I got my R-390A/URR for free.
I discovered it in the back room of the electronics shop at the high school I attended. At the time, I had no exact idea of what it was, but it looked pretty substantial, and the mechanical-digital tuning intrigued me. Also present in the back room was an R-392/URR, which I could tell was related, and an R-48/TRC-8, which was an oddball VHF receiver. When I asked the instructor about them, I was told that they didn't work, and not to bother with them.
After I graduated, I kept thinking about those receivers, especially when I heard that the school was being renovated. I paid several visits to my old shop, periodically inquiring about the receivers. Finally, in early 2003, during yet another visit, my old instructor asked me, "Hey Adam, do you want these old radios?
I loaded all three of them in the back seat of my
Dodge Spirit, which somehow survived the trip home with ~300lbs of radios loaded in it (plus me and a friend).
I soon had the R-390A sitting on my workbench, where I began
preliminary inspection after downloading manuals and other info. Having heard things about the 3TF7 ballast tube being a trouble spot, I inspected it closely, and though it looked good at first, I soon spotted a small gap in the iron wire filament. I ordered a replacement on eBay ($30), replaced some
trouble caps, and restuffed the filter cap cans. After everything was finished, I brought it up on my variac, and soon began to hear signals! Gotta love the simple fixes..........
Here are some pictures of the R-390A, as well as the R-392 (which wasn't as easy a fix):