Do they actually SELL battery-powered converter boxes for battery-powered portable TV sets? According to the FCC's website, you can MAKE them on your own, but I'm wondering if you can buy one that's already battery-powered?

I don't have a battery-powered set. I was just wondering since so many people have talked about how they old analog portables won't work anymore.

I've heard of some converters that had a DC input jack that would accept power from a wall wart or external DC source; but, I've not seen a converter that used self contained batteries. I probably need to obtain one of those models with a DC jack, even if I have to use an external battery.

Check this out:

http://hd.engadget.com/2008/10/03/winegards-battery-powered-rcdt09a-dtv-converter-box-gets-review/

Perhaps "hack in" a battery like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVKm45r0uUY

jr

This work around is for a Artec Model T3A Pro converter box:

http://www.digitaltvtrainer.com/national/showme-battery-tv-converter

I'm pretty sure you can substitute D cells for lantern batteries...

I realize this is an old thread, but just found out something interesting. I have a Winegard RCDT09A DTV converter box that I've powered in the past with a battery holder using 6 AA NIMH cells and a homemade adapter using a 7809 regulator. While perusing the Solid Signal website, I noticed that they had the 12 volt adapter, imported by Winegard for this model, for $6. The model number for the adapter is RC-12DC. Since I was ordering a couple of antennas anyway, I included one of these.

When it arrived, I plugged it into a 12 volt source, and surprise, surprise, 12 volts came out the other end. To make sure, I disassembled the lighter plug, and found it was wired straight through. Since the DTV converter box says "9 volts" on the power input, I was expecting some kind of voltage regulator in the plug. I tried it on the STB, and it didn't fry it, so I'm assuming it's designed to tolerate 12 volts, and has one or more regulator circuits inside. Maybe the 9 volt AC adapters were cheaper in China?

Anyway, It appears that for portable or mobile use, one of these Winegard STB's powered by 12 volts from an SLA battery or from an RV (in my case a travel trailer) would work. Rat Shack sells the correct DC plug, but I threw the packaging away so don't know the model number. This is the setup I use when boon docking (no hookups) in the trailer.

This DTV converter uses a STB7766 main board. There is some info about this board on the web. It seems to be common in several different brands of converters.

Hope this helps someone.

Jim