Tuner/MD 108 Question


I have just received a new MD 108 - although the Signal strength (indoor, attic-mounted Fanfare antenna)on strong stations is 96 (out of a 100), the blue stereo light doesnt go on and I receive all the stations in mono with rare minutes when it will come on. Is this a defective unit or is there insufficient stereo separation in my receiving area, despite the high signal strenth?
If anybody can answer that before I can reach Magnum Dynalab, that would be great!! I really dont want to pack that huge box and ship it to Canada! Otherwise I have to get the antenna up on the roof.
Denis
springbok10
I called them - the MD 108 is on its way back to them. Probably a defective capacitor. The service guy said only the second time he's seen this. They're sending me a new one. Is the S2 roof top made by Magnum?
Thanks for your input.
Denis
Denis I am very envious of your md108 for I ownly have a ETUDE. I have lusted over that peice for a long time. But what I will say ditch the indoor and go outdoor yagi, you will be truly amazed what you will be able to pull in. I can pull in stations from 100 miles away with a pretty impresive signal. I found radio shack gave me the biggest bang for the buck on a yagi, put in a sepperate cable and ONLY run it to the tuner. I found a rotor was not nessesary in my application . David
Glad to hear they're taking care of it for you. I just worked on an FT-101A that was approximately 3-4 years old (which has the same guts as the current MD-100), and the circuit board was delaminating, with a few traces oxidized and falling off the board. Yikes!

Beyond that, the basic engineering and design was essentially a mid rank car radio. Fortunately, with some careful parts replacement it can be improved over 500% and often more in terms of measurable distortion performance without adversely affecting the tuner in any way. Neat. This tends to occur across the line, based upon what Magnum told me about the design of the other tuners, although the TOTL 108 might be a different IF and decoder design. I didn't ask them about that one.

The roof mount Yagi is definitely the way for pulling stations, and with a few grand into the tuner, you owe it to yourself!
Thanks for all your responses. I'm sure I will end up with a roof-top Yagi. MD delivered a new 108 today and picked up the defective one, 1 week after calling them - the new one works fine!
Not bad service............
My old MD-102 was probably the first one they saw exhibiting the exact same symptoms ... despite great signal strength, stereo was tough to get. I e-mailed Larry Zuroowski, MD's President, shipped back the tuner (at his expense) and received a brand new unit with the updated circuit board. All is now well in FM heaven. MD has GREAT service.