Terminology one sees online isn’t always precise, and many people conflate muting, soft muting and chuffing. I tend to get sloppy too. For the purpose of this article, here are the terms as I’m using them:
- Muting: When the radio shuts off the sound. This can be a Mute or Play/Pause button on the radio, or an automatic function to quiet the radio when scanning.
- Soft Muting: This is a radio feature that reduces the volume when there is a very low signal to noise ratio. It makes the radio quieter when tuning through empty bands, but it can also hide weak signals.
- Chuffing: Chuffing is an annoying “chuff” sound when tuning from one frequency to another.
Whenever someone asks a question or makes a comment about these, it’s best to know what they mean.
Continuous Tuning
Shortwave radio receivers can be divided into two categories, those that tune continuously, and those that tune in steps.
My Nanaola 10NT-504 from 1966 is an example of continuous tuning.
