Collins R- -388

Got me a Collins R-388 ,back in Nov.Been cleaning it slow but sure ,pulled front panel off removed meter and washed the knobs,panel,tube shields,top and bottom covers,waxed top and bottom covers.Rounded up the Bristol wrenches and philips screwdriver for it.Have not pluged it in yet but its all complete .Missing the cyrstal cover and alignment tools,downloaded the manual for the R-388,51-J-3,and other pages on the R-388 mods.PTO will have to come out and be recaped and end point adjustments made.Not got that done yet.This set will go nice with my Collins R-391,and my SP-600-JX-17,and my RCA-AR-88.Sprman

I'm no Collins expert, but love the R-388. I believe the 51-J-3 was the civilian version, wasn't it? I've heard tale that the PTO had some issues, but not sure if that also applied to the R-338. I wish I knew more about vintage Collins gear.
The oldest thing I own, communications-wise, is a Heath Mohawk that I recapped several years ago. I wasn't too impressed with it's performance. I'd love to see some pics when you're done with it! Any idea what that bad boy weighs? It sure looks heavy!

Hi 45 to 50 pounds.Yes 51-j-3 is the like the 388.Collins PTOs do have troubles.Like getting end points to be right on each band then geting them to track right across each band.Dialstring and band change string can be a bit hard to replace but not as bad as some Philcos i have seen.R-388 is the father of the R-390 series.I have a R-391 that thing is 125 pounds!Going to put new dial over lay on. Sprman : )