Well, it finally happened. My local CBS affiliate, a 1.6kW LPTV analog station on channel 67, went dark today with no warning and switched to DTV on RF21.1. It was the last English-speaking channel in my area that was still analog. My parents enjoy the programming very much and didn't miss NBC, ABC, PBS, or FOX at all when they made the switch two years ago.

Time to break out the DTV converter box. I set it up with rabbit ears, and...

No CBS. Got everything else, though. BFD. They have no interest in The Biggest Loser, Modern Family, Arthur, or Bones. Yuck.

They'll be reading and listening to the radio more now. I'll try and make a set-top antenna like my avatar shows, but with brick walls, a big hospital, and valley walls right in the signal path, I don't have much hope. They're already annoyed that they have had to juggle three remotes (TV, VCR, DVD player), so one more for the DTV box is a big PITA right now.

Yeah, we really needed digital TV. :thumbsdn:

Our remaining analog station went dark in February, 2010. It was a translator station for the trinity broadcasting network and was on channel 47. I suspect this same fate will happen to many other LP analog stations in the near future.

I do feel your parents discontent as far as current programming goes. I think we have 10 OTA DTV channels and there's not much on any of them that I care for, especially since RTV was taken off. And, cable is almost as bad. Cable = 60 channels of garbage and OTA = 10 channels of garbage.

radiotvnut,

That TBN translator will not be missed. TBN stands for the Trailertrash Broadcasting Network. Good for testing how many strands of Jan Crouch's hair and how many layers of makeup you can discern. Oh, please send your love gift and get a statue of Jan Crouch's new gold plated doghouse. Can you say PTL Club Lite.

About all I used it for was to test the UHF tuner in a TV.

Well, it finally happened. My local CBS affiliate, a 1.6kW LPTV analog station on channel 67, went dark today with no warning and switched to DTV on RF21.1. It was the last English-speaking channel in my area that was still analog. My parents enjoy the programming very much and didn't miss NBC, ABC, PBS, or FOX at all when they made the switch two years ago.

Time to break out the DTV converter box. I set it up with rabbit ears, and...

No CBS. Got everything else, though. BFD. They have no interest in The Biggest Loser, Modern Family, Arthur, or Bones. Yuck.

They'll be reading and listening to the radio more now. I'll try and make a set-top antenna like my avatar shows, but with brick walls, a big hospital, and valley walls right in the signal path, I don't have much hope. They're already annoyed that they have had to juggle three remotes (TV, VCR, DVD player), so one more for the DTV box is a big PITA right now.

Yeah, we really needed digital TV. :thumbsdn:


Why not get cable? Basic service, what I call "bare bones" basic, is broadcast channels only (plus WGN America in most areas) and costs a lot less than standard or digital cable. I have Time-Warner basic cable, which costs about $15 per month and does not need a cable box; of course, all I get are the network stations from Cleveland, plus WGN. For other programs I liked on expanded-basic cable, I have a VCR and a DVD player, plus a good-sized library of vintage TV shows and movies, so I don't miss x-basic at all.

A universal remote will make your parents' lives a lot easier, as they can then consolidate four remotes into one, to say nothing of not having to buy sets of expensive alkaline batteries for each of four separate controllers. I use a GE four-function universal with my entertainment system (TV, VCR, DVD) and couldn't be happier. Got the remote for $5 at Big Lots about four years ago. After a few minutes spent programming the thing, I was enjoying total remote control of all my devices, and have been ever since. Once you've tried a universal remote, you may never go back to the individual remotes again.

BTW, in what part of "Red Sox Nation" are you located? If you are in the metro Boston area, you should be getting CBS television programming on WBZ-TV channel 4. I don't know where channel 67 would be, but I don't think it's anywhere near the Boston television market. Sounds like that channel is a low-powered translator for WBZ or some other CBS affiliate in your state, and its signal doesn't quite reach where you are. If you cannot for any reason receive that station's digital signal, put up a good outdoor antenna -- the same advice TV technicians gave people when color TV arrived in the early '50s. If you are in a strong signal area, an indoor antenna may work for digital TV reception, but for the best results an outdoor antenna should be used. The reasons (two, anyway) are that DTV signals are in many cases a lot weaker than the analog television signals they replaced, and even very strong DTV signals can be reflected off walls, obstructions and the like, creating dead spots in some parts of your house and areas of very strong, usable signals in others. DTV is an all-or-nothing system; either you get decent reception or you do not -- there is no "in between" as there was with analog TV. Digital television's equivalent of snowy pictures in analog is freezing of the picture and breakup of the same signal into black squares; the phenomenon is called "pixelization" and will often render a weak DTV signal unwatchable. The worst case is no picture at all; this occurs because, as I said above, DTV signals can reflect off walls and obstructions (to say nothing of mountains and/or other terrain features between the television transmitter and your house), causing dead spots. Your best bet is probably to install a highly directional outdoor antenna, pointed directly at channel 67's transmitter.

1. Why not get cable? Because it's not free, Jeff. My family's never paid to watch American TV and doesn't want to start now.

2. We did get a couple of RCA universal remotes last week. :thmbsp: A Godsend.

3. I live in W. Mass. Channel 67 (WSHM-LP) was a CBS satellite of WFSB in Hartford but with local (Springfield MA) news and commercials. Channel 67 is now off the air, and its replacement WSHM-DT is on RF 21.1. My line of sight to that transmitter is blocked by a three story high brick building. My folks have zero intention of putting up an outdoor antenna.

In difficult areas, I have found it helpful to pre-scan the converter box. In my case I just connect the box to my outside antenna and start the scan process.... you might consider taking the rabbit ears and box to a location closer to the transmitter to scan for the channels.
Once the channels have been "found" by the converter box, it is easier to optimize reception in the difficult location. Often moving the antenna a few inches or so will make the difference between no reception and perfect reception. Most boxes have an on screen signal strength display that is helpful. Of course this display does not function on a channel that is not "known" by the box.
jr