You don't have AGC in an FM radio, in fact you have the opposite, a limiter that removes as much of the AM component as possible. Here's a link that explains squelch well: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squelch Two approaches: http://www.taha.islam-piers.org/circuits/2M-Circuits/squelch-descrip.htm http://www.seits.org/repeater/bilevel.htm FWIW the AC audio output of an FM receiver is at maximum when there is no signal. I have had occasion to demonstrate that typical FM signals carry a fair AM component a time or two. There was one time when a transmitter PLL became unlocked, and the transmitter was emitting nicely in the 2M FM band AND on the local ATC tower frequency. It was clear audio into their AM recievers. The thing is that the stages past the modulator, including the antenna system, usually add some AM component to the FM transmission since they have a finite bandwidth. A suitably narrow tuned circuit can be the foundation of a crystal radio that will reproduce FM signals. --=20 http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .