RE: Alfa Radio with poor reception

["Ken Ross" <Kdross@domain.elided>]

I was able to adjust the FM reception by adjusting the tuning screw on the
side of the radio.  Everything works well now.

Ken



- -----Original Message-----
From: owner-alfa@domain.elided [mailto:owner-alfa@domain.elided]On Behalf Of
Graham Hilder
Sent: Thursday, March 23, 2000 8:54 PM
To: alfa-digest@domain.elided
Subject: Alfa Radio with poor reception

Re Jim's posting in No.1478, Jim is right that most radios do have an
antenna trim screw.  Usually accessed either through a small hole in the
back or side as Jim described, but quite often with a long thin screwdriver
through the front once you open the cassette-door and shine in a slim torch.

But note that trimming this only improves your AM reception, i.e. MW band.
(Do they still have AM in America?  AM = Ancient Modulaton..... no only
kidding).  This trimmer won't help your FM reception at all.
It can make a really dramatic improvement to your AM reception though.....
extra stations start appearing as if by magic when a misadjusted trim is
corrected.    Set it by tuning the radio to a weak AM station up near the
top of the dial, about 1400kHz, and trimming for maximum smoke, as the
saying goes. Use the weakest station you can hear, as too strong a one will
prevent the volume from changing as you trim (the AGC will just hold it
constant).

If you're really concerned about getting the optimum distant-station AM
reception your set can provide, there's an extra trimming detail to watch
out for. You need to be sure the trim range available is enough to cope with
your particular antenna and coax. Otherwise, even when you peak it up, you
still won't be getting the best from the radio because the input still isn't
optimally trimmed. To identify if you have that problem, turn the trimmer
slowly through an entire revolution, and see if the volume peaks at two
points on the circle, not at just one. If it peaks at two, you're fine. If
at one only, then the trimmer has run out of range, and to optimise the trim
you need to open up the set and add or remove some caps from the area of the
trim cap, to offset its range. It's a bit fiddly and only worth while if
you're a really dedicated long-range AM listener !

Best regards,
Graham in NZ.
GTV, Alfetta GT, 3 x Alfa Sud

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