McIntosh MI 3 Owners Manual

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GENERAL DESCRIPTION THANK YOU for purchasing this Ml 3. To insure your enjoyment please read this manual carefully and follow instructions. CONTENTS GENERAL DESCRIPTION 1 TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION 2 SPECIFICATIONS 3 FRONT PANEL INFORMATION 4 BACK PANEL INFORMATION 5 CABINET INSTALLATIONS 6 CONNECTIONS 7, 8 SET UP PROCEDURES 9 SYSTEM HOOK UP 10 TYPICAL PATTERNS 11 GUARANTEE 12 The Mclntosh Ml 3 is five laboratory instruments combined into one compact instrument. It is a professional oscilloscope, relative signal strength indicator, calibrated FM deviation meter, calibrated balance meter, and phase indicator. These instruments are used by FM stations to determine the best possible performance for your listening enjoyment. The Mclntosh Ml 3 Maximum Performance Indicator makes it easy for you to attain professional broadcasting quality FM listening. The Mclntosh Ml 3 shows you what you need to do to improve your system's overall performance. It is designed to be used with an FM tuner and stereo preamplifier. When the Ml 3 is used with an FM tuner it will detect and display multipath reception. Multipath reception is the result of a reflected signal arriving at the tuner antenna slightly later than the direct signal. By rotating or repositioning your FM antenna it is possible to reduce the multipath reception. The Ml 3 Maximum Performance Indicator makes it easy to know when the FM antenna is oriented for the best reception of any station. To show multipath reception the Ml 3 displays instantaneous signal strength versus frequency deviation. Signal strength is shown as vertical deflection of the indicator display beam. Frequency deviation is shown as horizontal deflection. Multipath reception appears as a peak or valley in the Ml 3 picture tube display. Multipath reception degrades FM tuner performance in several ways: 1. Usually there is an increase in background noise level. 2. Distortion is often heard in the program signal. 3. Stereo separation may be reduced. 4. The stereo effect may be completely lost. 5. Stereo indicators may fail to function, or function erratically. To overcome multipath reception it is usually necessary to turn the antenna to receive the FM signal by one predominant path. Rotating a directional antenna is effective at correcting multipath reception. In a metropolitan area where a simple antenna such as a dipole is used repositioning the antenna will achieve the same result. The Ml 3 is a very effective tuning indicator: 1. Signal strength is shown by the vertical position of the display trace. The higher the position of the trace the greater the signal strength. MAXIMUM PERFORMANCE INDICATOR MI3 1