Digital TV antennas

[nwprimo]

I've been looking into getting one. I found bone at Walmart for 35 dollars with a 60 mile radius. I would also need to get a digit TV converter box. Does anybody have or use there? I'm sceptical but if there's signal in the air it should work fine right?

 

[Lucky mike]

I use a walmart buy that also has the 60 mile radius........I bought a 19 inch flat screen A/C - D/C that doesnt need the converter box

 

[caseyc]

Why do you need a digital converter box? Is your TV ancient dating back to the black & white days? Pretty much all recent TVs in the past several years or so are digital and you can simply add a digital antenna from Radio Shack to pick up local digital TV stations (for free). The biggest factor for TV reception is how close (or far) away you are from local TV broadcast transmitters. If you are out in the boonies in the middle of nowhere, you will get ZERO free Over-The-Air television reception. But if you are in the city, you should be able to pick up at least a couple dozen free channels. Unfortunately 1/3 of the free TV stations are in Spanish...well, unfortunate if you don't speak Spanish, that is.

 

[Zil]

i had antenna and converter box on my old old magnavox tube tv. worked great most stations from 40 miles came in fine. cats wet the box and it died. i got a Toshiba flat screen hd tv but the antenna would not work. plan to get back around to it again.

 

[PastTense]

And the problem if you have one of those ancient TVs is that it is likely that it will use a lot of electricity compared to newer ones--and heavy electricity usage is a problem for vandwellers.

 

[Zil]

1/3 of maybe 100 or more stations are Spanish. got all the big 3 + uhf and pbs and a lot of vhf.

 

[nwprimo]

Yeah my TV in ancient. Its one of those 5 dollar 19inch thrift store box TVs that fits perfect in factory TV hole above the cab in my 97 high top. I'm glad nobody has anything negative to say. It looks like I've got a project tonight. The picture is generally clear?
Thank yall!
Not to mention I'm parking on one of the tallest hills in Florida this week.

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PastTense, if I run my engine my TV and DVD player work fine. If im not plugged in I usually go without luxuries like a TV anyways. A fan and my little microwave are all I refuse to go without.

 

[caseyc]

Geez, if you were nearby, I'd sell you my Toshiba 19" flat screen digital TV which I almost never use. They are cheap nowadays! Can get them on sale at Best Buy for around $120. A 22" flat screen digital TV only costs a little bit more. Weighs almost nothing, you can lift it with your pinky. Do yourself a favor, and get a new digital TV so you can skip the unnecessary converter box thing. Such a waste of time having to deal with a converter box for a dying/dead technology from yester-year.

EDIT: By the way, the new digital TVs have a really sharp screen whereby you can see amazing clarity versus the old style TVs. I can even get some (maybe a few) channels that are in high definition for free using an OTA (Over The Air) antenna for free TV reception. The difference in definition between old versus new TVs is like night and day. You will be amazed. You can thank me later, haha!

 

[nwprimo]

I'm known to be penny wise and pound foolish. Plus I like the way my TV fits. The wood trim and stand are built exactly to fix that style. Plus if it takes a dump its only 5 or 10 for a new one. I had thought about getting a flat screen and still may I've just got to get an idea as of how to mount it so it looks good and is functional

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You might have me sold,Casey.

 

[caseyc]

I'm sure others have already done the same thing before you, so I know it's possible. Once you've done this, you will wonder why you didn't do so years earlier.

 

[SoulRaven]

Kworld USB ATSC TV Tuner TV Tuners and Video Capture UB435-Q

http://www.amazon.com/Kworld-Tuner-...8&qid=1410815360&sr=1-7&keywords=usb+tv+tuner

 

[SternWake]

A couple thngs to note.

Digital TV antenna is marketing mumbo jumbo. the antenna has no idea if the signals it receives are digital or analog.

NOw since the Dtv crossover a few years back, a large portion of TV stations went from broadcasting on VHF frequencies to UHF frequencies.

Antenna designs can be changed to better pick up different frequencies, and a digitally optimized tv antenna usually means it is just an antenna optimized for UHF reception. The higher the frequency, the smaller the antenna elements need to be.

Now a tube TV draws a lot more electricity than a new LCD backlit TV. Is this a factor?

Usually it is.

Getting a digital converter box to install on an old NTSC( analog) TV also requires power. There are some 12vDC converter boxes available, but most require 120Vac, and an inverter.

So this just upped the power requirement again. Is this a factor?

Usually it is.

One more factor is the use of the inverter to power a digital converter box. Inverters can be electrically noisy, causing interference to TV signals. My inverter can knock out some TV stations which come in at 100% signal strength when the inverter is off.

One more factor is the cost of the converter box. It could very well be 2/3 the price of a new flatscreen TV. So pursuing this route can certainly be penny wise and pound foolish, or kilogram foolish.

An AC/DC tv, one which does not require an inverter, is the best way to minimize battery consumption and minimize the possibility of interference and maximize the available channels one can receive in any given location.

Digital signals are all or nothing. if you have a ~30% signal strength, then the picture is just as clear is if you have a 100% signal strength.

If the signal gets weaker then Pixellation occurs, or the screen freezes and goes blank, where as on analog TV the screen just got fuzzier and fuzzier the weaker the tv signal got.

With Antennas, height is might. Omni directional antennas might be convienent and work well when close to broadcasting stations, but non omni directional antennas can get signals from 4 times the distance, when Aimed properly.

If you get a directional antenna, and aim it correctly, the chances you can get a workable signal are about 400% more than an omnidirectional antenna.

http://www.tvfool.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29

Also note that with dtv, a station might come in as 7.1 on your TV, but could be broadcasting on channel 51.

In my area all the VHF high stations (7 to 13) are still operating, and I need VHF elements( rabbit ears) aimed at the towers to get those stations. Many of them are 92 miles at 5k' elevation away and I often get them at 100% signal strength, and some other days I get them not at all, due to atmospheric conditions. Dry Santa ana events wreak havoc with my TV signals. Foggy weather enhances them, sometimes to an incredible degree and I can pick up stations from Santa Barbara, about 200 miles away as a crow flies. TV signals over bodies of water propagate beautifully.

 

[nwprimo]

Thanks to everybody's help this is what I have come up with. After doing a Bit of driving around this afternoon I found a new in the box 15 inch ac/DC digital TV at a pawn shop for $129. I ts perfect and should fit perfect with very little effort. I'm very glad that I decided to walk in there. Casey and Stern were right. Why pay 50 for a converter box I need to run separately when I new TV isn't really too much more. Walmart was sold out of the antenna I wanted but they said it would be in tomorrow. So the hook upnis going to wait. I'm getting a RCA 60 mile omni directional amplified antenna for only $35. For the places I stay it should be fine. Walmart had a map and there are about a dozen towers within 24 miles from here and generally I'm in more populated areas than this. Once I get everything installed I'll put a picture up and let ya know how it went. Hopefully tomorrow

 

[nwprimo]

An AC/DC tv, one which does not require an inverter, is the best way to minimize battery consumption and minimize the possibility of interference and maximize the available channels one can receive in any given location.

Digital signals are all or nothing. if you have a ~30% signal strength, then the picture is just as clear is if you have a 100% signal strength.

Extremely helpful sternwake. You answered any and all questions I've been pondering for a while. I'm still going with the omni just because i prefer the " set it and forget it" approach. But now I know. Looks like you've done your research. Thank you

 

[LeeRevell]

Another benefit of the newer digital flat-screen TV is being able to use it as a computer monitor. I am doing this right now. I went through three cheap monitors, and then hooked into my smallish flat-screen TV - much better quality, a better picture, and it's lasting longer! Since I only watch programs via Hulu and Netflix on my computer, this works very well for me. I do have a mast-mount TV antenna for broadcast telly, and will try it when I get the van together. Of course, it will kill 'stealth'.....