Hi Steve:
I pretty much go along the lines Don laid out. I think there are very
few original 10/10 radios out there and they are not obtainable by me.
There are some that are "restored" to claimed 10/10 but that is an
endless debate. Just like classic cars.
I have a half a room full of Drake, Yaesu, Swan, etc. rigs that I can
say EVERY one except my original A line came to me non-working...and
they now all work fine and get used all the time. But they are in
differeing conditions. On a real historically significant radio, like
my R390A, I could easily erase or cover up all of its use wear and
tear...but I kind of appreciate the wear on the knobs and the worn paint
around the most used controls, etc. It is a sign that someone before me
spent hours coaxing some clandestine signals from that wonderful rig.
I surely don't appreciate having someone give me less than the full
disclosure on a radio--although, I am certain I have purchased some from
folks that never knew the difference. But I have little tolerance for
those that would intentionally misslead.
So, I would add the R4B experience to your list of questions to ask
regarding mods and condition, hope for the best, and decide how to make
it fit into your personal collection goal. I find the Collins Collector
group condition rating scale to be very helpful BTW.
My guiding premise #1: A museum quality, 10/10 radio will come out of a
sealed original box. All others, including perfect restorations, are
somewhere down the scale.
Just some thoughts for the "soup"
Curt (the other Curt)
KU8L
Steve Wedge wrote:
Fellow Drakesters -
I bought an R-4B a few weeks ago, sort of sight-unseen, on the
assurance that it was an "8" (I assumed out of 10, but I won't go
there right now...)
The receiver works very well and pulls in the signals as good as
anything ever made. It transceives well with both my T-4X's. The
audio sounds like some component values were tweaked, as it has a rich
sound with more lows than I'm used to hearing.
Here's the ugly part, and I know there are some of us who are more
"purists" than others. I've been tending toward looking for rigs that
haven't had a heavy hand taken to them - which this one has. The
previous owner moved the INJ jack over to one of the SPARE locations
(why? Don't know!) - shortening the shielded cable to the jack i the
process. He drilled through the "target" that the factory provided on
the front panel where the headphone jack used to be and put a pot with
a Drake knob. This pot is used to vary that AGC delay. There is no
longer a headphone jack on the side. He replaced all the RCA jacks
with high-quality jacks. Unfortunately, it appears he used some sort
of "tuner cleaner" on the bandswitch, but nothing seems to be broken.
There are other changes that will be easier to undo - such as going
back to the factory panel and cabinet screws.
I'm looking for consensus from our ranks: would you try to put things
back, leave it but clean it up, or leave it as is? I'm leaning toward
selling it, as I found a better one at the hamfest.
Moral of the story: when buying these on the ham websites - demand
pictures of front, back and interior as a minimum, unless it's either
ridiculously cheap or you know the seller!
73,
Steve Wedge, W1ES/4
"I can't complain, but sometimes I still do."
- Joe Walsh
If the above message appears, it came from Steve's Son of Laptop!
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