Tuner Aligement ? What does that mean ?


I just bought a Vintage Kenwood receiver I want to use in my office. Everything is fine, but I cannot pull in even local AM stations. I can hear some of them very faint but the volume has to be way up. I have tried a long wire, I have tried one of these amplified boosters and I still get zip.
Also, how can I improve the FM side?
This unit is from the original owner, I swear he never used it but he did up until 5 years ago. It's from 1977
I hear from time to time guys getting thier Tuners aligned,
is this something that possibly I should have done?
I have had other receivers and have not had this difficult time pulling in stations.
Thanks,
Dave
valleyplastic
A quality antenna should improve the FM performance or the tuner may need service. A couple of better tuners if all else fails. Carver tx11 , Luxman T110 , Pioneer tx 9500, 9800, Tandberg 3011(no AM) is one of my favorites.
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Alignment is the adjustment of the positions of the compressed powdered iron "slugs" in several interstage transformers in the IF amplifier section of the circuit. This tweeks up amd "aligns" the resonant frequency of the several transformers, and is essential to achieve proper sensitivity. AM radios also need alignment, but are less critically dependent on it.

The need for good alignment was always a weak point of analog tuners. The adjustment procedure requires various electronic bench instruments, and is a bit of an art, rather than pure science. The iron slugs could shift if the radio was bumped, and also over time due to temperature variations. Furthermore, with an old radio the powdered iron slugs may come apart so that the entire interstage transformer needs replacement, and lots of luck finding one.

The problems you describe could be need for alignment, but make sure that other things are checked before anyone messes with the IF transformers. Good luck!
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AM does not work well, or maybe not work at all inside a concrete/steel office building. If that is where your office is, it is probably not the tuner.

Most modern FM tuners just have lousy AM. I don't know why they bother even putting it in.

Alignment really has to do with FM. An RF alignment can improve a tuner's sensitivity, reception of weak or far away stations, and also improve the stereo separation. This will also result in slightly better sound.