All back to stock, and still working. Dial accuracy is a lot better, and I'm pulling in all sorts of stuff on 40m with a magnetic loop in my basement. It's good enough.
Now onto the R-390 this week (and beyond). It has issues, very low distorted audio. I haven't done much besides plug it in and bring it up slowly to test it out. Are there any caps/resistors in an R-390 that should be replaced off the bat? It seems weird without electrolytics like the R390A. On Sat, Oct 4, 2025 at 6:24 PM Les Locklear <[email protected]> wrote: > That's great! Who knows what the gremlin was, the main thing is it's > working! > > Les > > > *----- Original Message -----* > *From:* Adam Morehouse <[email protected]> > *To:* Les Locklear <[email protected]> > *Cc:* R390 qth list <[email protected]> > *Sent:* 10/4/2025 5:14:36 PM > *Subject:* Re: [R-390] R-392 > ------------------------------ > Les, > > I just took the PTO out and apart, nothing was apparently wrong, but I > reflowed the connections for the 2 caps. Before I put the bottom decks back > in, I noticed a connection between the bottom of the RF and the crystal > calibrator...like a button that makes contact between them when put > together. It was pretty smooshed and not making contact. I fixed that, and > after putting it all together...it works. > > Loud and clear, the dial is about 25kc off. I might stick the original RF > deck back in and see if it's closer and still working, then do an alignment > (my first on a R39x...) > > What a strange issue but im glad it's fixed. Whatever it was... > > Adam > > On Sat, Oct 4, 2025, 17:22 Les Locklear <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Open the PTO don't be scared of it. You will probably find two small temp >> compensating caps, 10 pf if my memory is working. They have a tendency to >> spring away from their solder connection maybe from a drop or whatever. >> Reflow the joint and test. I found that problem with a 1962 Amelco R-390A >> PTO. >> >> Les Locklear >> >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: Adam Morehouse <[email protected]> >> To: Jacques Fortin <[email protected]> >> Cc: R-390 Mailing List <[email protected]> >> Sent: 10/4/2025 3:14:56 PM >> Subject: Re: [R-390] R-392 >> >> ________________________________________________________________________________ >> >> > Alright, so the oscillator is working. I think my problem has to do with >> > the PTO. >> > >> > When I bought the T-195/GRC-19 it came with a tote of parts - I swapped >> the >> > AF/IF/Crystal Calibrator decks out - made no difference. Then I swapped >> RF >> > decks - no difference. >> > >> > I noticed the wiring harness for the big plug on the AF deck had some >> > electrical tape, I unwrapped it and don't see any damaged wires, >> switches >> > behind the front plate look clean, with no loose or broken wires. >> > >> > But it still makes noises when I gently tap around. I left it tuned to a >> > nearby AM station and flipped the unit over, and it (kinda) came to >> life. >> > Squealing, and awful sounding - tapping around with a screwdriver, >> > primarily on the PTO seems to affect it the most. >> > >> > Anyone have experience with that? Here's a video.... >> > >> > https://photos.app.goo.gl/AZga9HyCqnJ1hyo18 >> > >> > On Fri, Oct 3, 2025 at 9:29 AM Jacques Fortin <[email protected]> >> > wrote: >> > >> >> Hello Adam, >> >> Swapping the tubes is a good idea, but that do not insure that the 1st >> >> Xtal oscillator is actually working... >> >> You should try to measure if there is any signal on the V401 plate. >> >> This being said, I do not own a R-392, but it is similar to a >> R-390/URR in >> >> architecture. >> >> Do you have a copy of the TM11-858 or the TM11-5820-334-35 ?? >> >> >> >> 73, Jacques, VE2JFE in Montreal >> >> >> >> -----Message d'origine----- >> >> De : [email protected] <[email protected]> De >> la >> >> part de Adam Morehouse >> >> Envoyé : 2 octobre 2025 13:59 >> >> À : R-390 Mailing List <[email protected]> >> >> Objet : Re: [R-390] R-392 >> >> >> >> Managed to get the V401/V203 tubes out with a little bit of gorilla >> tape >> >> as a puller. The silicone puller I bought just slips right off them... >> >> >> >> I swapped tubes, no changes. The switch seems to be working fine, when >> I >> >> first start playing with this thing, if I tapped the chassis it would >> click >> >> in the speaker, like a bad connection, etc. I took the bottom decks >> out, >> >> and dropped the front panel and saw nothing obvious poking around. Now >> that >> >> it's back together, its gone. >> >> >> >> A lot of the tubes do test "low" on my Heathkit TT-1 tube tester (TV-7 >> in >> >> the pile of stuff to restore/calibrate). >> >> >> >> >> >> V401 >> >> >> >> 1. -.3 / 118k >> >> >> >> 2. .01 / 8.4 >> >> >> >> 3. 5.8 / 6.2 >> >> >> >> 4. 11.38 / 10.3 >> >> >> >> 5. 21.9 / 1k >> >> >> >> 6. 21.9 / 1k >> >> >> >> 7. .013 / 8.4 >> >> >> >> V203 >> >> >> >> 1. 0 / 107k >> >> >> >> 2. 0 / 3.5k >> >> >> >> 3. 0 / .3 >> >> >> >> 4. 23.99 / 3.7 >> >> >> >> 5. 10.5v / 8.8M >> >> >> >> 6. .17 / OL >> >> >> >> 7. 23.15 / 2k >> >> >> >> >> >> On Wed, Oct 1, 2025 at 8:08 PM Adam Morehouse <[email protected]> >> >> wrote: >> >> >> >>> Hey guys, >> >>> >> >>> Doing a little tinkering between classes (18 credits is awful...). I >> >>> decided to try out a R-392 that came with a T-195 I bought this >> summer. >> >>> It's nice and clean inside, no obvious defects - but is completely >> >>> dead below 8MHz. Any idea where I should start my search when I dig >> into >> >> this? >> >>> >> >>> Thanks for any help or pointers... >> >>> >> >>> Adam >> >>> >> >> ______________________________________________________________ >> >> R-390 mailing list >> >> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/r-390 >> >> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm >> >> Post: mailto:[email protected] >> >> >> >> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net >> >> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html >> >> >> >> >> > ______________________________________________________________ >> > R-390 mailing list >> > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/r-390 >> > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm >> > Post: mailto:[email protected] >> > >> > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net >> > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html >> > ______________________________________________________________ R-390 mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/r-390 Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
