# What's wrong with my radio? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 8, 2000, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-radio/6929 "2000-02-08T21:14:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2000, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-radio/6929/1 "2000-02-08T21:14:00Z")
I was driving around listening to the oldies station and a strange thing happened during a couple of songs. I could hear the lead singer and some of the instruments just fine, but the background singers and other instruments were so quiet I could barely make them out. One example was Paul McCartney’s “Got to Get You Into My Life.” On the chorus, I could hear the singer, but not the trumpet thing that comes in afterwards. What was going on? It didn’t seem to happen on every song. ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2000, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-radio/6929/2 "2000-02-08T21:24:00Z")
Check your “balance” (left to right) and “fade” (back to front). Also, check your bass and treble settings. I have a Honda, and the radio is terrible. I lose a lot of the “stereo” effect with various songs. The worst is “Windy” by the Association. Do you have a Honda stereo in your car by any chance? ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2000, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-radio/6929/3 "2000-02-08T21:30:00Z")
No, it’s not a Honda. It’s whatever was standard in an 81 Chevy Caprice. I’ll check the balance, though. ---
**Author:** ![pluto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f08c70/32.png) [@pluto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pluto)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2000, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-radio/6929/4 "2000-02-08T21:37:00Z")
WAG: As noted above you lost the stereo – that is, you lost one channel. The reason it showed up particularly on the Beatles tune is because it wasn’t true stereo but re-mastered stereo. They took the original master tapes and fed certain instruments, voices, etc., into one channel and the rest into the other to give a stereo effect. If it were just two widely spaced microphones there would have been less separation. And even if your fade and balance controls were OK you could lose one channel just because the signal was weak. But, as noted, all the above is a WAG. ---
**Author:** ![Delta-9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3be4f8/32.png) [@Delta-9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Delta-9)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2000, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-radio/6929/5 "2000-02-08T21:38:00Z")
Jinx is correct. Many of the Beatles recordings, as well as other artists, were recorded with instruments and vocals panned hard left or right. BTW, makes it easy to learn the parts if you’re a musician 😉 * * * The odds that the bread will fall butter side down are directly proportional to the cost of the carpet. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2000, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-radio/6929/6 "2000-02-08T21:39:00Z")
There is a slight chance it is the station, sometimes the electronics go bad at radio stations too. Have you checked to see if it is doing this on any other frequencies (other stations on your dial) ? * * * “A single lifetime, even though entirely devoted to the sky, would not be enough for the investigation of so vast a subject.” - Seneca ---
**Author:** ![Delta-9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3be4f8/32.png) [@Delta-9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Delta-9)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2000, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-radio/6929/7 "2000-02-08T21:41:00Z")
IIRC, when the stereo signal starts to fade, the radio goes into mono mode. You still have all the music it just isn’t stereo. Any elec-techs out there? * * * The odds that the bread will fall butter side down are directly proportional to the cost of the carpet. ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2000, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-radio/6929/8 "2000-02-08T21:47:00Z")
pluto wrote: > [@](#): > > WAG: As noted above you lost the stereo – that is, you lost one channel. You’re not likely to lose just one channel in an FM broadcast, because the two channels are not encoded separately. The main signal consists of the left _plus_ right channels, and the other signal consists of the left _minus_ right channels. To get just the left channel portion, your receiver adds the two signals, cancelling out the right portion. To get the right channel, it subtracts them, and the left channel goes away. It’s done this way so that simple non-stereo receivers could be made which only receive the main signal. Also, I believe that they can save some bandwidth by making the L minus R signal have less fidelity, which you don’t notice because it’s just the separation information, and separation is not obvious to notice. ---
**Author:** ![pluto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f08c70/32.png) [@pluto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pluto)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2000, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-radio/6929/9 "2000-02-08T21:48:00Z")
I withdraw my submittal. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2000, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-radio/6929/10 "2000-02-08T21:50:00Z")
Yes- the “fade to mono” effect can be quite ear-catching sometimes. You may have noticed the stereo lock indicator go out if you happened to be looking at the radio when it happened. The combination of stereo drop-out and a Beatles oldie may have been the magic formula for the strange symptom you heard. As far back as the late 80’s, Honda was using Alpine radios, which I always considered to be one of the best. ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2000, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-radio/6929/11 "2000-02-08T21:54:00Z")
Let me clarify - you’re not likely to lose one channel because of radio propagation effects. However, if Cher3’s car stereo has a loose connection for one channel, or if her balance is turned to all one channel, then this sounds likely, especially with the way the Beatles did stereo. But wouldn’t she notice if the balance were set to just one side? ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2000, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-radio/6929/12 "2000-02-08T22:20:00Z")
I only have mono radios, and, very rarely, I have heard oldies which, although normally heard properly, are being sent out with only one stereo channel being transmitted. I’ve always assumed it was some sort of problem at the station. Radio stations are so automated these days that there often aren’t any live human beings to make sure everything is working all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2000, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-radio/6929/13 "2000-02-08T22:39:00Z")
On the other hand, cher, it’s entirely possible that the radio station was playing the version of “Got To Get You Into My Life” from the BEATLES ANTHOLOGY, VOLUME TWO, which does not include the horn section. * * * Uke ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2000, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-radio/6929/14 "2000-02-08T22:53:00Z")
No, the horns were there, Ike, they were just playing at a barely audible volume. The rest of the song was at normal volume. The other song where I noticed it was “Hit the Road Jack” by (I think) Ray Charles. It sounded very strange, because I couldn’t really hear the women singing “hit the road,” but I could hear his replies. I’ve heard it twice on that particular song, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2000, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-radio/6929/15 "2000-02-08T23:10:00Z")
Here’s a related point: Has anyone played “Deep Purple” by Nino Tempo & April Stevens, and found that the sound doesn’t record very well?