Bic FM 8 Owners Manual

Page 1

TM

11-IE
BEAM
BOX

Models FMtO and FM8
Owners Manual

Congratulations!

With the purchase at THE BEAM BOX by BIC you have taken an
important step towards realtztng the lull lidelity and quality oi sound
which your FM receiver or tuner can deliver. THE BEAM BOX is

a truly unique product designed to replace inetlective Indoor FM
antennas such as twinalead dipole wires often supplied with FM
sets Cumbersome rabbit-ears" antennas, ineffective and danger.
ous wall-outlet antennas and, in many cases, outdoor antennas

that are either ineffective for FM reception or cannot be readily
oriented tor best FM reception

THE BEAM BOX IS a high fidelity component Once properly
installed, it can be electronically oriented to pick up signals from
stations located anywhere in your listening area Since it is highly
directional, it picks up desired Signals while rejecting undesrred
signal rellections that cause multipatn distortion increase in back-
ground norse and even less ol good stereo channel separation
In addition to its electronic orientation capabitrty, THE BEAM BOX
incorporates a completely electronic tuning crrcun which covers
the entire FM trequenc, band from 88 ivle to 108 MHz. By en»
abling you to tune preeise y to toe Signals oi your choice, THE
BEAM BOX helps to retest unwanted interlering Signals oi other
FM frequencies which might adversely altect the sound quality of
the stations you actualgr wan: to hear THE BEAM BOX is much
more than a precrsren indoor FM antenna It is the only product
available that actually improves many of the perlormarice char-
acteristics ot your tuner or TCCElVET regardless ol its cost. Since
THE BEAM BOX is a preCiSion e!ectronic product. we urge you to
read the entire contents oi this manual betore attempting to con
nect or use it. You Will find that installation and operanon are
quite Simple Heres to better FM lidelity

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Installation

THE BEAM BOX will work virtually at any location in your high
fidelity system. For optimum performance. follow these guidelines:
a. THE BEAM BOX should not be placed next to a large metal ob-
ject, such as a radiator. metal cabinet, etc.

b. THE BEAM BOX should not be placed on top of a receiver or
tuner that contains vent holes on top. This will not affect the antenna.
but could restrict the venting of the receiver or tuner.

0. Since you will want to observe the tuning meter on your receiver
or tuner when using THE BEAM BOX; tor convenience sake. it
should be as close to the receiver or tuner as possible,

NORMAL ALTERNATE
INSTALLATION INSTALLATION (FMIO)
Model FMtO (For High lnterlerence Areas)

30013
Shielded
Twm
Lead

Tuner or Receiver
Matching Transtoimer

Tuner or Receiver

NORMAL ALTERNATE
INSTALLATION INSTALLATION (FMS)
Model FMB (For High lnterlerence Areas)

BEAM BOX

3001!
Twin Lead

300':
Shielded
Twin Lead

Matching
Translormer

F' Connectors

3l1ltlJ

Tuner or Receiver ~
NOTE: Only the 300$! Twin Lead is Supplied

Wiring
We supply a length at 300 Ohm twin lead with spade connectors at
each end. Attach one end of the twin lead to the two screw terminals
labelled 300 Ohms at the rear of THE BEAM BOX. Attach the other
end oi the twin lead to the 300 Ohm connection at the rear of your
receiver or tuner. (See Diagram ol Normal installation)

It the connections at the rear of your receiver or tuner are press-in
type (not screws), cut oil the spade lugs, strip back the wire and
insert the wire in the press~in connector.

Alternate Installation

It you are in a very high interlerence area. where. for example,
automotive ignition norse may be a problem, it may be necessary
to use shielded cable (either 75 Ohm or 300 Ohm)

The FMt 0 contains an "F" connector for 75 Ohm trans~
missmn line. (See Diagram oi Alternate Installation-FMiO)

The Diagram (Alternate installation-FMS) shows the various
connections tor use of these type cables on the Model FMS. When
75 Ohm cable is used a matching translormer Will be necessary.

Contact your local electronics dealer lor "F" connectors. 75
Ohm and 300 Ohm cable necessary tor these hook-ups

OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS
Control Functions (FM10 Illustrated)

3456

w r-«zizi:

~=VAILI m m

A. TUNING CONTROL. This control is used to tine-tune THE BEAM
BOX so that it is most sensitive to those lrequencies that you want
to receive. The control covers the entire FM frequency range lrom
88 Megahertz to 108 Megahertz.

B. BANDWIDTH CONTROL. This two-position switch selects either
broad (2) or sharp (linite) tuning (1). as indicated by the two dia-
grams located directly above the control knob,

C DIRECTIONAL CONTROL. This control is used to electronically
orient the antenna elements contained in THE BEAM BOX. The
arrows appearing in the blocks (boxes 3 thru 6). just above the con-
trol knob. indicate the directions from which signals will be most
favorably received as you face the front panel
of THE BEAM BOX. Thus, when the control

is switched so that its pointer lines up as in
the diagram, best signal reception will occur
for signals arriving from directly in front of you
or from directly behind you. The tour avail-
able electronically orientatable positions of
this control cover a complete 360 degree
circle, insuring best reception of all FM signals, regardless of
where the station transmitters in your area are located.

Initial Control Settings

Alter you have installed THE BEAM BOX and wired it to the antenna
terminals of your FM tuner or receiver. start by setting THE BEAM
BOX controls as follows:

1. Set the TUNING CONTROL (A), to approximately its mid-point of
rotation, half way between the 88 MHz and 108 MHz calibration
notations.

2. Set the BANDWIDTH CONTROL (B), to the broad position (2), as
indicated by the diagram.

3. Set the DIRECTIONAL CONTROL arbitrarily.
tor any of the tour available electronic orien-
tation directions (boxes 3 thru 6).

Turn on your receiver or tuner, adjusting
controls of your system tor normal listening
levels, Tune your receiver or tuner to the ire-
quency at a station you wish to receive. It your
tuner or receiver is equipped with a center-ol-channel tuning meter
or any other center-tuning indicator. make sure that you have tuned
the receiver ortuner to the exact center ol channel, as indicated by

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such tuning devices. If your equipment has a signal-strength meter
or other indicator, note the reading on that meter.

Next, rotate the DIRECTIONAL CONTROL knob to each of the
four available orientation positions, observing the signal strength
meter indications. Select that orientation which affords the highest
signal strength indications on your meter. If your tuner or receiver
is not equipped with any signal-strength indicating device, listen
carefully to the received program and choose that orientation
setting which results in the clearest and most noise-free reception.

In the case of strong signal reception (if you are very close to the
station's transmitter location). your signal strength meter may read
full scale" for more than one orientation setting of the DIRECTION
CONTROL. In that case, listen carefully to the quality of the received
program material and choose that orientation setting which results
in the least distorted sound which is accompanied by the least
amount of background noise or "hiss".

When you are certain that you have selected the best orientation
position, switch the BANDWIDTH CONTROL (8). to the sharp
(finite) position (1). indicated by the diagram. When you switch to
the sharp (finite) position (1 ), indications on
your signal strength meter may decrease. re-
main the same or even increase. Such varia-
tion of signal strength readings is the result of
the arbitrary positioning of the tuning control
which was initiallyset at its mid-point, which
may or may not be close to the frequency to
which you are tuned on your receiver or tuner.

Now. carelully rotate the TUNING CONTROL (A), until highest
signal strength is observed on your signal-strength indicator. If you
are tuned to a station near the low end of the FM dial. the tuning
knob should be rotated towards the counterclockwise extreme
(88 MHz) while for stations at the high end of the FM frequency dial.
rotation of THE BEAM BOX tuning knob will be
towards the clockwise (108 MHz) end of its
range. Again, if your tuner or receiver is not
equipped with a signal strength meter or. if
strong signals cause the signal strength meter
to read full-scale regardless of tuning control
settings, set the tuning control for clearest,
noise-free and distortion-free reception.

Now. as a final check. re-test the electronic orientation of THE
BEAM BOX antenna elements by switching through all four avail-
able positions to make sure that best reception is still obtained with
the antenna oriented as before. In most cases. your initial orienta-
tion (while you were still employing the BROAD bandwidth posi-
tion) will continue to provide the best reception. In a few instances.
however. you may now find that a position adjacent to that of the
firstorientation may improve reception just a bit more.

Ill! 0!

Station Logging

In most listening areas. stations are located in various directions
with respect to the listener. With a conventional dipole antenna or
even an outdoor FM antenna it is usually not practical to re-orient
the antenna every time you tune to a different station. With THE
BEAM BOX. such rte-orientation takes just a few seconds. Stations
can be received under optimum antenna orientation conditions and
reception is further improved by careful tuning of the tuning control
to match the incoming frequency of the received signal, With this
Owner's Manual. you will find a convenient STATION LOG table. As
you experiment with THE BEAM BOX and tune each desired station

in your area for best reception. we suggest that you enter the station
call letters as well as the optimum setting of the DIRECTION
CONTROL. the frequency of that station, and. if you know it, the tow
or city in which the stations transmitter is located. In that way.
every time you wish to listen to one of the stations entered

in the STATION LOG. you need not go through the tuning steps
just described but can immediately set THE BEAM BOX controls

to their correct settings forthat station.

Vour FM Set Has Increased Reception Capability

If (until now) you have been using a less efficient form of FM
antenna. such as a piece of wire tossed casually behind the set. a
rabbit ears" antenna or a non-rotatable outdoor FM antenna. you
will find that your set is now capable of picking up signals that were
previously inadequately received because they were either too
weak or off in the "wrong" direction, With this increased reception
capability. you may now encounter certain reception situations
which require you to pay attention to hitherto ignored controls or
features that may be found on your presently owned FM equipment.

AFC Circuits

If your FM set is equipped with an AFC (Automatic Frequency
Control) circuit and you attempt to tune relatively weak signals
formerly not received. you may find that your set will tend to pull"
the tuning circuits to a stronger station closer to the frequency of th
weaker signal you are trying to receive. In such instances, it is a
good idea to switch off the AFC circuits. After you have adjusted
THE BEAM BOX controls. the signal strength now received may be
strong enough to permit you to reactivate the AFC circuit so that the
station signal remains locked in" and will notdrift over long
listening periods.

Mating Circuits
Many FM tuners and receivers are equipped with special circuits
which are designed to eliminate or reduce annoying static or hiss
when tuning from station to station. These muting circuits sense the
presence or absence of an incoming FM radio signal. When a signs
of proper intensity is received. the muting circuitry is defeated and
the program contained in the signal is allowed to come through.
Normally. the muting threshold (signal level at which the muting
circuits are defeated) is set by the manufacturer so that very weak
signals are blocked" along with their associated background note
If you wish to receive weak signals such as these with the aid of
THE BEAM BOX. we suggest that you de-activatethe muting cir-
cuitry on your FM set before initiating the tuning process on the
set and on THE BEAM BOX. Most tuners and receivers have a
switch on their front panels for this purpose. If your set is equipped
with a variable muting threshold control. set this control to its
minimum-threshold point when attempting to receive extremely
weak signals.

Local-Distance Switches

Some FM tuners and receivers are equipped with LOCAL-
DISTANCE switches, (See diagram A). These switches serve to
introduce an attenuation network across the antenna input terminal
of the set. The purpose of this attenuator is to reduce the incoming