Quote:
Originally Posted by Magnavox300
Thanks guys, very cool learning about the simulcast tuner!
I will have to check out tuning in both AM and FM at the same time...
I would have never known about it.
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So-called "AM-FM stereo" was a very crude attempt at reproducing stereo sound on radio. The AM station carried the left channel of the program, while the FM station carried the right channel of the same program. I never heard the system in operation (by the time I was old enough to care about it, the present-day stereo-multiplex FM system had superseded the AM-FM one), but I can imagine it probably had its share of problems, one of which being that, if you were not within listening range of both the AM and FM stations, the stereo effect would be ruined. The stereo multiplex system in use today is much better, but you still must be within listening range (normally not more than 30 miles) of the station to get decent stereo separation.
About the only thing you will get today if you try to tune in both AM and FM simultaneously on your console's radio tuner in "AM-FM" mode will be separate programs on both bands, even from AM and FM stations operated by the same media group or broadcasting company.
I'd keep that console, however, since it is a collectors' item by virtue of the AM-FM stereo capability of the radio tuner. There probably aren't many of those left, as they were probably scrapped when the TV went bad (bad flyback, CRT, etc.) and the owner got a true hi-fi system and separate TV, probably a small portable.