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On bigger signals, the ST-3636 sounds similar to the Pioneer, but a little lean compared to the modded Kenwood. It got whupped! A 21 KW signal from 143 miles away was stereo/narrow listenable on the TX-9800, mono/narrow listenable on the RFM-815 and.
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It sat between the TX-9800 and the RFM-815. Here's Ray's subsequent report: "We put the ST-3636, sans Opto-Lock, into the tuner shootout system last night. Ray and our panelist Bob speculated that the ST-3636, with 3 narrow filters and 3 IF amps, may be a good performer when modded, particularly for DXing once the lock is defeated. Our panelist Ray says his research revealed that the ST-3636 is "an earlier all-analog version of the ST-7405." It has 5 FM gangs and 3 AM gangs, wide and narrow FM bandwidth settings, fixed and variable output jacks and a 400-Hz tape calibration tone, but unfortunately also has the overactive 'Opto-Lock' circuitry described in the ST-7405 writeup below. RFM's opinion? Remove this one from your shopping list there is better 'sparrow feed' to be had." The ST-3535 usually sells for $30-50 on eBay. The ST-3535 is a great-looking '70s big box with its lime-green light show. In RFM's tuner comparison setup the similarly equipped (4 gangs, 3 CFs) digital Hitachi FT-5000 was easily superior to the ST-3535 at station-getting. I found the ST-3535 to sound quite good with a big clean signal, but the ST-3636, with its 'Opto-Lock' defeated, is a far better tuner. 80% w/separation at 34 dB FM frequency response 45 Hz to 13 kHz +/- 1.5dB (measured response was -1.0 dB at 30 Hz, +.2 dB at 12 kHz and -1.4 dB at 15 kHz). The ST-3535's specs: mono sensitivity 13.2 dBf image rejection 80 dB IF rejection 85 dB spurious response rejection 80 dB capture ratio 1.5 dB alternate channel selectivity 65 dB THD mono. But wait, there's more! For variable outputs it runs through pots which then feed emitter follower buffers, then to the jacks. That drives the fixed out jacks through 8.2K-12K dividers. Here's how the audio section stacks up: HA1156 MPX out to single transistor amp/buffers to dual LPF/notch filters to discreet de-emphasis filters to a dual audio amp IC. Optonica/Sharp did their IC shopping at the Hitachi store as the MPX chip is an HA1156 and there's an HA1149 dual audio amp. The IF section has a transistor amp, the dual-section CF, IC amp, single CF, and then two IC amp stages. The AM section has 3 gangs but even when aligned, it's not very sensitive.
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It has 4 FM gangs, one IF bandwidth, 2 ceramic filters (though one is a double), and the darndest 'tour de force' audio stages I've yet seen. I was hoping it would be an ST-3636 sans 'Opto-Lock' but, alas, it's also sans a few more things. Our panelist Ray reports: "I've had some time playing with a recently obtained Optonica ST-3535 and its service manual. at the time, and their tuners are now generally scarce in the secondary market. They did not get much respect from high-end dealers in the U.S. Optonica was the brand name for high-end electronics manufactured by the Japanese giant Sharp from 1976 to 1981 or so. Onkyo Tuners can be found on a separate page. See how one sample sounded compared to other top tuners on our Shootouts page. Jim was our only panelist who ever saw a TU39. Please post in our FMtuners group if you've ever used a BWD-1.
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We've only seen a few of them offered in the secondary market since 2001, usually between $275-550, and usually sold together with a "SOAP" power supply unit. Onix BWD-1 ( front, with power supply, back) search eBayĪ longtime favorite of our knowledgeable contributor doug s., the BWD-1 is a very rare and pricey minimalist FM-only tuner. We have posted updated eBay sale price data in this section through August, 2011 data for "as is" or damaged tuners, or otherwise unrepresentative auctions, may be excluded. Please see the On-Deck Circle for tuners that we know very little about or that we're not sure merit a writeup. In parentheses after the model number are the year of introduction and most recent list price, and/or the original list price if indicated by "orig" (special thanks to David Rich of The Audio Critic for copies of historical material from his reference library). Tuners are listed alphabetically by manufacturer and in alphabetical and numerical sequence by model number. Granted to quote our text so long as proper credit is given.ĮBay listings that quote us incorrectly or without credit may be