Onkyo TX8500 "tuned" light goes out when touching the tuning knob!

[davidjsharp]

I am back on AK after a 10+years break...
I'm fixing my Onkyo TX8500 receiver - it is now working well (blown output transistor), except that when I touch the tuning knob when tuned to a station, the "tuned" light goes out, and the centre tuning meter seems to move very slightly. But the tuning lock is so strong (far too strong IMHO) that I don't lose the station at all.. So when tuning a station, because I am touching the tuning knob of course, I don't know for sure that I am tuned until I let go of the knob. Now I am well aware that it is very easy to completely mess up the RF alignment, but wondered if there is a very simple slight adjustment somewhere - or should I just live with this quaint idiosyncrasy? I am no RF expert, but have the plastic adjustment tools somewhere if needed. Thanks for any useful suggestions!

 

[raycarr00]

On the onkyo receivers that I own, what you have described is normal. There's a switch on the back of the units I'm using that increases or lowers the sensitivity of the knob touch. Might be called servo lock.

 

[MuseChaser]

I'm not familiar with that receiver, but I think it's possible that it may be working correctly. Way back when, I had a tuner that worked like that; the "tuned" indicator light would go out while touching the tuning knob and moving to various stations. Once you found a station you liked, you tuned it "by ear" until it sounded as clear as possible. When you let go of the knob, the equipment would then lock on to the station and indicate "tuned."
I wish I could remember what piece of equipment it was.. maybe an old Dynaco tuner?

In any case, I admit that this is just a "musing." It's entirely possible that your Onkyo is NOT designed to work that way.. but it makes sense to me.

 

[raycarr00]

 

[audiotemp]

When you touch the knob the "locked" light should go off. The "tuned" light may also go off if the knob position is such that you are not perfectly tuned. Ideally, you should adjust the knob position so that you are "tuned" and when you release the knob you should be both tuned and locked.

 

[kwayde]

From the manual:

 

[davidjsharp]

Ahhh! Thank you all so much! Very helpful! As they used to say at college .. .when all else fails, read the instructions!

 

[raycarr00]

Dawned on me I have the instruction manual that explains the function.

 

[audiotemp]

Dawned on me I have the instruction manual that explains the function.

So, per those pages, "locked" indicates that a station is tuned and "tuned" indicates rhat the station is locked!

 

[chazix]

I once swapped the lamp connections on a similar-behaving Onkyo because I thought the behavior couldn't possibly be what was intended. But I guess it was. Maybe just a language translation thing?