FM 'Alignment' -irrelevant in Mono?

sydsfloyd67

Contributor
I was under the impression that an FM section alignment would perhaps influence the sound quality of the FM source component. I was reading the instructions for alignment of the Dynaco FM-3 online (tube tuner), and it seemed to indicate that the alignment steps there would be irrelevant if the tuner was in the 'mono' mode. (Manual said you could listen in mono without making alignment adjustments.) The adjustments to be made desribed for stereo mode would give maximum stereo seperation, sensitivity, and dial accuracy —but not relevant to sound quality or distortion.

My vintage receivers/tuners (6) all have good stereo seperation, sensitivity (I live in the city) and all but one (a TU-417) have an accurate enough dial and sound best with the signal indicator needle centered or deflected.

Am I likely hearing all the source sound quality these units are capable of without alignment? (None has been professionally aligned since I acquired them.) Is the Dnyaco FM-3 signficantly different than solid state tuners in the regard? Thanks. -sf
 
No and alignment is as important in a mono tuner as a stereo. The only difference is the stereo tuner requires alignment of the demultiplexer also.
 
B., That is, can one expect any increase in fidelity for a receiver or tuner that is already giving good seperation and centering of a tuning needle indicator on the least noisy knob position? (My reading of the FM-3 alignment instructions suggests that it might not.) Thanks, -sf
 
Ok, so I have a QRX-7500 quad Sansui receiver that only picks stations up in stereo if it's tuned to the far rightmost fringe of the 'center' meter, before muting kills it. Is this an alignment issue?
 
The answer to this question is like taking a pre-66 car that is running well. The only way to really see if it is running at its best is to do a tuneup. If the dial indicator is tracking consistently across the dial, then more than likely the front end is okay. The I.F. should be checked whenever tubes are changed and at some interval thereafter. If it was done after the last tube changeover then it would depend of the life it experienced. For instance you mention the FM-3. 1 serious probelm with the FM-1 and 3 is the cans easily go out of alignment when the tuner is bounced a bit. This is a major reason why Frank discontinued working on them. They used Miller coils as did most US makers and these are sensitive. Sherwood bypassed Millers and made their own and are more robust and not as subject to cracked tuning slugs.

Competent persons to do alignments are getting fewer and fewer. If it is a tuner you either want the best from or are keeping long term, it pays to make sure it is updated and performing as good as it can. I suspect in another 5 to 10 years, this is going to be a lost art and therefore far more expensive. Also, in reality, if you are even asking the question, then for peace of mind you should do it. FWIW, the FM-3 can be down at home with minimal tools but the difference between following the instructions and having someone do a complete equipment based alignment on these is like night and day. It takes the tuner up another level or so.
 
B;. Great insights, thanks. On lost art, I have to agree. However, any prediction of the death or FM per se I would view as "greatly exagerated" at this point. The ubiquitous hardware for sending and receiving, and the value of PBS, BBC, and college and even high school broadcasts, and then the potential for pirate look likely to remain in place, from my view. Let's hope so.

I understand that punkerX here does alignments at a reasonable rate. The major issue become letting the apes at UPS/FedEX etc touch any of my stuff 'again'. :) -sf
 
sydsfloyd67 said:
I understand that punkerX here does alignments at a reasonable rate. The major issue become letting the apes at UPS/FedEX etc touch any of my stuff 'again'. :) -sf
I'll add a quick two cents' worth...I just received the first of two tuners back from Punker X that were/are there for complete restoration and alignments.

Holy sh*t! From the second I powered up my old (but now new) Marantz 2130, it was a new world. Far better sound from the restoration and I'll post about that after it's finished burning in, but what's relevant in this thread is the result of alignment. It is dead quiet, has virtually no sibilance, pulls weak stations like never before (it now has an Ammons IF board for narrow mode) and is supremely musical.

Yeah, I'd say a great professional alignment will make a difference. A huge one! Worth every penny.
 
mhardy6647 said:
Ha-ha... the death knell for analog, broadcast TV in the US has already been sounded
:-( http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051021/tc_nm/congress_digitaltv_dc
HIJACK WARNING- MH. That's friggin fu*kin horrifying. More scare tactics to feed the godda*n 21st Century U.S. Military-Indsutrial Complex. What a pathetic excuse for failure to locally produce a real marketable improvement in technology. Lets hope they can somehow understand the issue when comes to Radio (e.g "clear the frequencies, we need them all in case of an emergency!!" is a pretty thinly veiled excuse for corporate greed.) -sf
 
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Actually not as much the death of FM but the birth of the digital and IC revolution that has greatly diminished alignment need and capability in units plus the increase in our religious belief in the disposable society.
 
SF,

Site advertisers aside there's plenty of good techs all across the country. I'd be pretty safe in saying if you ask about a particular area someone will pipe up.

Louie..... the center-tune meter being off is one sign the alignment is slipping or someones adjusted the meter! If it's 25-30 years old and you don't know if or when it's been aligned, odds are it wouldn't hurt it. Every things ages...... me too....

Ron
 
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