In article ,
clifford wright wrote:

Indeed reception is sometimes better with the RF gain backed off
somewhat even on weak log path European and US signals.

Cliff-

I've noticed that a noise increase can sometimes be caused by the noise
limiter. See if it makes any difference by turning it off.

Also, intermodulation distortion from strong signals outside the band,
might be what is causing poor noise performance. Take that into
consideration if you design a new RF stage.

Fred
K4DII