diff --git a/src/algorithms/signal_source/adapters/signal_source_base.cc b/src/algorithms/signal_source/adapters/signal_source_base.cc
index b3e68d200..9f2230825 100644
--- a/src/algorithms/signal_source/adapters/signal_source_base.cc
+++ b/src/algorithms/signal_source/adapters/signal_source_base.cc
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
  * GNSS-SDR is a Global Navigation Satellite System software-defined receiver.
  * This file is part of GNSS-SDR.
  *
- * Copyright (C) 2010-2020  (see AUTHORS file for a list of contributors)
+ * Copyright (C) 2010-2021  (see AUTHORS file for a list of contributors)
  * SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-3.0-or-later
  *
  * -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -38,6 +38,9 @@ size_t SignalSourceBase::getRfChannels() const
 }
 
 SignalSourceBase::SignalSourceBase(ConfigurationInterface const* configuration, std::string role, std::string impl)
-    : role_(std::move(role)), implementation_(std::move(impl)), rfChannels_(configuration->property(role_ + ".RF_channels"s, 1U))
+    : role_(std::move(role)), implementation_(std::move(impl))
 {
+    // because clang-tidy insists on using std::move for the string arguments, and to avoid
+    // depending on the order of initialization, assign rfChannels_ in the body
+    rfChannels_ = configuration->property(role_ + ".RF_channels"s, 1U);
 }