I asked about "good" receivers for broadcast radio a while back, and
the GE Super Radio was highly recommended here and elsewhere. So, I
got one for Christmas and it does seem to be good at pulling in and
separating many stations. Thank you. However, there is one annoying
problem: The indicator on the dial is "offset" by some distance.
Since the printed frequency scale is non-linear, one can not simply
remember a simple rule like "Station plus 500 kHz". The manual that
came with the radio doesn't say anything, really; it's very short.

So, any ideas?


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In article ,
Paul Ciszek wrote:
I asked about "good" receivers for broadcast radio a while back, and
the GE Super Radio was highly recommended here and elsewhere. So, I
got one for Christmas and it does seem to be good at pulling in and
separating many stations. Thank you. However, there is one annoying
problem: The indicator on the dial is "offset" by some distance.
Since the printed frequency scale is non-linear, one can not simply
remember a simple rule like "Station plus 500 kHz". The manual that
came with the radio doesn't say anything, really; it's very short.

So, any ideas?

http://users.netonecom.net/~swordman...srIIIAlign.htm

"Mike S." wrote in message
...

In article ,
Paul Ciszek wrote:
I asked about "good" receivers for broadcast radio a while back, and
the GE Super Radio was highly recommended here and elsewhere. So, I
got one for Christmas and it does seem to be good at pulling in and
separating many stations. Thank you. However, there is one annoying
problem: The indicator on the dial is "offset" by some distance.
Since the printed frequency scale is non-linear, one can not simply
remember a simple rule like "Station plus 500 kHz". The manual that
came with the radio doesn't say anything, really; it's very short.

So, any ideas?

http://users.netonecom.net/~swordman...srIIIAlign.htm


Dial inaccuracy is usually caused by poor tracking of the oscillator. Is the
problem evident on both AM and FM? If so, both oscillators will have to be
adjusted.
To set the oscillators, locate a moderate strength station towards the low end
of the dial and then set the tuning dial to the setting that corresponds to the
frequency of the station. Then slowly tune the oscillator coil until the
station comes in strongly.
Do the same with a station near the high end of the dial, and adjust the
oscillator trimmer capacitor.
Repeat until the dial tracks accurately.
You might have to tweak the RF stages, but the IF should be OK without
adjustment. Adjust the coils on the low end, the trimmer caps on the high end.

If you're not handy with electronic equipment, it might be best if you let a
friend who is handy do it for you.

--
Dave M
MasonDG44 at comcast dot net (Just substitute the appropriate characters in the
address)

Life is like a roll of toilet paper; the closer to the end, the faster it goes.

In article ,
DaveM wrote:

Dial inaccuracy is usually caused by poor tracking of the oscillator. Is the
problem evident on both AM and FM? If so, both oscillators will have to be
adjusted.
To set the oscillators, locate a moderate strength station towards the low end
of the dial and then set the tuning dial to the setting that corresponds to the
frequency of the station. Then slowly tune the oscillator coil until the
station comes in strongly.
Do the same with a station near the high end of the dial, and adjust the
oscillator trimmer capacitor.
Repeat until the dial tracks accurately.
You might have to tweak the RF stages, but the IF should be OK without
adjustment. Adjust the coils on the low end, the trimmer caps on the high end.

If you're not handy with electronic equipment, it might be best if you let a
friend who is handy do it for you.

That does sound rather daunting. But thanks for the advice, and thanks to
the previous poster for pointing to the PDF of the manual.

--
Please reply to: | "One of the hardest parts of my job is to
pciszek at panix dot com | connect Iraq to the War on Terror."
Autoreply is disabled | -- G. W. Bush, 9/7/2006

Paul Ciszek ) writes:

If you're not handy with electronic equipment, it might be best if you let a
friend who is handy do it for you.

That does sound rather daunting. But thanks for the advice, and thanks to
the previous poster for pointing to the PDF of the manual.

Put a piece of markable tape under the actual dial, and then put markings
for the stations you regularly listen to.

Or if you are actually listening to distant stations (which may not
reliably be there) start working on calibrating that new "dial". Wait for
a station to ID, then look it up, and you'll find it's actual frequency. So
that takes out yet another point on the dial. Do this enough times, and
you'll have it all right.

This applies to a lot of radios, whether or not they have a serious problem.
A lot of low end analog radios have big spaces between the calibration marks,
so the dial isn't particularly helpful. But marking it as you desire (or
with that tape), you can tune to a given frequency so much faster. It's
easier to tune that boombox I have by looking at my bit of tape than trying
to read the original dial.

Michael VE2BVW

In article ,
Michael Black wrote:
Paul Ciszek ) writes:

If you're not handy with electronic equipment, it might be best if you let a
friend who is handy do it for you.

That does sound rather daunting. But thanks for the advice, and thanks to
the previous poster for pointing to the PDF of the manual.

Put a piece of markable tape under the actual dial, and then put markings
for the stations you regularly listen to.

Or if you are actually listening to distant stations (which may not
reliably be there) start working on calibrating that new "dial". Wait for
a station to ID, then look it up, and you'll find it's actual frequency. So
that takes out yet another point on the dial. Do this enough times, and
you'll have it all right.

This applies to a lot of radios, whether or not they have a serious problem.
A lot of low end analog radios have big spaces between the calibration marks,
so the dial isn't particularly helpful. But marking it as you desire (or
with that tape), you can tune to a given frequency so much faster. It's
easier to tune that boombox I have by looking at my bit of tape than trying
to read the original dial.

The simplicity and directness of this approach has a certain appeal,
aesthetically displeasing though it may be.

Does the tuning procedure described upthread improve reception? I.e.,
do I give up any of the capability of my superradio by leaving it as is
and using a masking tape scale?

--
Please reply to: | "One of the hardest parts of my job is to
pciszek at panix dot com | connect Iraq to the War on Terror."
Autoreply is disabled | -- G. W. Bush, 9/7/2006

--
Dave M
MasonDG44 at comcast dot net (Just substitute the appropriate characters in the
address)

Life is like a roll of toilet paper; the closer to the end, the faster it goes.
"Paul Ciszek" wrote in message
...

In article ,
Michael Black wrote:
Paul Ciszek ) writes:

If you're not handy with electronic equipment, it might be best if you let a
friend who is handy do it for you.

That does sound rather daunting. But thanks for the advice, and thanks to
the previous poster for pointing to the PDF of the manual.

Put a piece of markable tape under the actual dial, and then put markings
for the stations you regularly listen to.

Or if you are actually listening to distant stations (which may not
reliably be there) start working on calibrating that new "dial". Wait for
a station to ID, then look it up, and you'll find it's actual frequency. So
that takes out yet another point on the dial. Do this enough times, and
you'll have it all right.

This applies to a lot of radios, whether or not they have a serious problem.
A lot of low end analog radios have big spaces between the calibration marks,
so the dial isn't particularly helpful. But marking it as you desire (or
with that tape), you can tune to a given frequency so much faster. It's
easier to tune that boombox I have by looking at my bit of tape than trying
to read the original dial.

The simplicity and directness of this approach has a certain appeal,
aesthetically displeasing though it may be.

Does the tuning procedure described upthread improve reception? I.e.,
do I give up any of the capability of my superradio by leaving it as is
and using a masking tape scale?

--


No, if the procedure is done correctly and thoroughly, the performance should
not be affected unless by virtue of component tolerance build-up, one of the
tuned circuits just doesn't have the range it's supposed to have. The procedure
given in the manual is pretty standard alignment technique for a superhet radio.
Nothing unusual about it. If you have a signal generator that is pretty
accurate on the frequency setting, the whole procedure shouldn't take more than
ten minutes, including the time to open the radio. The signal generator will
make the alignment possible even if there are no stations to use for alignment.

Another thought occurred to me... how is the dial pointer arranged in the radio?
If it's on a string, like radios of days gone by, just move the location of the
pointer on the string so its position agrees with the station frequencies. That
would eliminate the need to realign the radio.
Cheers!!
--
Dave M
MasonDG44 at comcast dot net (Just substitute the appropriate characters in the
address)

Life is like a roll of toilet paper; the closer to the end, the faster it goes.