Collins R389 RXCVR??

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W1ATR:
Id say off it. If you were a purist and you were going to rack it up with a nice R390a, and top that off with an impossible to find CV157, then keep it. I see one of those 389's went by on fleabay last month with 25 bids getting it up to $3500.00. 

AB3L:
Here is a guide for you:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Collins-R-389-URR-Signal-Corps-Tube-Ham-Radio-Receiver-military-army-/321004421861?pt=US_Ham_Radio_Receivers&hash=item4abd5ac2e5

The $3500. one was totally restored, the one in the link is looking a little ruff but still fetching some money

Todd, KA1KAQ:
Quote from: AB3L on November 05, 2012, 07:33:22 AM

Here is a guide for you:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Collins-R-389-URR-Signal-Corps-Tube-Ham-Radio-Receiver-military-army-/321004421861?pt=US_Ham_Radio_Receivers&hash=item4abd5ac2e5


Wow, that's the most I've seen one bring in a few years. And it didn't even have the meters. Several in better/complete condition have gone for under a kilobuck recently. Well under.

To the original question, it's a great but very limited or 'specialized' receiver. It's the kind of receiver most wouldn't seek out for a lot of money, but you'd be happy as all hell to have available if picked up cheap or given to you by a friend. Typical mil spec R-390 quality & construction with performance to match. But as you noted, there's not a whole lot of utility to be had and a whole lot of dead air to be found.

The big prices are paid by the 'gotta have one' collectors, and if yours is complete with meters and in decent shape, I have no doubt you could find someone to take it off your hands for more money than you paid for it. Unless you paid a lot, of course.  ;)

KR4WI:
Thank You for responding, I would like to keep it and put a converter with it like Rick was saying.
But, I dont know how to build one, and cant find any information on the www so far.. I would like to
listen to 3.885, and 7.290 etc with it....Use it as my am rx ham bands...Thank You Again for responding.
Matthew KR4WI

W3RSW:
Matthew,
Go to a hamfest or check online and get any 1950's or even '60's year ARRL ".Radio Amateurs Handbook."

Single stage 6BE6 converters and more complex circuits are explained as well as some of the advertisements in the back of the book showing commercial converters for use in AM broadcast band car radios of the era.  Some of these converters come up on Ebay occasionally.  Some output the ham bands into one frequency "on your AM radio dial,"  some output a varible frequency, tunable by the AM radio.  Later editions have transistorized models.

At random, I picked the 1963 edition and found on page 47 of the ad's a Gonset Super 12 six band converter, 10 thru 80 plus 19 and 49 meter SW.  It needs 12 volts, negative ground, which is close to what your ham shack these days has indoors as well as in your car.   

Arrow Electronics on page 69, ad section, showed an Ameco "CMA, All Band" converter covering 2 through 160 meters. Shortwave band version also sold.

Good luck; here's hoping your R389 is your ticket to lots of fun and learning.

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