Scott 311 (c. 1955–1961)

The Scott 311 is an FM tuner that appears to have been H. H. Scott’s first wide-band FM model. It was introduced in 1955 at a price of $99.95. Scott’s own advertising from that year promoted it as a tuner that “makes FM reception better than ever before possible,” crediting the new wide-band circuit design. Audio experts of the day called that circuitry “the most significant development in tuner design in many years.” The tuner was specified with 3-microvolt sensitivity, a 2-megacycle wide-band detector, and two stages of full limiting. An optional leather-grained plastic accessory case was available for tabletop use. The bare chassis could also be installed into a custom cabinet.

Audio (March 1956, p.48) reviewed the 311 and found it delivered quality reproduction with reliable, drift-free performance, noting that it was low-priced compared to other Scott tuners but still turned in the kind of performance the brand was known for. The review also observed that by 1956, FM tuner sensitivity had become so competitive that a figure under five microvolts was no longer remarkable on its own — what mattered was how the tuner actually performed, and the 311 measured up.

The 311 used a meter for tuning. The 314, the model that succeeded it, replaced the meter with a simpler tuning-eye tube. High-Fidelity (January 1961, p.59) reported that the 314 was “basically similar in circuitry and performance” to the 311. It sold for less ($114.95, case extra) because of a simplified audio section and the eye tube in place of the meter.

Little is documented about the 311 beyond these period sources. No service manual, schematic, or full specification sheet is known to survive in common circulation. What the record shows is that it was Scott’s early, affordable wide-band FM tuner, and that it ran for about six years before the 314 replaced it.