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| Reviews Summary for Collins designed R-390A |
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Reviews: 21
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Average rating: 4.8/5
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MSRP: $300-600 used
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Description: Military type receiver with .540 to 30 mHz receive. More a
AM/CW based receiver which performs well on SSB while
reducing RF gain control. Extremely heavy, electron tube
based design. Collins designed with different manufacturers.
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Product is not in production.
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More info: http://
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write your own review of the Collins designed R-390A.
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STEVEQ
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 6, 2012 05:43
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I am back after a year
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Wanted to update my review of the Collins R390A. My listening shack has a RACAL mil spec, Collins 75-S1, Icom R71A, several Drakes........ The R390A is simply the best, hands down. Helpful hint, let the old man warm up for an hour or two, yes I did say that long......... this will let this outstanding rig shine like no others
All of the other rigs are sensitive but the R390A tops the list, there is no better rig. Yes it is old design but what a design ..... still waiting for someone to invent a better filter than the ones in the R390A
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KX7P
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 7, 2010 23:30
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THE BEST CLASSIC RECEIVER
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I have been a HAM for 25 years. Before that I was a SWL for many years. I have used many receivers over the years. This is the best!!!
This receiver is huge and heavy, but built to the highest standards. Nothing is built like this anymore.
The receiver is exteremly sensitive. I pull out signals I never thought existed before. I often use my R 390A to receive an AM commercial broadcast station Los Angeles, California, whichi over 200 miles away. I can receive the station 24/7, which I can't do on any other receiver I have ever owned before.
The audio from this receiver is very rich and full, unlike most modern solid state receivers.
My R-390A is about 40 years old and still works great. A solid receiver that I'll never part with.
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VK3DWZ
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 26, 2009 23:44
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A Classic
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Got mine 21 years ago, and it's still going strong!
Smooth, excellent audio (after you perform Mr. Rippell's audio mod.); superb sensitivity when you use the 4kc/s (Mechanical) Filter and excellent sensitivity.
Every night, I tune mine to 9975kHz, Voice of Korea in Pyongyang broadcasting to East Asia, and enjoy their 'excellent' programs. Reception is ofter of 'local' quality -- not bad for a transmission from D.P.R.K.
The word 'classic' is overused these days, but in this case it is a title richly deserved.
I have owned many other receivers in the past, but the 'Collins' R-390A easily surpassed them all.
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WL7AWC
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 26, 2008 22:13
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All Time Heavyweight Champ!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I maintained and repaired thousands of these as a Ground Radio Repairman (AFSC 304x4) in the USAF Electronic Security Command. They can still outperform just about any receiver you care to name -- If they're properly maintained. I never considered the maintenance routine exceptionally difficult - with the possible exception of replacing the 10-step RF switch (which is unscheduled maintenance)... and, the spring loaded two piece gears can give you a fit. But both are doable once you've done it a few times. As far as alignment, follow the 84 and 168-day PMI workcards and you can't go wrong.
It's entirely possible to get ridiculous sensitivity numbers - like MDSs of -143 dBm or so; and I've seen noise figures in the immediate vicinity of 4 dB. The replacement for the R-390A, the R-2174 (Racal 6790GM) has a typical NF of 13 dB and there's not a lot you can do to improve it, so the R-390A comes out on top here too. The VFO was primarily made by a Chicago company called Cosmo Electronics so most R-390s, regardless of contractor (Collins, Stewart-Warner, Capehart, Motorola, Teledyne, and several others) had the same VFO. Since it was built to spec's, there were no major differences in the radios produced by the various manufacturers, although most of us thought the Collins manufactured units were superior - but that could've been snob appeal.
So, what do I think of the R-390A? I'd love to have one! It's one of the best radio designs ever and it wasn't in service intercepting signals for over 30 years for no reason, so that's testament enough as to it's capability. Long Live The King!
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KB1OKL
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 25, 2007 16:15
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The best.
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I bought my first one several years ago, was advertised as being a "no issues" radio, well it had plenty when I got it including overloading, dead bands, no AGC etc. I had never worked on one before and wasn't going to start with this one. I sent it out to Chuck Rippel who did an excellent job with it, his work is well worth having him do it. The PTO is within 200 cycles from end to end, you can turn the kilocycle change knob with your little finger (no 390A wrist with this one), it's quiet, sensitive, selective and sounds good and I'm a musician (had his audio mods done also) I run it into a big SX-28 speaker. I'm also a BCB DXer and with the mechanical filters you can tune a bit past the split frequency stations and the hets disappear and the station is still intelligible, for example you want to hear 1521 Saudi Arabia which is next to powerhouse WWKB NY and is common here on the East coast, you put the 2 Kc filter on and tune it a bit beyond 1522 and WWKB drops right out of the bandpass and the het is gone. It's also very stable on SSB although I'm an AMer and is a great SWL radio too. it's my main receiver for both hamming and DXing and I own many receivers. They actually have a very logical layout and are probably easier to fix than many other anchors. Mine is a Capeheart who made all those lousy SS console stereos back in the 60's, they did a good job with these though. I now have a Motorola R-390A which I plan on getting to soon along with two Collins 390's which I'm now tangling with.
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K9CTB
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 22, 2006 03:11
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Always been great
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Ah, I remember these things. I worked on them when I was in the navy. I thought they were great receivers even before the "Yups" got ahold of them. Yes, kids, they were "cool" even before you sent the prices through the roof! Same thing happened to Harleys and VW bugs......"Oh these are SO cool!" Dude, they've always BEEN cool....you just GOT here. I have owned two others in the late 1980s and let them go.....I have been sorry every since.....but recently acquired another one with the Motorola plate on it and it will stay right here in the shack.
R-390s are very high-maintenence rigs to be sure, but well worth it. As I remember, fooling with the incredibly complicated gearset was a no-no unless you were a certified "gear-head". We had one such person on the ship, and he was quite a wizard when it came to slipping the gears in order to get the slugs to track properly. Once set however, there really was no need to adjust them ever unless they somehow became jammed. Dropping an R-390 would do it.....as would dropping a piece of hardware into the gearset and then expecting an RM to tune it. Guaranteed disaster. Other reviewers mention it, but it really is important to keep the R-390 tubes fresh. If you have no other tube-type gear and are thinking of buying a '390, I highly recommend purchasing a mutual conductance tube tester as well. The cheap, boil-test "tube testers" that you can find in the $100 range will NOT DO. Find something that Hicock made for the military....even a TV-7 is better than the drug-store tester. Really a must. If you're a tube fan already, you know what I mean.
Most of the really good reviews here seem to be from CW ops. Makes sense. Just as CW takes a good dose of self-discipline to master, so too, does the R-390. It's a very stable rig for SWLing, CW work or just general monitoring. Even without the SSB converter, you can copy SSB comfortably using only the BFO and a bit of filtering. That alone ought to tell you volumes about the stability of the R-390. One would never be able to stay sane while trying to copy a SSB signal with a BFO that drifts all about the place. I have actually copied MUSIC using the BFO as a SSB detector.....not too bad, really!
All of this, plus the fact that the radio design, if not the radio you actually have, is over 50 years old......makes this POSITIVELY a "5"!
73 all.
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WB3HUH
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 17, 2006 21:33
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The best I have ever used
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Started life as a SWL and am still at it. I have owned and or operated about 30 receivers in and out of government. There is none better than the R390A. Some have come close but none better.
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K5MSY
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 2, 2006 02:22
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The Mother of all Radios
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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It is a doubly unique radio because it is cherished as one of the very greatest receivers of the vacuum tube era, yet, it's fundamental performance specs have remained unsurpassed. I use mine nearly every day. Sometimes I use it with my Ten-Tec Omni-V as a secondary receiver on CW. In the fall I listen to LSU football on MW. For serious DXing it can hear EVERYTHING my Racal 6790GM and Rockwell HF-2050 can hear, and with less noise. With my KIWA MAP synchronous detector, AM performance is phenomenal. There is also an enthusiastic support group and a wealth of technical information available to the R-390a owner on the internet. If you find a nice one, buy it, collect two or three sets of spare tubes, and USE IT!!!
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W8ZNX
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 20, 2006 13:07
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one of the greatests receivers ever made
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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in 50 years as a swl and ham
this is one of the greatest
receivers ive ever owned
use it 90% on cw, 10% am swl
some may not like filter slection
i very much like the filter slection
wonderfull radio
mine will be in the shack
till the estate sale
Mac
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KG6AOH
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 6, 2005 22:05
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Simply the best
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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Currently own a Stewart Warner built R390A, but have also worked on an EAC model.
What can I say that has not already been said? My R390A hears things loud and clear that my fancy modern radios will not. There is no microprocessor in the R390A, so it does not produce its own internal noise, this is one QUIET receiver! Weak signals are a cinch to copy well. Assuming you are ina quiet area and have a good antenna system, you will be unbeatable on AM BCB DXing with an R390A.
Oh, one more thing... If your R390A has the capacitors with the glass beads on the ends, leave them in! If you have bumblebee caps or paper caps, replace all of them.
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