Tuning System
Tuning system describes the technology a radio tuner uses to select and hold a broadcast frequency.
Methods include variable capacitors, voltage-controlled tuning, analogue tuning with a locking system, digital synthesis and digital signal processing. The visible dial or display does not necessarily reveal the underlying method. Different systems can provide similar user controls.
Tuning System — Tuner
A tuning system determines how frequency selection is implemented and maintained. A variable-capacitor dial moves tuned circuit elements; varactor tuning changes an electrical control voltage. Synthesized systems set frequencies through a reference-based process, while digitally processed tuners can move further reception functions into DSP.
Compare the documented mechanism along with tuning range, step size and reception performance. A digital readout alone does not prove synthesized tuning, and an AFC switch alone does not establish quartz locking. Likewise, a familiar tuning knob can operate a digital system. The system category is not a ranking of sound quality or weak-signal reception.