Tuner (radio)
[4] Tuners generally include a tuning knob or keypad to adjust the frequency, i.e. the intended radio station, measured in megahertz (e.g. 101.1 MHz).
A later method used a potentiometer supplying a variable voltage to varactor diodes in the local oscillator and tank circuits of front end tuner, for electronic tuning.
Modern radio tuners use a superheterodyne receiver with tuning selected by adjustment of the frequency of a local oscillator.
Manufacturing shifted to solid state electronics in the 1960s, but this didn't always result in improved sound quality compared to the older tube tuners.
Eventually, after switching from germanium to silicon transistors, the Japanese consumer electronics companies achieved a dominant market position.
The growth of hi-fi stereo systems and car radios in turn led to a boost in FM listening.
[citation needed] The Post–World War II economic expansion in the US led to the growth of hi-fi products, increasingly seen as high tech hardware, with requisite jargon, and separated into premium quality components with high-class aesthetics and marketing.
[21] Standalone audio stereo FM tuners are still sought after for audiophile and TV/FM DX applications, especially those produced in the 1970s and early 1980s, when performance and manufacturing standards were higher.
[22] The McIntosh MR78 (1972) is known as one of the first FM tuners precise enough to tune into a weaker station broadcast on the same frequency as another stronger signal.
[23] As a result of circuit miniaturization, tuners began to be integrated with other products such as amplifiers and preamps, and other digital electronics, and marketed as AV or stereo receivers for home theater or hi-fi systems.
[24][25] The Japanese development of silicon transistor technology led to popular radio products in the 1980s such as the boombox and the Sony Walkman.
[32] Television standards supported by TV tuners include PAL, NTSC, SECAM, ATSC, DVB-C, DVB-T, DVB-T2, ISDB, DTMB, T-DMB, and open cable.
These "turret" tuners mechanically switched the receiving circuits by rotating a knob to select the desired channel.
