What does the “Antenna Attenuator” switch do?
It’s there for people in environments that are very near a broadcast station’s antenna. If you’re really close to a transmitter, it can affect reception all across the dial in a negative way. This could be another FM station or even a transmission from a utility service such as police or fire radios that are very near to the receiving antenna for the FM tuner. With the switch on, the attenuator reduces the signal strength of every signal coming into the tuner, effectively moving all the stations further away. In an urban environment, where most stations are close anyway, this usually eliminated the problem of the too-near transmitter(s) and left the other stations perfectly listenable. In a more rural situation, where you’re trying to receive stations that are further away in the first place, using the attenuator can make an otherwise listenable station unlistenable – but if you’re suffering from severe interference, this may be your only option. This kind of interference usually occur
