R-390A Restorations

Check out my new T-368 E.  This transmitter makes a great companion to the R-390 or R-390A receiver.

Parts kits are now available to help with your rebuilds.  These include:

This site documents some of the details of rebuilding Collins R-390A receivers. Many pictures show details of a complete restoration, and a number of documents are available to help those who wish to undertake this rewarding task.

Restoration Resources includes lots of documentation, procedures, and checklists to encourage you to do-it-yourself, and an offering of restoration services for those who need some help with part or all of the restoration.

Past Restorations shows pictures of several R-390As I've restored, including their rebuilt performance

This site is dedicated to those who enjoy restoring and using the R-390 family of receivers. A special thanks to the many enthusiasts who share their wealth of knowledge and experience.  The help and faithful assistance from many in the R-390 community has greatly added to my enjoyment of this excellent receiver, and continues to provide a repository of knowledge that enables taking these receivers to a new level of performance.

The R-390 receiver was designed and built to government specifications in the early 1950's in order to fill a variety of needs.  The receiver covers the range of 0.5 to 32 MC, receives CW, FSK, AM, and SSB modes of transmission, has six selectable bandwidths from 0.5 KC to 16 KC, and is able to interface in a variety of ways with a variety of accessories.

The R-390A receiver was designed with cost reduction as a focus, but also includes some enhancements afforded by careful design choices and more modern technology.  The R-390A receiver reduces the complexity of the mechanical gear train, standardizes the six bands of RF slugs to one size and one permeability, and reduces the number of required crystals.  At the same time, the audio circuitry is simplified, the power supply is restricted to 120 VAC only, voltage regulators are removed, one RF amplifier stage is eliminated, the squelch is made an optional feature, and the medium audio response position is removed.

Checkout The Quest Online to see where I now spend much of my time.  God Bless!

© 2005 by Walter Wilson, KK4DF.  All information is offered for non-commercial use without warranty, expressed or implied.