Help identifying Tuner noise


I am receiving a specific noise that is continuous when it occurs and sounds like "Locusts" in the background. Otherwise, the sound is excellent with a strong signal. The noise is also intermittent, so it comes and goes but I can't pinpoint it to a specific time of day. I've noticed the sound on two or three stations, so not all stations.

I own a McIntosh MR71 tuner that is in excellent operating condition. With this tuner I use an SE Engineering Antenna with a rotor. When rotating the antenna, the noise will lessen as the station's signal drops out.

Any thoughts?
kennythekey

Showing 1 response by kirkus

The stereo decoder in the MR71 and MR67 (found in the slightly raised section on the front-left side of the chassis) is a bit prone to drift, and IIRC the symptoms you describe are exactly that of when the 38KC oscillator transformer is out of whack. But unless you're vary [sic] familiar with what you're doing, I would be VERY careful twiddling with it . . . a quarter-turn of the top core of this transformer is the most I would attempt without test-gear. Also keep in mind that the slugs in these transformers are very brittle, and they can crack very easily with an aggressive hand on a metal screwdriver.

You might also check the condition or substitute the tubes in the stereo decoder, otherwise get the unit professionally serviced and aligned. In servicing a vintage FM tuner, it takes a bit of experience to understand what types of adjustment are required just to age and drift, and what kinds of symptoms indicate that something else is going bad. There's also a mod available to the output section to provide a real separation trimpot adjustment, which can increase the separation performance by a good 5-6dB over the original.