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Author Topic: R-390A Built from Modules  (Read 8645 times)
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David, K3TUE
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« on: September 12, 2005, 11:30:29 PM »

I have noticed that poeple seem to be parting out R-390A's into modules on e*ay.  While I suspect that this would be a good way to get into one slowly over time by building it from pieces like this, I suspect there would be pitfalls:
1) It almost certainly would cost you more in the end for the.
2) How would you know if the module you just bought works?
3) Are there some pieces that just never come up for sale which would make the exercise a waste of money?

Because of it's complexity, would this just be asking for trouble?  People buy basket-cases all the time.  And sometimes I even hear success stories (sometimes).

Opinions?

PS: I was thinking something similar for an SP-600-JX.  But they seem less modular than the R-390A and I suspect this would be even harder to pull off.

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David, K3TUE
Steve - WB3HUZ
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« Reply #1 on: September 12, 2005, 11:56:23 PM »

Reminds me of the old Johnny Cash song.

One Piece at a Time

Well, I left Kentucky back in '49
An' went to Detroit workin' on a 'sembly line
The first year they had me puttin' wheels on cadillacs

Every day I'd watch them beauties roll by
And sometimes I'd hang my head and cry
'Cause I always wanted me one that was long and black.

One day I devised myself a plan
That should be the envy of most any man
I'd sneak it out of there in a lunchbox in my hand
Now gettin' caught meant gettin' fired
But I figured I'd have it all by the time I retired
I'd have me a car worth at least a hundred grand.

CHORUS
I'd get it one piece at a time
And it wouldn't cost me a dime
You'll know it's me when I come through your town
I'm gonna ride around in style
I'm gonna drive everybody wild
'Cause I'll have the only one there is a round.

So the very next day when I punched in
With my big lunchbox and with help from my friends
I left that day with a lunch box full of gears
Now, I never considered myself a thief
GM wouldn't miss just one little piece
Especially if I strung it out over several years.

The first day I got me a fuel pump
And the next day I got me an engine and a trunk
Then I got me a transmission and all of the chrome
The little things I could get in my big lunchbox
Like nuts, an' bolts, and all four shocks
But the big stuff we snuck out in my buddy's mobile home.

Now, up to now my plan went all right
'Til we tried to put it all together one night
And that's when we noticed that something was definitely wrong.

The transmission was a '53
And the motor turned out to be a '73
And when we tried to put in the bolts all the holes were gone.

So we drilled it out so that it would fit
And with a little bit of help with an A-daptor kit
We had that engine runnin' just like a song
Now the headlight' was another sight
We had two on the left and one on the right
But when we pulled out the switch all three of 'em come on.

The back end looked kinda funny too
But we put it together and when we got thru
Well, that's when we noticed that we only had one tail-fin
About that time my wife walked out
And I could see in her eyes that she had her doubts
But she opened the door and said "Honey, take me for a spin."

So we drove up town just to get the tags
And I headed her right on down main drag
I could hear everybody laughin' for blocks around
But up there at the court house they didn't laugh
'Cause to type it up it took the whole staff
And when they got through the title weighed sixty pounds.

CHORUS
I got it one piece at a time
And it didn't cost me a dime
You'll know it's me when I come through your town
I'm gonna ride around in style
I'm gonna drive everybody wild
'Cause I'll have the only one there is around.

(Spoken) Ugh! Yow, RED RYDER
This is the COTTON MOUTH
In the PSYCHO-BILLY CADILLAC Come on

Huh, This is the COTTON MOUTH
And negatory on the cost of this mow-chine there RED RYDER
You might say I went right up to the factory
And picked it up, it's cheaper that way
Ugh!, what model is it?

Well, It's a '49, '50, '51, '52, '53, '54, '55, '56
'57, '58' 59' automobile
It's a '60, '61, '62, '63, '64, '65, '66, '67
'68, '69, '70 automobile.

-- W. Kemp
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k4kyv
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Don
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« Reply #2 on: September 13, 2005, 12:41:15 AM »

Remember that article in Queer Street Times sometime ago about the guy who worked at Collins and built his own 75A4 from parts he brought home from work one at a time?
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Don, K4KYV                                       AMI#5
Licensed since 1959 and not happy to be back on AM...    Never got off AM in the first place.

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w3jn
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« Reply #3 on: September 13, 2005, 07:11:22 AM »

I suspect these are being sold by some dumb hammy hambone who (a) thinks he can get more for the radio piecemeal and/or (b) the radio is dead and he hasn't the smarts to fix it.  And the modules are probably being bought be people who want spare modules and/or can't be bothered to fix the modules they have.  Once in a while you come across an R-390A that has a missing module, but that's been fairly seldom until these guys started hawking them on eBay.
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WA1GFZ
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« Reply #4 on: September 13, 2005, 08:56:15 AM »

I was going to hot rod an R390A until I got Racal. Spares would allow you to do one at a time and test it against the stock unit. Spare crystals and mechanical parts would be as good as spare tubes for this fine RX.
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Glenn NY4NC
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« Reply #5 on: September 13, 2005, 09:50:34 AM »

This seems to be a recent trend on E-bay, and not just R-390's... Some "questionable" sellers try to get more for a radio by parting it out. Unfortunately many are in working condition when the butcher goes to work. Not just vintage gear, I've seen auctions for parted-out Icom Yaesu and Kenwood also.

I sold all my R-390A's, had four at one time. I would not recommend building one from parts. A better approach would be to find a non-working unit or one that needs TLC. Two of my four R-390A's were from the famous Julian Creek massacre. For those unaware, there were several hundred R-390A's that sat outdoors on pallets at a Naval base in Virginia for two years exposed to the rain sun and snow before they were sold to various surplus dealers. One of those dealers recovered a school bus full of them. One fall day the XYL and I drove out to Ottsville PA and pawed through the school bus full of sad looking R390A's, picked out two ok looking receivers, got them home, hooked one up to a speaker, antenna, switched it on and low and behold it was working!!!  Shocked Shocked Shocked... Of course they both needed a complete tear down restoration, but there is something to be said for a radio that still works after being left outdoors in the rain and snow for two years!!  Tongue

I took some photo's that day.... I'll see if I can locate them and post some here...


I suspect these are being sold by some dumb hammy hambone who (a) thinks he can get more for the radio piecemeal and/or (b) the radio is dead and he hasn't the smarts to fix it.  And the modules are probably being bought be people who want spare modules and/or can't be bothered to fix the modules they have.  Once in a while you come across an R-390A that has a missing module, but that's been fairly seldom until these guys started hawking them on eBay.
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WV Hoopie
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« Reply #6 on: September 13, 2005, 11:55:37 AM »

I have noticed that poeple seem to be parting out R-390A's into modules on e*ay.  While I suspect that this would be a good way to get into one slowly over time by building it from pieces like this, I suspect there would be pitfalls:
1) It almost certainly would cost you more in the end for the.

Anything on the e-place will cost you more!

2) How would you know if the module you just bought works?

Would need a working R-390A to plug it into, most purchase the modules for spare parts.

3) Are there some pieces that just never come up for sale which would make the exercise a waste of money?

Yes!

Because of it's complexity, would this just be asking for trouble?  People buy basket-cases all the time.  And sometimes I even hear success stories (sometimes).

Opinions?

Don't get in a rush and gotta have it now. Look around local, ask on some of the 2mt repeaters, etc. There is an e-mail relflector just for the R-390s, I've seen several given away to newbees, not for resale on the e-place. Found mine (this March) for under $300, a complete Motorola 1956 vintage. Not a museum piece, took lots of time, about $30 of caps, and had to search for a IF can (slug stuck/cracked).

Downloaded the Y2K manual, needed a sig-gen to align the IF section, VTVM (or cheap analog Radio Shack will do)  for measuments/alignment. 

Good project for the rainy season in Oregon, keeps an old man on his feet and away from the frig/beer.

Gud luck
Hoopie,

PS: I was thinking something similar for an SP-600-JX.  But they seem less modular than the R-390A and I suspect this would be even harder to pull off.


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K1JJ
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« Reply #7 on: September 13, 2005, 02:08:04 PM »

If there's one thing I learned that works in radio, then that's patience to wait and look for that great deal.  The whirl is filled with deals, but the more obscure they are, the less you pay. You pay instead in effort finding them.

If one has the drive to diligently look for a particular item or part, axe his friends [network] and keep checking the ham ads, and putting out "wanted" ads, he will usually get what he needs. [You can't always get what you want... Grin]

Instead of doing it the hard way module by module, I know there are lots of complete R-390 sleepers out there waiting to be scoffed up. I see it happen often at Hosstraders where there's two or three [beat looking, but complete and restorable] 390's going for $75-150.  And, many sit all day without takers. Small market at the fleas. BIG market on eBay with big competition.

For example, I've been looking for a special 12' mast for almost 6 months. A strapper, considering it must be seamless, 2.5" diameter and 1/4" wall.  I could pay $300+ for it retail and have it instantly. But, I've been axing all the scrap yards to watch for one, but no luck all summer. Then, last week I was poking around in an obscure yard looking for some aluminum. There, under a pile of steel stuck out the prize. Just as I described above. 73 pounds and $37 later it was in the Blazer headed for involuntary servitude turning  a 115' long boom 6M Yagi.

If you axe around and be patient, you will pay little for the deal of the year every time.  And, you will get stuff that is exactly what you want with little additional work required. [in the case of the 390 complete vs: modules]

T
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Todd, KA1KAQ
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« Reply #8 on: September 15, 2005, 03:43:54 PM »

If there's one thing I learned that works in radio, then that's patience to wait and look for that great deal. The whirl is filled with deals, but the more obscure they are, the less you pay. You pay instead in effort finding them.

<snip>

Instead of doing it the hard way module by module, I know there are lots of complete R-390 sleepers out there waiting to be scoffed up. I see it happen often at Hosstraders where there's two or three [beat looking, but complete and restorable] 390's going for $75-150. And, many sit all day without takers. Small market at the fleas. BIG market on eBay with big competition.


He is wise and all knowing, this Vu. It's the 'gotta have one NOW' factor that'll cost you money. I bet many still remember the guy who came to Deerfield year after year with PILES of these receivers. I think $150 for a complete (maybe missing meters later on) unit was his going price.

I've had two of the original R-390s complete with meters given to me by MARS members. These guys ended up with a lot of good surplus years ago and only had to be accountable for it for a few years - then it could be written off, disposed of, etc. And they do still show up at the 'festers, I see the later A models pretty much every time at Hosstraders.

And as a sidebar, I think the R-390 family of receivers have got to be one of the best deals still available to us, if not the best. While not simple, they are fairly easy to service due to their modular construction and most of the panels are stamped or engraved, which makes refinishing a relatively simple task as well. Once you go through one and get it properly aligned and tuned, they are one hot receiver. Of course, they aren't exactly what you'd call a 'band cruiser'; you'll have gorilla wrist if you tune around a lot.

You're right, Glenn - the 'one module at a time' approach is the more expensive way and you'll have the same amount of work either way unless you buy completely rebuilt and tested modules $$$. R-390As still surface regularly in the $150-$350 price range, complete and oftentimes usable. Probably because they became too heavy to move or hack up!
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WA3VJB
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« Reply #9 on: September 19, 2005, 07:50:48 AM »

David,

Numerically there seems to be many more R390A out there than SP600, so your chances are better for finding a quality example of a complete radio.

The same would hold true for parts support -- you can probably find an incomplete, non-working R390A more easily than an SP600.

You're right about the construction difference, the SP600 is not modular at all, at least in the sense of connectors, pigtails and swapout potential. Still, the compartmentalized design is fairly easy to service because of its point-to-point wiring and discrete components.

That said, your best bet may prove to be finding a non-working R390A to start with, and search for any replacement modules it may need to bring it back to full performance. The beauty of these receivers is that the plug-in modules were all built to be interchangeable. A receiver would come to Tobyhanna or other repair depot, they'd yank the defective module, swap in a good one, and send it on its way. They then would spend time trouble shooting the module on the bench, repair it, and have it ready for the next occasion.

Years ago I heard a discussion of "mongrel" versus "purebred" R390A.  The "mongrels" had modules from a variety of manufactuers that had been substituted in there over the years.  The "purebreds" for whatever reason retained a set of modules all from the same contractor that originally built the radio, be it Collins, Electronic Assistance Corp., Motorola, Stewart-Warner, Imperial, Amelco or Archer/Realistic.

The end performance should be the same regardless of mixed genetics.

Good luck rounding up a set.

I'd like to draw your attention to www.r390A.com
the website is run by Chuck Rippel, WA4HHG, a fellow I've known since high school.




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WA1GFZ
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« Reply #10 on: September 19, 2005, 08:08:44 AM »

Back in '95 if found 1/2 a Racal RA6830 at Hostraders cheap and bought a couple of them. They were part of a DF system. 5 years later I found the modules to complete the radio. This unit sold for $15K in '99. I built it for $1K.
So sometimes it is worth the wait. 
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W1LSB
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« Reply #11 on: October 04, 2005, 11:08:07 PM »

The QST article that K4KYV mentioned leads you to believe that there was only one 75A-4 ever built from parts.  In fact there were at least a dozen or more.  The hams that worked there dubbed them Colli-kits.  There was also at least one KWS-1 built from parts, and a 32S-3 as well.   It's not as crazy as you might think!! 
73, George - K1GXT
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