Posts: 816
Threads: 25
Joined: Mar 2014
City: Louisville, KY
I have a question.
I really don't understand well, the workings of the tuner section of a radio, so I'm not sure my question is even at all important.
But anyways here goes :
What is the significance of the changes to intermediate frequencies during the 30s?
My research reveals it started out at 460kHz, then went to 470 kHz in 1937, . . . stayed there for a few years. Then it dropped to 455kHz in 1940, where it stayed for the remainder of AM broadcast history.
Posts: 2,118
Threads: 112
Joined: Jun 2010
City: Medford OR (OR what?)
Started out down below 100khz went to around 175khz early on.
There is a lot to it, like images and stuff (station at multiple locations on the dial). For this one you are probably going to need a book.
"I just might turn into smoke, but I feel fine"
http://www.russoldradios.com/
Posts: 816
Threads: 25
Joined: Mar 2014
City: Louisville, KY
Ok...I have one here....guess it's time to crack it. Thanks.
Posts: 7,296
Threads: 268
Joined: Dec 2009
City: Roslyn Pa
The early 30's Philco superhets used 175 and 260 kc. Philco also use several tuned radio frequency (trf) circuits too, these don't require any IF circuitry. Most of these are from the late 20's and early 30's.
When my pals were reading comic books
I was down in the basement in my dad's
workshop. Perusing his Sam's Photofoacts
Vol 1-50 admiring the old set and trying to
figure out what all those squiggly meant.
Circa 1966
Now I think I've got!
Terry
Posts: 184
Threads: 3
Joined: Feb 2018
City: Chesapeake VA
I read somewhere the lower frequency transfer energy better, though I doubt 455 vs 470 is going to be noticable.
Most all car radios used 262.5Kc.
Tom
(This post was last modified: 04-15-2019, 06:23 PM by
35Z5.)
Posts: 1,364
Threads: 45
Joined: Nov 2017
City: Menlo Park
State, Province, Country: CA
Theory says that the lower frequencies allow for tighter selectivity. I think for that reason some communications receivers have double conversion - a high first IF frequency to improve image rejection, then a low IF where bandwidth can be well controlled.
In early sets, low frequencies probably made it easier to derive lots of IF gain with reasonable stability.
Another aspect to the choice of frequency is the potential for interference caused by the local oscillator. If the IF is 460 kHz, then a set tuned to 1000 kHz will have the oscillator running on the 1460 kHz channel. The move to 455 kHz put the LO from a correctly tuned and aligned radio inbetween stations - at least in the USA where channels are 10 kHz apart. In UK and europe, the channels are separated by 9 kHz. I'd have to do some arithmetic to see how that worked out.
I don't hold with furniture that talks.
Posts: 1,106
Threads: 88
Joined: Jun 2011
City: Tacoma
State, Province, Country: Washington
.. and then there were the RCA "catacomb" sets. Those used a 40 KHz IF for the early superhet designs, and it made tuning in any given station a true challenge. Receiving the same strong station on multiple dial positions wasn't/isn't unusual... it's a fact of life. And those two dials didn't help, either... one for the antenna, one for the LO.
![[-]](https://philcoradio.com/phorum/images/bootbb/collapse.png "[-]")
