Not sure if we'll have any tests or broadcasts specifically for this season's Global HF Weekend, but the great thing is that we've got web receivers now (and plenty of them) so that we can hear stations from other parts of the world. Of course, listening to stations on your own radio is always better, but web listening beats a couple of hours listening to static, hoping that some audio will make it through on that weak carrier you've been tracking.
I'll try to update the blog from time to time today, but I'm taking my R-390A out to be electrically refurbished. It still works, but I think it needs to be recapped, realigned, etc. The PTO is non-linear by about 2 kHz and the tuning takes about 1/5 of a turn before it "catches" and engages the gear tuning system.
For anyone who isn't familiar with the R-390A, it's a U.S. military receiver that was designed by Collins Radio in the early '50s. If you want to know a bit more about the R-390A, here's a Wikipedia entry about it. If you really want to know more, an amazing amount of information is on Chuck Rippel's R-390A site. There's a ton of raw data, opinions, etc. to wade through.
I've restored & messed around with some radios here, mostly basic designs. I might consider working on an R-390A at some point, but I just want one that I can expect to work well for another 60 years. And who knows if I could ever get one tweaked to the point that the performance was top notch.
Feel free to post in the comments if you have a station that's planning to test today or tomorrow. Or you can e-mail me to post the time & frequency, but as I mentioned above, I'll be out delivering my R-390A for part of the day.
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