Sharp Clock Radio/TV combo - Videokarma.org TV - Video

Hemingray · #1 05-26-2009, 07:15 PM

Found this neat little gem at a flea market for 5 bucks, so it came home with me. Shame it won't work naturally after June 12. This little guy is not only a clock radio with a lighted radio dial, but is also a small B&W TV. You can even wake up to your favorite TV news program with this.

AUdubon5425 · #2 05-26-2009, 10:09 PM

Neat! I'll bet it sold for a pretty penny when new!

*zenithfan1* · #3 05-27-2009, 04:56 PM

Those are cool, and exactly the kind of set most hurt by the digital crap (that and the hand-held ones). You'll have to hide the dtv box or hook cable up in your bedroom. Very neat set, I couldn't have passed on it for 5 bucks.

Jeffhs · #4 05-27-2009, 08:13 PM

This is a very common misconception regarding the DTV transition. Not all unmodified TVs will be totally useless after the end of analog full-power telecasting. Your Sharp TV (and all others with built-in antennas) will continue to work even after 06.12, if your area has or is within range of one or more low-power or translator TV stations. The only stations required to switch to 100 percent digital (at this point in time anyway) are the full-power broadcast stations.

I can see your point, however, as not all areas of the US have LP or translator stations. The use of a converter box or cable ahead of a set like this, in my opinion, defeats the purpose of such sets; they were meant to operate on batteries as portables, not to be tethered to cable or to OTA D/A (digital to analog) converters. Of course, the sets will work with cable or converter boxes, but the portability, which again is a big reason most people buy these sets in the first place, will be lost. I hope someday, after DTV has been the standard for TV transmission a few years, manufacturers will introduce battery-powered small-screen sets with LCD, LED or OLED screens (the last meaning organic LED, a new twist on LED flat-panels). Once the problems with backlighting are resolved (almost all LCD FPs have a backlight that must operate if the TV is to show a picture bright enough to view) and these new TVs are made to operate hours on a single charge of a battery pack, the dream of truly portable HDTV will be realized, but for now, the idea doesn't even seem to be a gleam in the eyes of the TV manufacturers.

vegabass25 · #5 05-27-2009, 08:15 PM

WOW! that thing is awesome!

Hemingray · #6 05-27-2009, 08:46 PM

I've placed it next to my bed and cabled it to the downstairs DISH network box that outputs on 54/60. I also have a UHF modulator outputting on 26 being fed by a DTV converter. Could wake up to the local news or HLN/CNN if I wanted to.

*zenithfan1* · #7 05-28-2009, 08:06 AM

Excellent! We all have to do something similar in 15 days now. Enjoy the antennas while you can!!

compucat · #8 05-28-2009, 11:13 AM

Loss of functionality of small sets is what bugs me most about the analog switch-off also. Digital portables are starting to emerge but not from any high end manufacturers. So far, it is all no name made in China stuff.

I have solved my portable digital TV dilema by purchasing a 10" mini laptop and using my usb digital TV tuner. It works great, is built better and far more functional than any stand alone set. It gets three hours per charge and best of all, it's portable.