RadioBanter - View Single Post - Hallicrafters s-38C question

March 1st 04, 06:09 PM

In article ,
(Chris Kilmer) writes:

) I only pick up 3 local AM stations (I live in downtown Washington,
DC.) Is this something I should be concerned about? I am new to all of
this, and I am still learning... but it seems to me that this radio
should be picking up more than 3 stations. I have a pretty big antenna
attached to it, so I'm pretty sure that's not the problem. Is living
smack-dab in the middle of downtown the reason why I can't pick up any
AM stations besides the local megawatt monsters? Or might the poor
reception be due to the fact that there are still 5 wax capacitors
that haven't been replaced? Bands 2 and 3 pull in tons of stations;
band 4 only pulls in a few but I'm not worried about that.

It's typical that Bands 2 & 3 will pick up plenty on a simple radio, and
typical that Band 4, which is usable only during daylight hours, will be weak
on a 4-tube radio without an RF amp stage.

But the fact that Bands 2 & 3 are so alive, points out that what ever's wrong
with the AM BC band 1 is peculiar to that band, and not the radio as a whole,
that is, not the remaining wax caps (which you still want to replace anyhow).
AM BC is an easy band for even the simplest radio to receive well. My guess is
alignment, or dirty bandswitch contacts (spray them with Deox-It, don't waste
your time with Rat Shack tuner cleaner). Good luck, Mike K.

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