FM only tuners from the sixties?

Rod Beauvex

Rod Beauvex

Look at the tiny bunny...
Around the early to mid sixties, several companies, Harman Kadon, McIntosh, and Sherwood to name a few, made FM only tuners and/or recievers. Why was this? I was under the impression FM didn't really start picking up steam until about the start of the seventies.
 
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High-quality FM audio was prized by hifi buffs already in the 1950s; AM-FM simulcast stereo predated the FCC-approved MPX compatible FM stereo (ca. 1961) and dates back to ca. 1957. My father engineered the first AM-FM stereo simulcast in Baltimore, MD in the 1950s. Even mono broadcast FM audio quality was/could be excellent in the 1950s.

This l'il soiled state Scott dates from the 2nd half of the 1960s and has MPX stereo.
Scott312D.jpg


Here's a rather nice FM-only tuner from the 1950s :-)

RELPrecedent.jpg


(not mine, unfortunately; the REL Precedent is arguably the best FM tuner ever made)
 
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I think it was a hi-fidelity thing, as FM is much clearer than AM. For AM, you could listen to an old radio and it was pretty much the same as through your good system.

Dynaco, HH Scott and Fisher all made FM-only tuners and receivers.
 
Scott 312 hybrid Broadcast tuner

Scott312003web.jpg


you can see the little metal enclosure nyvister tubes in front of the Tuning cap.



Scott312008web.jpg
 
HEY Mark I jealous I would love to find a Silver tuning knob cap that would fit one of my 312's I have all the little caps I need But that big one is a bit harder to find.
 
My Scott 340B is an 18-tube FM-only stereo receiver. The only tuner I have that surpasses it in sound is the Sherwood 2100 II tube tuner.
 
I have a HH Scott 312D All Transistor FM/FM MPX only tuner. Made in 1967 and one of the last Broadcast Monitor lineup. Very high quality, very selective, excellent sensitivity and 1.7 uv for full quieting in mono. Takes less signal to deliver quiet Stereo than most and a noise filter that really works and the best Automatic FM Stereo of most all tuners. That REL Precedent posted earlier on is the best tube era FM tuner ever made. More broadcast equipment than consumer product. I have one and it's one of the best tuners I ever used for performance. It cost over $400 1956 dollars (Marantz and McIntosh weren't making tuners then). It inspired the Marantz 10 tuner design. :tresbon:
 
I have a Pioneer SM-G204. Not FM only, but it has SW, AM-AM stereo and AM-FM stereo (twin tuner). It has MPX out and stereo MPX in. I wish there was an MPX decoder that I could find, use, and afford.
18 tubes and a really nice sound. Magic eyes on both tuners for signal strength and /or tuning (I really don't know which one makes them light up). Not bad for 1962, IMO. Not as nice as the REL though.

On the subject of decoaders (MPX), can anyone tell me if they need a seperate antenna?

Dan
 
We need to remember that during this period AM was just falling from grace as the main entertainment in the home and many had excellent AM radio sets. Big floorstanders from Zenith, Motorola, and E.H. Scott (if you car was a Rolls). Some companies also had AM tuners such as EICO. It was one reason why some of the general public preferred the simulcast system but did not care for the AM-FM tuners and later when multiplex became the standard there was less reason to invest in an am tuner.

A large number of the FM tuners were purchased to plug into the existing AM systems through the aux, TV or FM input depending on age. As a kid, I got a hold of the auxiliary fm tuner that plugged into my television/phonograph/AM-SW system. I used the system from about '56 through '67 when I finally left home for good. Fidelity was very good as Motorola had some very good field coil speakers.
 
Fisher KM 60 mpx tube tuner. Mine needs a dial cord. I liked the looks/sound when above the Dyna Pas 3 in the Barzilay. :yes::yes: Regards.
 
I can't believe no one has yet mentioned the Marantz 10B or the Dynaco FM3. The former is the most famous tuner from the 1960s, the latter probably the biggest seller from that decade.
 
Dynatuner FM-1

:banana: Still have one. Wired many of these in the 50's. Might do 10 at a time. Big seller.

Stew (Stu) Hegeman original design, for Dave Hafler.
Later designs, not my father.
 
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