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Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!seismo!hao!hplabs!oliveb!olivea!olivej!greg
From: greg@olivej.UUCP (Greg Paley)
Newsgroups: net.audio
Subject: Help wanted with FM problem
Message-ID: <120@olivej.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 17-Jan-84 20:39:29 EST
Article-I.D.: olivej.120
Posted: Tue Jan 17 20:39:29 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 19-Jan-84 01:53:18 EST
Organization: Olivetti ATC., Cupertino, Ca
Lines: 58


I'm hoping someone might have suggestions that will help
me improve the sound of FM on my system.  I am using a
Telefunken TRX-3000 receiver I brought back from Germany
at the end of 1980.  While using it in Europe, the
FM performance was flawless - really quite extraordinary
sound (it was Telefunken's top of the line and listed at
that time for approx. $1500).  Since I've been back
in the U.S. the FM sound has been completely
different - noisy, overmodulated, and generally 
distorted.  There seem to be a large number of
variables involved which someone with more knowledge 
might be able to zero in on with some insight.
	(1) Being a European receiver, the built-in
de-emphasis is 50 milliseconds (not switchable on this
unit) whereas the U.S. standard (except for Dolby FM)
is 75.  From my understanding, the only side-effect of
this mismatch should be a slight emphasis of the highs.
Is there more to this than I understand?
	(2) I rent a townhouse where outdoor antennas
are not allowed.  As a result, I get my hookup from
the local TV cable company.  I have the coaxial cable
from the CATV connected to a 300-75 ohm transformer
which, in turn, feeds the 75 ohm input to my receiver.
This step appears necessary since I've been completely
unable to find a connector that will mate with the 
peculiar one built onto the 300-ohm input on the receiver.
	One symptom that might give someone knowledgeable
a clue is that the "signal strength" indicator on the
receiver seems always to be at its maximum position.
Do any of the following seem a likely cause and, if so,
can anybody suggest a solution?
	(a) Some inherent incompatibility between the
European receiver and U.S. broadcast methods?
	(b) Are the Cable TV FM signals generally
inferior in quality?
	(c) Would the signal-strength setting indicate
that the signal from the CATV is overloading the tuner
section of the receiver somehow?
	(d) Have I just been spoiled by European
FM quality to the degree that the U.S. stations just
sound that much worse?
	The last might be true to a degree, but I
don't think it accounts for the fact that all stations
exhibit the same problem.  The actual distortion I'm
hearing, if this is any help, is much like the kind
of sound a cartridge makes when it can't track a
heavily modulated passage or when it's improperly
aligned.
	Thanks in advance for any help.


			Greg Paley
			Olivetti ATC, Cupertino, Ca