[R-390] Black Tube Shields, IERC and cooling fans
Gene Dathe
dathegene at hotmail.com
Sat Apr 18 13:37:35 EDT 2009
Amen to your list, Roy. One addition:
Some Folks Forget:
-Just because a radio was USED 24/7 does not mean it LASTS 24/7.
The system, as a whole, was MANNED 24/7 with all the things Roy describes.
The system, as a whole, provided reliable, effective communications for
a very long and distinguished service life.
How long YOUR individual radio will survive without that support system
behind it is going to depend on YOUR individual support system.
Keep those tubes warm!
73 de NA0G Gene
The radios are not really "broke". But we operate (most of us) under
quite different conditions than the military did with respect to a
number of different aspects:
- The military folks had relatively unlimited supplies of spare
tubes. Most of us do not.
- The military had a regular schedule of operational checks and
maintenance - radio overall performance was checked periodically, as
were the tubes.
- For most operational radios, there was a ready maintenance
capability - folks trained and experienced to make the things work
right quickly.
- If a radio quit, there was likely another one to use in its place
upon patching of the antenna and output. Not all of us R-39x owners
are lucky enough to have ready spare radios handy.
- Some installations (as in aboard many ships) had lots of air
conditioning running and the spaces were quite cold.
With all of the above going for them,the military folks who ran these
radios had pretty much a single goal for it all: keep the
communications channels running (or keep the intercept operators happy
with nice clear signals to copy).
We, on the other hand, have a different set of goals that may include
the following:
- Have a fun time discussing the things and how to keep them running
- Copy some CW or other signals on the ham bands from time to time
- Actually mess about with the radios and do things to and with them
that seem like fun.
Roy
Roy Morgan
k1lky at earthlink.net
529 Cobb St.
Groton NY, 13073
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