciated that say, "Real radios glow in the dark." Alot of Hallicrafters radios just looked impressive. The SX 99 isn't a great radio, but it has two big semi-circular dials, sort of like a mid 50s Chevrolet, and thirteen knobs and switches on the front panel and everyone of them does something. And behind the facade, it seems like each of these radios has at least one example of "ten cent engineering". I'm not using the term "ten cent engineering" in a disparaging way. There's another saying: "A good engineer can do for a dime what any damn fool can do for a dollar" I always wanted a JRC shipboard station. It was neat. It was clean looking yet it looked business like. And it had everything. Retuning the HF transmitter for the ham bands would have been no problem. The European made 400 watt ssb stations were really super. Those were nice little packages. I know that people like Fair Radio would come along and buy a complete inventory of surplus stuff at pennies a pound. I guess that was more efficient for the Government. 73, Bill, K5BY Yeah, the government auctions off it's surplus, so I suppose we all had the same chance to get a pallet of weatherbeaten radios. I have no idea what percentage of the radios were salvageable. It's a good thing for everybody there's somebody like Fair to take the chance. Besides, I like dealing with Fair, even though I've never bought a big ticket item from them. It looks like the government now has a contractor to handle some auctions on the internet: http://www.govliquidation.com/ There's some trucks, like a few Kaiser Jeeps and a Studebaker Packard: http://www.govliquidation.com/list/e1020?tid=GLSPPR0175 Frank Dresser |
John: On balance, we should probably be very thankful that they (people like
Fair Radio) did. You're right about that.In the past, I'd had stations of all military surplus, stations of a caliber that I couldn't have afforded otherwise. Bill, K5BY |
WShoots1 wrote in message ... Frank D.: Other radios are more practical, but few are so cool. My late wife, Ruby, N5GIN, was more interested in ham radio when the radios looked like real radios instead of kitchen appliances. She would have appreciated that say, "Real radios glow in the dark." I always wanted a JRC shipboard station. It was neat. It was clean looking yet it looked business like. And it had everything. Retuning the HF transmitter for the ham bands would have been no problem. The European made 400 watt ssb stations were really super. Those were nice little packages. I know that people like Fair Radio would come along and buy a complete inventory of surplus stuff at pennies a pound. I guess that was more efficient for the Government. 73, Bill, K5BY That raises a question I've been asking for awhile... As the Telecommunications Act of 1996 ended the 500 kHz distress and safety watch what has happened to all the shipboard radio gear? I would assume there would be hundreds of Mackay consoles dumped onto the surplus market yet I have only seen one MRU-35A and a couple of receivers in civilian hands. Besides... I would like to get my hands on one of those Chelsea radioroom clocks---even though they kept bad time. RG |
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