I have a TV set I think is marvelous. Not a huge screen, just a 27 inch, but that's big enough for my living room. It works perfectly. Flat screen, excellent color and contrast.
But no digital tuner. So I had to buy a digital converter box. OK, I did that. and after a couple of months, the box died. I had to buy another one. No coupon this time so it cost me 70 bucks.
Guess what? The box died Thursday. Well, not mine, but the one in a mobile home I rent to a couple of ladies. So I gave them my converter box, went over and hooked it up. Decided I'd drop by Wal Mark and pick up another one.
Huh???? They don't sell them anymore! Not Wal-Mart, not Target, not Best Buy. No, not Radio Shack.
So here's the deal. The government made me switch to digital when I had excellent TV reception before. I was happy. My TV set worked just fine.
Now the boxes aren't sold any more (I did find a reconditioned one at Heartland America, and I ordered it today, with a rush on shipping.)
Now I'm NOT happy. Now my lovely TV is sitting there dark and dreary. The government must want me to buy a new TV. I like the one I have. If they want me to have a new one, hey, they can send me one. Or send me the bucks to buy one.
This is stupid! Think of all the many poor people in the USA who absolutely cannot buy a new TV. They barely managed to get up enough money to buy, with coupon, a converter box. I'm serious here. There are a lot of them, and I know a few. So when that box quits working, then what? Can't buy a new TV, can't buy a new converter box. Time to go read the newspapers, I guess.
This whole digital TV thing angered me from the very start, and now it has em several times again as upset.
I think next they will say "all cars will run on corn oil," but "we're not going to make any more corn oil."
Idiots. Another case of 'fixing what was not broken." Just as they did with amateur radio. Several times, in fact.
What ham radio is NOT: civic duty; cell phone; ambulance, hospital, fire or police radio; ISP, CB, FRS, GMRS, Marine, aviation. No one should be required to obtain a ham license as a part of his job!!
Location: 1/2 way between Siloam Springs & Springdale, Arkansas -- Foothills of the Ozarks
Posts: 1,346
I feel your pain.
Could the demise of your converter boxes
have been caused by lightning? Not necessarily
a direct hit. A nearby stroke can induce
thousands of volts. Best use a grounded protector
where the coax from your antenna comes
into the house. Ours is grounded at the
same point as our power mains, so they
settle their differences before entering
the house.
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"Only when the last plant has died, the last river is poisoned,
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... Decided I'd drop by Wal Mark and pick up another one.
Huh???? They don't sell them anymore! Not Wal-Mart, not Target, not Best Buy. No, not Radio Shack. ... Now the boxes aren't sold any more ...
Wow! That's a real eye-opener! Who would have expected that?!
Did you do a search on eBay and elsewhere on the Web?
If my digital converter box dies, and I can't get another one, I'll be darned if I spend the money for a new TV. I hardly watch it anyway.
So it says. But I tried that. Two of the three listed are not available in stores, and I can't get them to go into the 'checkout' column. The top one, the one I wanted is allegedly in stores, but I went to Wal Mart and the guy there said they are not buying any more of them. They won't be stocking them. I tried to check availability of the one in that list and it did not show up as available.
Maybe they are available. Maybe not. I could not get it to work, as that is where I went first.
Well, I have ordered one, anyway. (reconditioned.) And I have had very good luck with items from Heartland America. I have a combo DVD recorder/VCR from them (non digital tuner) I have had about seven years with zero problems. It was not reconditioned, though.
The whole idea burns me, though, that the government set this up to plan to force everyone to buy a new TV. Like the darned "cash for clunkers" program. To force people to sell a paid-for car and go into debt for a new car. That's stupid. My car is paid for. It runs. I would not give it up so I could pay 300 bucks a month for the next five years just to satisfy my rich Uncle in Washington.
They want us to spend more and more money so we can bail out more and more entities that, if they can't survive on their own, shouldn't survive at all. And I work (part time) for a GM dealer!!
Thanks for the tip, though. I just couldn't get it to work.
What ham radio is NOT: civic duty; cell phone; ambulance, hospital, fire or police radio; ISP, CB, FRS, GMRS, Marine, aviation. No one should be required to obtain a ham license as a part of his job!!
Wow! That's a real eye-opener! Who would have expected that?!
Did you do a search on eBay and elsewhere on the Web?
If my digital converter box dies, and I can't get another one, I'll be darned if I spend the money for a new TV. I hardly watch it anyway.
Yeah, that's my feeling, too. I have not missed TV in the three nights I have been without it. Kinda surprising, as I like to watch the evening news.
Yep, I did a "digital converter box" Google search. But much of the info that came back on the first two pages is outdated, and the outfits don't sell them. Much of the info is "what they are" rather than where to find them.
Didn't search eBay. I did find, as I mentioned, a reconditioned one at Heartland America. It's only 29 bucks and would be free shipping but I spent the extra shipping to try to get it here sooner. The one I wanted at Wal Mart was 44 bucks. That's fine. But they don't seem to actually have it. Or I could not get the checkout to work.
So I have one coming in a few days, though it won't be even shipping under Monday.
What really got me was Wal Mart telling me they won't be getting any more. Same thing at Best Buy. "We won't be carrying them anymore."
What ham radio is NOT: civic duty; cell phone; ambulance, hospital, fire or police radio; ISP, CB, FRS, GMRS, Marine, aviation. No one should be required to obtain a ham license as a part of his job!!
Thanks for the tip, though. I just couldn't get it to work.
73
ed
I wonder if it's an issue with your browser. I was able to order one (actually need one for the shack).. My local walmart and radio shack have them as well. If you DO need one in the future, let me know. I'd be more then happy to have you paypal me, and I'll pick one up for ya.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by W5WPL
If you can't make fun of yourself, go sit in the truck
I wonder if it's an issue with your browser. I was able to order one (actually need one for the shack).. My local walmart and radio shack have them as well. If you DO need one in the future, let me know. I'd be more then happy to have you paypal me, and I'll pick one up for ya.
Thanks. That's possible. Actually the home I rent out is now on its second one, but that second one is the one I had in my home. The gal had put a DVD player on top of it, and the heat may have damaged it. I just gave her mine.
But I did have one fail here in my house. And the one that failed in her house. So two of them have gone into the dumpster. Before, when mine failed, I picked up another one at Best Buy. 70 bucks, but hey, I had to have TV, huh?
Thanks for the offer. I would sure hate to throw out this nice TV. and without a converter box no one would buy it in a garage sale.
I stopped at Radio Shack looking for one, but there are lots of Radio Shacks. I did not find one, but I admit I did not ask the clerk there. I did ask at Best Buy and Wal Mart, and neither store will carry them again. They want to sell you a new TV!!
What ham radio is NOT: civic duty; cell phone; ambulance, hospital, fire or police radio; ISP, CB, FRS, GMRS, Marine, aviation. No one should be required to obtain a ham license as a part of his job!!
Shoot, my blonder-tongue UHF converter still works (at least until they switched off analog tv) and that was bought in 1960!
I'm in the same boat as you. Perfectly good older tv with a converter. If my converter dies I'll just forget about over the air and stick to my 1000+ old movies on dvd...
Location: 1/2 way between Siloam Springs & Springdale, Arkansas -- Foothills of the Ozarks
Posts: 1,346
I hate to sound like a broken record here. But follow the money. With most folks on cable, it's become less profitable to operate an analog transmitter at power levels needed for full coverage.
The digital stations operate using a small fraction of that power. True there's no snow, the pic is either there or it isn't, breaking into large pixels before going black. With the old, at last you could follow a game even if there was snow, or interference at times.
Having said that, I bought a 32-inch Sanyo LCD. Don't watch it that much, but I'm amazed at the clarity of the games, a much better view than anyone in the stands. Except when things hapen too fast, and objects take on those square edges.
Oh, yeah. The low-channel VHF frequencies
are to be used for "public safety" purposes.
__________________
Small minds are unable to discuss a topic. They are
reduced to name-calling, insult, and personal attack.
"Only when the last plant has died, the last river is poisoned,
the last fish is caught, will we realize that we cannot eat money." --19th Century Cree Saying
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Digital TV. NOW I'm Upset!
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