MR 85 reception problem

[Mighty Favog]

All of the sudden my MR 85 will not pull in FM. I checked the coax (single run of RG6-QS) to the antenna (thinking squirrels ate it) but that's all fine. It will play FM if I take it off Auto Mute (Auto Mute ON is on by default) but then the reception is pretty low and at no time, now, are there any numbers showing up on the signal strength display at all. After I turn off the Auto Mute to get the weak reception I can turn it back on and it will continue to get the weak reception. But if I change the station, it loses all FM reception again and have to go through turning off/on the Auto Mute all over. I unscrewed the coax from the unit and there was some change in reception but not for the better.

It does have the LED kit from Audio Classics but I put that in many years ago. And the glass display seems a little clouded now on the inside. AM plays fine and strong as always.

Any ideas??

Thx in advance....

[jdandy]

Tom.......Have you tried a Microprocessor Reset? Press the POWER switch to the OFF position and wait for two minutes. The press the POWER switch to ON. The Red LED above the STANDBY/ON Push Button lights to indicate the MR85 is in Standby Mode. To turn on the MR85 press the STANDBY/ON button. I don't know if this will make a difference but it is worth a try.

If you have a balm transformer and a dipole wire antenna, you may want to try hooking that with a short piece of coax cable to the MR85 antenna terminal just to be certain there is not an undetected issue with your coaxial cable or antenna.

[Mighty Favog]

Hi JD!

Thanks for looking into this.

The more I poke around with this thing, the more odd things I'm finding.
But, yes, I tried resetting the microprocessors with the 2-minute drill.

Here's a few more things I found:

I pushed the SEEK buttons and it will play a weak signal of stations either too far away or ones I don't want and will show a number for the signal strength but not above 7. Conversely, if I manually tune to a station that's been stored in the presets, it won't play anything unless I turn off the AUTO MUTE but it still displays no number for a signal strength. Not even a "0".

I've cleared all the presets and reprogrammed a few for testing purposes but the same thing happens. I've even did a full reset by holding in the SPATIAL EXPANDER and MONO buttons in at the same time and going through things like country setup, diagnostics for the front buttons, etc. So far nothing has helped.

If it needs a new TM1 board, I can put one of those in myself.

I sent the text in my first post to Ryan at Audio Classics.

[jdandy]

Tom.......It very well could be the TM1 module has an issue. I have an MR85 tuner in the living room system so I'll be interested in what you discover.

[Mighty Favog]

O.k., will do. Guess I'll have to wait till Ryan gets back to me. But chances are I'll get impatient and call him.

[Mighty Favog]

O.K., I talked to Ryan this morning and he thinks the problem is outside the TM1 module since the problem also involves the pre-sets. So it looks like I'll be sending it to New York because I just do NOT trust my local authorized Mac service techs.

[Maks]

Originally Posted by Mighty Favog

O.K., I talked to Ryan this morning and he thinks the problem is outside the TM1 module since the problem also involves the pre-sets. So it looks like I'll be sending it to New York because I just do NOT trust my local authorized Mac service techs.

Can't blame ya, go with the folks who are trusted. Hopefully this won't set you back too much and you can get back to the tunes!

[Mighty Favog]

Well, I did another test to find where the problem lies. As luck should have it, I have two identical antennas mounted in my attic. I was able to run some coax from that second antenna to the tuner. Bad news is, the problem still exists.

So, after things calm down around here (dental and car repairs needed) she'll get sent off to New York.

[jdandy]

Tom.......Looks like it might be time for a little peak under the hood.

[Mighty Favog]

Update!!

This is really going to spin some heads but get this:

This afternoon I was going to do some cleaning in the basement. While down there I was going to play some music on the radio. But, get this.....it wouldn't play FM EITHER!! It's a total separate (POS - theater in a box that someone gave me) system (digital tuner)
with no common connections at all; different antennas, different electrical circuits, everything. But it has the same problem, no FM reception but AM plays loud and clear. That basement system in directly below the living-room system that also doesn't play FM. The only common thing they have is that they are moth near the main breaker service panel, and nothing has been changed in there in at least 5-years.

There is another system in my basement at the other end of the house (South) that plays both FM and AM just fine. So, I go out to the garage and get my portable boom-box (analog tuner) and bring it in the house. Of course it plays both bands just fine.

Now the only thing I can think of that has changed is that our public water utility has put in a new water meter that transmits a signal to one of the utility poles to take readings. That was about a month ago and about the same time I found the FM problem in the living room.

http://s38.photobucket.com/user/Tom_...3suwh.jpg.html

http://s38.photobucket.com/user/Tom_...yhsjx.jpg.html