The Boatanchor Legends series honors the individuals who built, preserved, and shared the technical knowledge that keeps the R-390A, the Collins S-Line, and their sister equipment alive. From the editors of the Y2K Manual to the archivists who saved disappearing documentation, from the Collins engineers who designed the equipment to the restorers who keep it on the air, from the founders of the Collins Collectors Association to the reflector contributors who answered thousands of questions — these are the people who made the community what it is.
55 Legends & Counting
A – D
Principal editor of the 21st Century R-390A/URR Technical Reference (Y2K Manual). Led the multi-year effort to correct, annotate, and expand the R-390A’s official documentation into the community’s definitive reference. Kennesaw, Georgia.
Y2K Manual co-editor and one of the most prolific R-390 reflector contributors. Hosted the manual on hausernet.com, identified critical errors in the R-390 Cookbook, and brought wit and technical depth to the mailing list for years. New York.
Founding member, president, and long-serving editor of the Collins Collectors Association’s Signal magazine, which he built into a full-color quarterly of restoration technique and Collins history. Operates under Art Collins’ own former callsign KØCXX, runs a broadcast-grade AM station, and wrote foundational series on reviving Collins transmitters. Bench partner of Bud Whitney. Wimberley, Texas.
The most widely read technical author in amateur radio — more than twenty handbooks on antennas and radio theory, including the Radio Handbook. Spent 28 years at Eimac, took part in the first 1296 MHz EME contact, and helped build OSCAR-1, the first amateur satellite, in 1961. The ARRL’s Bill Orr Technical Writing Award carries his name. Menlo Park, California.
Quiet founder of the Collins Collectors Association. His informal 14.263 MHz gathering of February 1989 grew into a Sunday net of more than 150 regulars, set the association’s culture of courtesy, and led to the first Collins Forum at Dayton in 1991. Schoolteacher, principal, and Mayor Pro Tem of Lebanon, Missouri.
Thirty-four years at Collins Radio and Rockwell Collins, rising to Director of Engineering. Founded Softronics Ltd. in 1984, designing custom HF–UHF systems for NASA, Boeing, and aerospace clients — including an HF transmitter flown to Venus. Published research on HF noise polarization in QEX. Marion, Iowa. Silent Key.
Canadian R-390A community contributor. Active participant in the technical discourse surrounding vintage military receiver restoration and operation.
Collins restoration legend who overhauled more than 500 516F-2 power supplies and served as the first technical net control on the Collins Sunday net from 1989. Co-wrote repair documentation with Bill Carns and personally funded reproduction filter chokes for the community. Honored by the CCA in 2009. Wimberley, Texas.
Administrator of Fox Tango International from 2004, reviving Milton Lowens’ dormant Yaesu users’ group for the internet era. Maintained the foxtango.org encyclopedia and technical survival guides, ran the Radio Graveyard Project that sent salvaged parts free to members worldwide, and kept the club alive for more than two decades. Cartersville, Georgia.
Over 20 years on the R-390 reflector from Gulfport, Mississippi. Championed the R-390 non-A as superior to the R-390A — a minority position defended with decades of hands-on experience. February 2026 retirement post marked the end of an era.
The foremost R-390A restoration authority. Created r390a.com, featured in Floyd Soo’s landmark 7-hour video series, and set the standard for what a properly restored R-390A should look and perform like. Virginia.
Fort Monmouth nomenclature tag replacement program researcher (~6,500 tags documented). Documented the R-725/URR Tropicon variant in Electric Radio magazine, January 2006.
International contributor to the R-390A community, bringing a European perspective to the preservation and technical understanding of Collins military receivers.
R-390A community contributor whose technical knowledge and practical restoration experience enriched the community’s collective understanding of the receiver.
Author of the landmark “R-390/R-390A AGC — Ending The Moment Of Silence” document hosted on r-390a.net, which dissects and solves a fundamental design flaw in the AGC speed switching circuit. Also designed ballast tube (3TF7) solid-state replacement prototypes, contributed PTO alignment tooling adopted by Larry Haney, and provided two decades of rigorous circuit analysis on the reflector. Y2K Manual contributor.
Built S-Line and KWM-2 equipment on the Collins factory floor in Cedar Rapids during the 1960s, then returned home in 1976 to found Western Nebraska Electronics — for 48 years a factory-authorized Collins/Rockwell repair center serving collectors nationwide, while also engineering for regional broadcast stations. Potter, Nebraska.
Retired MathWorks hardware engineer carrying boatanchor design values into the FPGA era. Built the YAFR FPGA SDR transceiver on a $34 evaluation board and the “Cave Dust Twins” — separate 3–30 MHz receive and transmit units in the Collins S-Line spirit. Shares MATLAB measurement tools with the amateur community. Saratoga, California.
R-390 non-A specialist and trusted restorer from South Carolina. Recommended by Les Locklear for non-A repair work — one of a small circle with deep expertise in the mechanically complex original receiver.
Retired electrical engineer with four decades in HF and microwave receiver design, and the Collins community’s technical conscience. His analytical Signal articles on S-Line AGC dynamics, S-meter stability, and Service Bulletin 2 dynamic-range improvements are definitive; his 30L-1 instability fix became standard practice and his RF power sampler is used worldwide. Garland, Texas.
Manager of the R-390 mailing list at qth.net — the primary online forum where the community’s restoration knowledge was debated, shared, and preserved. Created and maintained r-389.com for the rare Collins R-389/URR VLF receiver, hosting the original 1953 Collins Final Engineering Report. Also active on the Racal and Boatanchors mailing lists.
Author of the definitive R-390A AGC modification article and numerous technical papers on receiver performance optimization. His analytical approach to the R-390A’s IF and AGC systems set the standard for engineering-quality modification documentation.
Designed the AC current regulator circuit for the 3TF7 ballast tube replacement — a properly engineered solid-state alternative to one of the R-390A’s most persistent maintenance headaches. Y2K Manual contributor.
Stanford-trained audio DSP pioneer and Y2K Manual contributor. Brought academic-level signal processing expertise to the R-390A community’s understanding of receiver performance and modification design.
Created the Y2K Manual’s front panel technical illustration and the digital figures for David Wise’s AGC modification article in Chapter 11. Precise technical illustration that makes the manual a practical bench reference.
E – M
Steward of the Boat Anchor Manual Archive (bama.edebris.com) — the internet’s most comprehensive free archive of vintage electronics documentation. Over 20 years maintaining hundreds of manufacturer directories covering amateur radio, military, and test equipment manuals.
Publisher and editor of Electric Radio magazine — the primary print venue for serious boatanchor technical articles through the 1990s and 2000s. Provided a professionally edited, permanent publication platform for R-390A modification and restoration knowledge.
Produced the landmark R-390A restoration video series through HI-RES Communications — 4 VHS tapes, 7 hours, featuring Chuck Rippel. Pioneered video documentation of boatanchor restoration. Also Collins 75A-4, KWM-2, and S-Line video sets.
Gary Gitzen NEW
Credited contributor to Y2K Manual Release 3 (July 2009) — one of more than 25 named contributors whose expertise shaped the expanded optimization, modification, and restoration chapters of the community’s definitive R-390A reference.
Six decades of technical writing on boatanchor restoration, alignment procedures, and original paint formulas. Through Z-Communications Company and k9sth.net he kept an authoritative archive covering Collins, Heathkit, Drake, and Hallicrafters gear, and restored to factory specification. Filed four FCC petitions on station identification rules. Richardson, Texas.
Master restorer of Collins A-Line and S-Line equipment and R-390/R-390A military receivers. His Harpers Ferry workshop delivered complete electrical, mechanical, and cosmetic restorations with documented verification, earning a CCA service listing and broad forum endorsement before his retirement in 2020. Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.
Canadian R-390A enthusiast and community contributor. Active in the preservation and technical documentation of Collins military receivers from British Columbia.
Co-founder of the Collins Collectors Association. Launched the Collins Collector’s Magazine in June 1991, giving the informal Sunday net the structure, history, and permanence of a lasting institution. Net control operator and original Board of Advisors member alongside Bill Wheeler and Floyd Soo.
Eyewitness to the St. Juliens Creek Annex surplus pile — over 1,000 R-390A receivers stacked 50 feet square and 6 feet high. Operated The Radio Works, Portsmouth, Virginia. One of the few firsthand accounts of large-scale military R-390A disposal.
Current r-390a.net administrator who took over from Al Tirevold. Manages the Pearls of Wisdom archive, maintains the Newbie Support Info document, authored detailed PTO observation articles for both Collins and Cosmos units, and at 84 years old remains one of the most active and patient voices on the R-390 reflector.
Founding editor of the Hollow State Newsletter (~50 issues over seven years) and author of the landmark “R-390A/URR Order Number List” series published in Electric Radio and reprinted in HSN. His meticulous research with Tom Marcotte N5OFF and Wally Chambers K5OP created the definitive production history of the R-390A. Documented the St. Juliens Creek surplus sale, Fowler anomalies, and Fort Monmouth tag program. Still active on the reflector from Gulfport, Mississippi.
Credited contributor to the Y2K Manual Release 3 (July 2009). Provided practical R-390A restoration expertise that informed the expanded optimization and parts chapters of the community’s definitive reference document.
Founder of the International Fox Tango Club in 1971, after finding a design flaw in his Yaesu FT-101. His free newsletter grew to some 4,000 members in 42 nations over fourteen years and opened a direct feedback channel to the Yaesu factory that produced documented product improvements. First licensed as W2EZR in 1933. Bronx, New York, and West Palm Beach, Florida.
N – R
Creator and maintainer of navy-radio.com — one of the most comprehensive online archives of U.S. Navy radio communications equipment. Hosts the complete Hollow State Newsletter archive and undertook the massive 2024 project of converting and indexing over 1,000 R-390A Signal Corps engineering drawings from Fort Monmouth. Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Author of “La Famiglia 390” — the only comprehensive treatment of the entire R-390 receiver family (R-389, R-390, R-390A, R-391, R-392). Comparative block diagrams, tube lists, and a 10-page English bibliography. Italy.
Author and editor of Y2K Manual Release 3 — the most ambitious expansion of the community’s standard reference. Assembled Chapter 11 (Upgrades, Mods, Parts Info) and coordinated contributions from across the community.
R-390A community contributor whose technical knowledge and hands-on restoration experience added to the collective expertise shared through the R-390 reflector and related forums.
Created the R-390A “Spotter’s Guide” — a systematic visual identification reference for manufacturer variants. Built on Tom Marcotte’s production data to enable reliable long-distance purchasing by manufacturer and production period.
Documented a complete step-by-step R-390A gear train disassembly and cleaning procedure, making the receiver’s most mechanically intimidating maintenance task accessible to hobbyist restorers for the first time.
Forty-two years at Collins Radio and Rockwell Collins, leading the design of several HF power amplifier and transmission-system families. Pioneered detailed serial-number surveys of Collins production, and in 1991 presented a working KWM-3 prototype at the first dedicated Collins Collectors Association forum. Robins, Iowa.
Credited contributor to the Y2K Manual. Provided R-390A technical expertise that informed the community’s definitive reference document across its multiple releases.
NIST engineer who brought professional-grade discipline to the R-390 community. His restoration guidelines for the R-390 (non-A) at r-390.com remain a foundational reference — covering forced-air cooling for the 6082 section, B+ regulation warnings, and cathode resistor replacement. Collaborated with José Gavilá on PTO linearization research. Identified critical errors in the R-390 Cookbook. Over 25 years of active reflector contributions. Western Massachusetts.
S – Z
One of the few contributors credited in both Release 2 and Release 3 of the Y2K Manual (dual-listed in R3). Active R-390 reflector participant with sustained technical engagement spanning nearly a decade of the manual project.
Professional engineer and FAA-certified avionics facility operator specializing in Collins military and aviation equipment. As CCA President and Signal editor he has written the community’s most authoritative accounts of Collins’ military product lines, notably the 671U receiver-exciter and URG-2 systems. Scottsdale, Arizona.
Yale-educated engineer maintaining R390A.com with performance analysis, overhaul guides, and a 630-meter tuning reference. 20+ years developing high-power magnetic loop antennas. Licensed since 1959. Fairhaven, Massachusetts.
R-390A production historian who spent years amassing contract numbers, manufacturers, quantities, and serial ranges for the entire R-390 family. Co-researcher with Les Locklear on the Order Number List series. In 1998, obtained over 1,000 Signal Corps engineering drawings from Fort Monmouth on CD — an act of preservation that saved irreplaceable manufacturing documentation. Also obtained the MIL-R-13947B specification with Al Tirevold and produced replacement nameplates for tag-swapped receivers.
Credited contributor to Y2K Manual Release 3. Provided hands-on R-390A expertise that informed the expanded optimization and modification chapters of the community’s standard reference.
Co-researcher with Les Locklear and Tom Marcotte on the R-390A Order Number List series. Essential collaborator in documenting the production history of the R-390A across all manufacturers and contract periods.
Forty-four years at Collins Radio and 22 patents. Wrote Collins’ foundational 1954 SSB report, designed the 30L-1 and 30S-1 linear amplifiers, and created the Bruene directional coupler — still the standard topology in SWR meters and wattmeters. His tube specifications led to the Eimac 3-400Z. Richardson, Texas.
Preeminent Collins restoration specialist and the go-to authority on the KWM-380 and HF-380, holding original parts stock and a CCA service-directory listing. A serious DXer with 355 zones confirmed, past president of the Southern California DX Club, and anchor of the 7155 kHz morning group. Orange, California.
Compiler and maintainer of the “Pearls of Wisdom” on r-390a.net — 30 categorized, searchable files distilled from years of R-390 reflector posts. The intermediate preservation step that kept community knowledge accessible and organized. Recently retired from the role; a successor is needed.