The broadcast that you're hearing is just AM broadcast breaking through to the audio amplifier circuit, which is the LM386. It might even be making it through the rest of the receiver. It doesn't indicate anything special. What I'd recommend doing is tuning down to the 7.077 region to see if you can hear the FT8 signals. They're at 7.074 *upper* sideband, so if you tune to 7.077 you'll hear them on the *lower* sideband just fine. That will help you figure out if it is working. You can also use a Web SDR near you to listen to strong signals and see if you can tune them.?
Post pictures of your build so we can help more, and let us know how it goes :)?
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Ryan Flowers - W7RLF
