How long will we be able to buy ATSC-NTSC converter boxes?

[kc8adu]

Originally Posted by MRX37

I think when I get a convertor box, (probably a digitalstream from Radio Shack unless I can find a Zenith DTT 901) I'm going to pop it open and see if I can replace every lytic cap with Nichicons.

That might add 5, 10 or even 20 years more to the box's life.

considering how many cheap dtv converters i have picked up for free non working thats a good move.
seems the digitalstream brand is the worst for early failures.and it is always bad caps unless it got hit by lightning.
most of these coupon eligible boxes were either bad performers or short lived.huge waste of tax money!would have been easier to swallow if they were at least durable!

[rpm1200]

If anyone really wants a Magnavox Funai box, Mat has them for $25... refurbed... http://www.matelectronics.com/acatal...sories_36.html

[ha1156w]

I've already had to replace my Channel Master CM-7000. It suffered an unknown problem that left the power LED red, indicating a non-booting processor. Voltages coming from the power supply are silkscreened on the board and were spot-on. Modern quality I suppose.

[ChrisW6ATV]

The Channel Master CM-7000 is available again at Fry's Electronics stores again. They had it on sale this week or last for a good price. That box and the Zenith/Insignia ones are the best SD digital tuners I have used.

[Ed in Tx]

Originally Posted by ha1156w

I've already had to replace my Channel Master CM-7000. It suffered an unknown problem that left the power LED red, indicating a non-booting processor. Voltages coming from the power supply are silkscreened on the board and were spot-on. Modern quality I suppose.

Yep I harken back when I was a kid in the '50s, really miss those days of pulling the tubes out of the old Zenith and going to the 7-11 to test them (the piano bench seat in the living room is where we kept several sets of spare tubes), or pulling the whole chassis out and having it sitting on the coffee table as my Dad fussed and fretted over it, or when that TV would start vertically rolling, or losing sync from the intermittents it had, you could bang your foot on the floor to "fix" it, temporarily. Yep those good ol' reliable days!

[Zenith26kc20]

I'll go thru the Digital Stream this weekend. I don't think the caps are bad as it develops problems after it has been on about an hour. It is on a "kill" strip so it is not on 24 hours a day.
It worries me when I see ball grid array....

[Chad Hauris]

I just started to have trouble with one of the RCA DTV converters I got at Target about a year ago. I got two extra I had kept in storage but needed to get one set up for a TV in another room...not too long after taking it out of the box it started acting up. It would shut off by itself and the image would freeze up on the screen. I cleaned off all the flux off the board and resoldered all the joints on the bottom of the board with regular leaded solder. It seems to be doing fine now.

Here is a video I made of the repair process:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWHl6tu7bu8

[Zenith26kc20]

Brought a can of "freeze spray" home over the weekend and let the Digital Stream run till it acted up. I sprayed what appears to be the CPU/processor and after a second or two, it was off and running until the chip got warm again.
This IC (the ball grid array mounted one) gets a bit warm! I think it developed a internal thermal problem. On mu other one I plan on mounting a heat sink to help cut down on heating.
Maybe a 30 ton press would fix it.........

[andy]

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[Einar72]

Reflowing a fair-sized BGA is a "don't try this at home!" affair. Just like the CRT rebuild process, you have to carefully control heating and cooling or you can ruin the board, too. And the lead-free solder makes it all the more fun. If you're going to pull the chip off and reinstall it, I'd recommend someone with the correct equipment. And a jar of solder "paste" that hasn't been open too long. A hot-air pencil will not do for this sort of task.
On a more positive note, I've tried adding heatsinks where one wasn't designed-in with a fair amount of success. Use a "stiff" thermal compound very sparingly (or a dry thermal pad, better yet) so the medium won't run under the IC and complicate matters even more.

[Username1]

For some reason I only saw this thread today. You know its only to feed the ekonime that therer is a desperate need to always consume. But anyway, with heat being the biggest problem with electronics, I remember reading reviews for the converter boxes and the Zenith Insignia boxes were the coolest running, and they had an ac cord that ran all the way into the box. Those were the reasons I got those models. And I keep one on all the time because it feeds the vcr that records stuff over night. And I did get a few for the future, I figured they were not going to last long, certanly not as long as my Sharp 1984 25KT35 Simulated wood grained portable 25" tv. The prices for these converters has been going up on epay too.

[NowhereMan 1966]

Originally Posted by Username1

For some reason I only saw this thread today. You know its only to feed the ekonime that therer is a desperate need to always consume. But anyway, with heat being the biggest problem with electronics, I remember reading reviews for the converter boxes and the Zenith Insignia boxes were the coolest running, and they had an ac cord that ran all the way into the box. Those were the reasons I got those models. And I keep one on all the time because it feeds the vcr that records stuff over night. And I did get a few for the future, I figured they were not going to last long, certanly not as long as my Sharp 1984 25KT35 Simulated wood grained portable 25" tv. The prices for these converters has been going up on epay too.

I got the Zenith boxes, 3 DTT-900's and a DTT-901 because we have a 1982 Zenith 25 inch System 3 that we bought new in 1983 and still in use although it does act its age from time to time. I know today's Zenith isn't the Zenith of 1982 but still I figured that hopefully a little bit of the good name rubbed off on the boxes. I've been using them since 2008/2009 and, knock on wood, they are doing their job. I have one hooked to the 1982 Zenith, the DTT-901, a DTT-900 to a 1984 Commodore 1702 monitor and a DTT-900 to a 1998 19" Zenith BPC. The fourth box is in reserve for now.

[Adam]

I picked up another box, this time a Digital stream, I thought I would compare it with my Insignia, and I wanted to have a second one in the room upstairs I use as my tv repair shack. I get the thing connected up and I get - nothing... So I think it's either broken, or really not very sensitive. But I tried it downstairs hooked to the antenna on the roof and it gets the same channels as the Insignia.

It turns out I just get no channels at all with rabbit ears, on either box. I really thought upstairs I would get something with rabbit ears, given I can get Canadian analog ch 9 that way, but I can't get a single one of the digital stations out of Detroit. Oh well, maybe I'll stick a 2nd antenna up in the attic...