This one showed up here at the house today courtesy of an older man who I fixed a console stereo for a while back. It's an '84 19" knob style varactor tuned 19" color set. He claimed that it worked and the only reason he was getting rid of it is because his son bought him a new TV. I have not pulled the back; but, I suspect that it uses the CTC120 chassis, which was a good chassis. When fired up, the grey scale is a little off and there is a lot of interference in the picture. I tried a different matching transformer, without luck. I'll check into it further when I open it. Also, the finish is worn from around the volume control and one of the little hinges on the control door is broken off. I found the broken piece; so, maybe I can glue it back together.

http://i538.photobucket.com/albums/ff341/radiotvnut/2010_0331xl1000002.jpg

http://i538.photobucket.com/albums/ff341/radiotvnut/2010_0331xl1000001.jpg

Try an isolation transformer. I have found those crappy converter boxes do that kinda thing. Just a thought

Hey now! That Channel Master is the Cadillac of coupon eligible converter boxes! ;)
Have you tried moving the box away from the TV?

Does Channel Master still make DTV converter boxes? I've been thinking about getting a CM7000 to go with my Zenith and Insignia boxes.

I've been told that they are no longer made and when stock is gone, that's it. In fact, I'm not so sure that very many converters are being made by any brand.

As far as decent ones, RS was carrying the digitalstream boxes as of a few months ago. I don't know about now. WM had a whole boat load of those Funai built Magnavox cheapie boxes; but, they soon sold out and have not restocked. The Zenith/Insignia boxes were discontinued in short order and all BB ended up having were some real crappy Apex boxes that you could fry an egg on. They probably don't even carry those anymore.

I'm sure the whole game plan was to discontinue the DTV converters ASAP in order to force people into buying a new TV. I have two Digitalstream boxes, a CM box, one Magnavox box that I paid $15 for, and one of those cheap BB Apex boxes that I got for free when my neighbor went into a nursing home. I plan on buying more boxes, just in case I need them, in the near future.

I always liked the Venturer that Target used to carry. It's discontinued of course, they only have the Apex now. The RCA also used to be at Target and some WMs; it wasn't that great of a box but it came with a universal remote which made it easier to use.
Did you know... one of the government requirements was that CECBs were supposed to accept the same remote codes as the company's satellite STBs? That's great if you have an RCA, not so helpful for a Venturer or Apex. I set up my inlaws with an RCA and was able to program their One-For-All to work it using RCA DBS receiver codes.

I'm sure the whole game plan was to discontinue the DTV converters ASAP in order to force people into buying a new TV. I have two Digitalstream boxes, a CM box, one Magnavox box that I paid $15 for, and one of those cheap BB Apex boxes that I got for free when my neighbor went into a nursing home. I plan on buying more boxes, just in case I need them, in the near future.

The CM converter boxes were discontinued a while ago, in fact people on ebay are willing to pay $70 just to get one - why I don't know...

The reason why you can't buy any of the good converters anymore is because the coupon program ended - plain & simple, companies know that people aren't willing to pay the full price of a DTV box when they can just buy a new HDTV instead. In a business stand point this makes sense because if no one is buying them, it's just a waste of money to make the boxes.

The Insignia/Zenith & CM converter boxes were discontinued before the coupon program ended, I remember seeing months ago a lot of people in the AVS Fourms continuously asking where they can buy the boxes, because stores stopped stocking them early...