Electronics Repair (sci.electronics.repair) Discussion of repairing electronic equipment. Topics include requests for assistance, where to obtain servicing information and parts, techniques for diagnosis and repair, and annecdotes about success, failures and problems.

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Default Consumer Reports: "Don't repair this TV..."

I have a 2 1/2 year old, 27" Sanyo DS27930 TV that began to
occasionally turn itself off last week, but now won't turn on at all -
it just makes a buzzing noise for a few seconds when I try to turn it
on, and then turns itself off. 9 months ago it fell off its stand onto
a carpeted floor, but worked fine after that until this problem
cropped up.

I'm trying to decide if I should repair or replace it. According to
Consumer Reports, "It doesn't make economic sense to repair
off-warranty ... conventional TV sets under 30 inches." Do the experts
here agree with Consumer Reports' recommendation, or should I pay
($40) for an estimate to see how much it would cost to have it
repaired?

TIA,
Harry
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Default Consumer Reports: "Don't repair this TV..."

HarryB wrote:
I have a 2 1/2 year old, 27" Sanyo DS27930 TV that began to
occasionally turn itself off last week, but now won't turn on at all -
it just makes a buzzing noise for a few seconds when I try to turn it
on, and then turns itself off. 9 months ago it fell off its stand onto
a carpeted floor, but worked fine after that until this problem
cropped up.

I'm trying to decide if I should repair or replace it. According to
Consumer Reports, "It doesn't make economic sense to repair
off-warranty ... conventional TV sets under 30 inches." Do the experts
here agree with Consumer Reports' recommendation, or should I pay
($40) for an estimate to see how much it would cost to have it
repaired?

TIA,
Harry



You're probably looking at $100 or so for the repair and you could
expect a few more years out of it then. Only you can determine if that's
worth it.
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Default Consumer Reports: "Don't repair this TV..."

If the $40 is deducted from the repair, and the repair is a simple one, then
it may pay to repair. Also, you have to consider that after the repair is
done, there is no guarantee of how long the rest of the set will last. The
average repair for most common faults in TV sets, with about 1 hour of
labour, can range from about $70 to $120 depending on the time and parts
involved.

Generally speaking, it does not pay to service any TV set or appliance
unless it is a fairly expensive device, it is less than about 3 years old,
and it has had very little use.

--

JANA
_____


"HarryB" wrote in message
...
I have a 2 1/2 year old, 27" Sanyo DS27930 TV that began to
occasionally turn itself off last week, but now won't turn on at all -
it just makes a buzzing noise for a few seconds when I try to turn it
on, and then turns itself off. 9 months ago it fell off its stand onto
a carpeted floor, but worked fine after that until this problem
cropped up.

I'm trying to decide if I should repair or replace it. According to
Consumer Reports, "It doesn't make economic sense to repair
off-warranty ... conventional TV sets under 30 inches." Do the experts
here agree with Consumer Reports' recommendation, or should I pay
($40) for an estimate to see how much it would cost to have it
repaired?

TIA,
Harry


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Default Consumer Reports: "Don't repair this TV..."

On 17 Mar, 04:58, HarryB wrote:
I have a 2 1/2 year old, 27" Sanyo DS27930 TV that began to
occasionally turn itself off last week, but now won't turn on at all -
it just makes a buzzing noise for a few seconds when I try to turn it
on, and then turns itself off. 9 months ago it fell off its stand onto
a carpeted floor, but worked fine after that until this problem
cropped up.

I'm trying to decide if I should repair or replace it. According to
Consumer Reports, "It doesn't make economic sense to repair
off-warranty ... conventional TV sets under 30 inches." Do the experts
here agree with Consumer Reports' recommendation, or should I pay
($40) for an estimate to see how much it would cost to have it
repaired?

TIA,
Harry


Always get a free quote. If your repair shop wont do that, find
another one. Backstreet type shops are often a lot cheaper, and often
the only worthwhile option with electronics.

The repair age is not dead yet, but theres now more thats not worth
repairing than is.


NT

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Default Consumer Reports: "Don't repair this TV..."

I agree with Meow. Also, Sanyo TV's are a good buy, & usually worth
repairing, if you get a free estimate, & have a
reasonable shop, or buddy in the business. If the TV worked after
being dropped, you MAY have a break in the main
board, likely be the flyback transformer, & it finally arced out
across the break, you may have a bad horizontal output.
Dani.



On Mar 17, 2:58 am, HarryB wrote:
I have a 2 1/2 year old, 27" Sanyo DS27930 TV that began to
occasionally turn itself off last week, but now won't turn on at all -
it just makes a buzzing noise for a few seconds when I try to turn it
on, and then turns itself off. 9 months ago it fell off its stand onto
a carpeted floor, but worked fine after that until this problem
cropped up.

I'm trying to decide if I should repair or replace it. According to
Consumer Reports, "It doesn't make economic sense to repair
off-warranty ... conventional TV sets under 30 inches." Do the experts
here agree with Consumer Reports' recommendation, or should I pay
($40) for an estimate to see how much it would cost to have it
repaired?

TIA,
Harry





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Default Consumer Reports: "Don't repair this TV..."

On Mar 17, 12:58 am, HarryB wrote:
I'm trying to decide if I should repair or replace it. According to
Consumer Reports, "It doesn't make economic sense to repair
off-warranty ... conventional TV sets under 30 inches." Do the experts
here agree with Consumer Reports' recommendation, or should I pay
($40) for an estimate to see how much it would cost to have it
repaired?


I'll assume you're not inclined to attempt a repair yourself. If so,
then I would first determine what a new set will cost. These days,
even a new large-screen TV is fairly inexpensive--often less than
$300. If that isn't appealing, consider picking up a second hand set
(via Craigslist, for example).

Acquiring a second-hand set may seem laughable (and stingy), but
considering that high-definition TV is less than two years away, and
any standard format set you have now will shortly become obsolete
(unless you spend additional money for a yet-to-be-available converter
box), this is a reasonable option.

On the other hand, if you're mechanically inclined, you could open it
up and see if there's any obvious damage to an accessible component.
If you spot the problem, this may save the repair shop the time--and
your money--to diagnose the problem. I did this a few years back with
a set that would pulse on and off, sometimes in the middle of the
night (frightening!). I knew the problem was in the power supply, so
I took the set to a local repair shop and accurately describe the
symtoms. The repairman said, "Oh yeah, that's a common problem with
the XYZ transistor in the high-voltage line--Thanks!" The repair bill
was about $50. That was 17 years ago, and the set still works.

-Dave

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Default Consumer Reports: "Don't repair this TV..."

100$ to do some soldering ? I do those for 35 or 40$ . It takes less
than an hour and i get the customer back many times over on other items
and they tell others .
The extra business far outweighs trying to rip people off .

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Default Consumer Reports: "Don't repair this TV..."

Why are you assuming that anyone is ripping people off? Read the posts and
respond with something useful, if you have something useful to say.

Leonard

"Ken G." wrote in message
...
100$ to do some soldering ? I do those for 35 or 40$ . It takes less
than an hour and i get the customer back many times over on other items
and they tell others .
The extra business far outweighs trying to rip people off .


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Default Consumer Reports: "Don't repair this TV..."


wrote in message
oups.com...
On 17 Mar, 04:58, HarryB wrote:
I have a 2 1/2 year old, 27" Sanyo DS27930 TV that began to
occasionally turn itself off last week, but now won't turn on at all -
it just makes a buzzing noise for a few seconds when I try to turn it
on, and then turns itself off. 9 months ago it fell off its stand onto
a carpeted floor, but worked fine after that until this problem
cropped up.

I'm trying to decide if I should repair or replace it. According to
Consumer Reports, "It doesn't make economic sense to repair
off-warranty ... conventional TV sets under 30 inches." Do the experts
here agree with Consumer Reports' recommendation, or should I pay
($40) for an estimate to see how much it would cost to have it
repaired?

TIA,
Harry


Always get a free quote. If your repair shop wont do that, find
another one. Backstreet type shops are often a lot cheaper, and often
the only worthwhile option with electronics.

The repair age is not dead yet, but theres now more thats not worth
repairing than is.


Bad advice. A shop that gives free estimates or "backstreet" type shops are
often the most likey to rip you off or give you ineffective service IME.

Leonard

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Default Consumer Reports: "Don't repair this TV..."



Acquiring a second-hand set may seem laughable (and stingy), but
considering that high-definition TV is less than two years away, and
any standard format set you have now will shortly become obsolete
(unless you spend additional money for a yet-to-be-available converter
box), this is a reasonable option.



They've been available for years, digital satellite receivers and
digital cable boxes convert to analog TV output.
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Ken G. wrote:
100$ to do some soldering ? I do those for 35 or 40$ . It takes less
than an hour and i get the customer back many times over on other items
and they tell others .
The extra business far outweighs trying to rip people off .



Depends if it's JUST soldering, or if other work is needed. Often bad
solder joints pop other parts.
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Default Consumer Reports: "Don't repair this TV..."

Hi!

I have a 2 1/2 year old, 27" Sanyo DS27930 TV that began to
occasionally turn itself off last week, but now won't turn on at all -
it just makes a buzzing noise for a few seconds when I try to turn it
on, and then turns itself off. 9 months ago it fell off its stand onto
a carpeted floor, but worked fine after that until this problem
cropped up.


I would at least investigate a repair. If you stop right now and take the
set to a competent repair shop, the problem should be easier and less
expensive to repair. Waiting until the set really blows up or fails to turn
on entirely will make the repair more difficult and expensive.

The only thing working against you is the fact that it was dropped. Even if
it fell onto the carpet from its stand, falling just the right way can cause
serious and not immediately evident damage to a device. Fortunately, if
damage was done, it would have been pretty obvious because the tube is by
far the most delicate component of the TV. If the picture was good when it
stopped working, then a repair is much more likely to be worthwhile.

William


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Default Consumer Reports: "Don't repair this TV..."

Captain Midnight wrote:

"Andrew Rossmann" wrote in message
.net...
In article . com,
says...
Acquiring a second-hand set may seem laughable (and stingy), but
considering that high-definition TV is less than two years away, and
any standard format set you have now will shortly become obsolete
(unless you spend additional money for a yet-to-be-available converter
box), this is a reasonable option.


Just to clarify, 2 years is the changeover to DIGITAL-only broadcasting.
There is no requirement that it be HD. Stations are free to use their
frequency allocation any way they want. Many just multi-cast multiple SD
feeds.

--


Not exactly true. They AFAIK are required to have one unencrypted sub
channel. The rest is up to the station. The FCC recently made a rule change
that made The Tube go away. A crystal ball is required to know how it will
turn out.

Digital, including HD, is here. Analog goes away in 2 years. Have been
watching all the networks through antenna for 2-1/2 years. All the stations
I receive have HD in the evening(at least). I'd kick myself if I'd waited
this long to go digital.



For some people that means all TV goes away in two years. There is
no way that I am going to buy a new HD TV set just to watch the same old
crap that I see right now. In fact, about the only TV I watch is the
news, and even it isn't worth paying for. I'll keep one TV and the DVD
player till one of them quit working, and have the cable turned off.


--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida
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Default Consumer Reports: "Don't repair this TV..."

Michael A. Terrell wrote:
Captain Midnight wrote:

"Andrew Rossmann" wrote in message
st.net...

In article . com,
says...

Acquiring a second-hand set may seem laughable (and stingy), but
considering that high-definition TV is less than two years away, and
any standard format set you have now will shortly become obsolete
(unless you spend additional money for a yet-to-be-available converter
box), this is a reasonable option.

Just to clarify, 2 years is the changeover to DIGITAL-only broadcasting.
There is no requirement that it be HD. Stations are free to use their
frequency allocation any way they want. Many just multi-cast multiple SD
feeds.

--


Not exactly true. They AFAIK are required to have one unencrypted sub
channel. The rest is up to the station. The FCC recently made a rule change
that made The Tube go away. A crystal ball is required to know how it will
turn out.

Digital, including HD, is here. Analog goes away in 2 years. Have been
watching all the networks through antenna for 2-1/2 years. All the stations
I receive have HD in the evening(at least). I'd kick myself if I'd waited
this long to go digital.




For some people that means all TV goes away in two years. There is
no way that I am going to buy a new HD TV set just to watch the same old
crap that I see right now. In fact, about the only TV I watch is the
news, and even it isn't worth paying for. I'll keep one TV and the DVD
player till one of them quit working, and have the cable turned off.


I've also been thinking on the same lines. very simple basic TV and
internet./
I pay 158 a month for nothing but crap!. Old repeats over and over
again.
it's not worth it any more.
I would rather stop at block buster and watch a DVD commercial free.


--
"I'm never wrong, once i thought i was, but was mistaken"
Real Programmers Do things like this.
http://webpages.charter.net/jamie_5

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"Andrew Rossmann" wrote in message
. net...
In article ,
lid says...
Not exactly true. They AFAIK are required to have one unencrypted sub
channel. The rest is up to the station. The FCC recently made a rule

change
that made The Tube go away. A crystal ball is required to know how it

will
turn out.


Maybe "The Tube" is gone by you, but it's still here in the Chicago area
on WGN 9.2.

The FCC did recently rule that ALL subchannels have to comply with E/I
(Education/Information) rules. Before, it was assumed only the primary
needed to comply. I don't know if it's national, but here in Chicago,
they run some zoo program that talks about animals with jazz playing in
the background on Saturday mornings.


From posts in the HD group I'd guess still having The Tube is the exception.
Mostly pointing out that rules are still changing.

There are several stations here in the Chicago area that only carry one
or more SD's.


I said in my area. Sure you have SD channels but you also have all the HD
channels. Dayton,OH isn't exactly huge and has all HD. Small cities may have
SD only stations. Characterizing the nation as being mostly SD is wrong.

On the other hand, the main PBS station, WTTW-11, is going overboard. It
reduced it's HD from 1080i to 720p (for PBS-HD), and how has THREE SD
subchannels (simulcast of the analog, PBS Create, the new Spanish-
language V-me.)

--


I'm getting 3 PBS stations through cable. 2 of the stations are as you say
except the last SD is an Ohio channel. PQ is terrible on it. Not aware of
them making changes to HD here. The third channel from Cincinnati is HD and
one SD, 24/7. Great PQ. My HDTV is 720p so the extra bandwidth for the SD
subchannels would be a good thing. It's going to be different for everyone.


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"Jamie" t wrote in message
...
Michael A. Terrell wrote:
Captain Midnight wrote:

"Andrew Rossmann" wrote in message
st.net...

In article . com,
says...

Acquiring a second-hand set may seem laughable (and stingy), but
considering that high-definition TV is less than two years away, and
any standard format set you have now will shortly become obsolete
(unless you spend additional money for a yet-to-be-available converter
box), this is a reasonable option.

Just to clarify, 2 years is the changeover to DIGITAL-only

broadcasting.
There is no requirement that it be HD. Stations are free to use their
frequency allocation any way they want. Many just multi-cast multiple

SD
feeds.

--

Not exactly true. They AFAIK are required to have one unencrypted sub
channel. The rest is up to the station. The FCC recently made a rule

change
that made The Tube go away. A crystal ball is required to know how it

will
turn out.

Digital, including HD, is here. Analog goes away in 2 years. Have been
watching all the networks through antenna for 2-1/2 years. All the

stations
I receive have HD in the evening(at least). I'd kick myself if I'd

waited
this long to go digital.



For some people that means all TV goes away in two years. There is
no way that I am going to buy a new HD TV set just to watch the same old
crap that I see right now. In fact, about the only TV I watch is the
news, and even it isn't worth paying for. I'll keep one TV and the DVD
player till one of them quit working, and have the cable turned off.


I've also been thinking on the same lines. very simple basic TV and
internet./
I pay 158 a month for nothing but crap!. Old repeats over and over
again.
it's not worth it any more.
I would rather stop at block buster and watch a DVD commercial free.
--


Nothing to discuss if you don't like TV. I watch TV mostly in HD(1080i/720.
Not crappy 480p/i. Have been capturing it to my computers hard drives,
skipping commercials and watching what I want when I want for 2+ years.
Cards can be bought for much less than $100. Now have an HD media player
that I send the shows to through the home network and watch it on the HDTV.
About 10 years ago my big TV bit the dust after 15 years. Bought a 20" to
hold me till HD became reasonable. Had no idea it'd be this long. After 2
months of watching the HDTV still have to pinch myself to make sure I'm not
dreaming about the PQ. Got to go finish watching the NASCAR race now.


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Ken G. wrote:

100$ to do some soldering ? I do those for 35 or 40$ . It takes less
than an hour and i get the customer back many times over on other items
and they tell others .
The extra business far outweighs trying to rip people off .

Well Ken, if you have a shop with overhead, employees to pay, manuals to
buy, and the usual "everybody gets to the money first" that's why it
cost more. If you running a hobby business out of your basement
that another issue.

Your not doing your customer a favor if your out of business in a year.
The shop my dad used to work at (now closed) it was a minimum $110
for TV's + parts.

The price of TV's has come down, but the cost of fixing them has not.

Bob

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Captain Midnight wrote:
Nothing to discuss if you don't like TV. I watch TV mostly in HD(1080i/720.
Not crappy 480p/i. Have been capturing it to my computers hard drives,
skipping commercials and watching what I want when I want for 2+ years.


I take it you're getting this with an antenna? I've heard most cable
providers encrypt most or all of their HD channels, effectively blocking
recording. This is one of the reasons I'm going to stick with analog
cable as long as I possibly can.
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On 18 Mar, 01:32, "Leonard Caillouet" wrote:
wrote in message

oups.com...

Always get a free quote. If your repair shop wont do that, find
another one. Backstreet type shops are often a lot cheaper, and often
the only worthwhile option with electronics.


The repair age is not dead yet, but theres now more thats not worth
repairing than is.


Bad advice. A shop that gives free estimates or


I never recommend free estimates. A shop that only gives estimates is
generally not satisfactory imho (excepting dealership repair of high
price goods). An agreed price, ie a quote, is a basic of good business
practice.


"backstreet" type shops are
often the most likey to rip you off or give you ineffective service IME.


Dealerships charge unworkable prices most of the time, the nicer
independants do as often than not, backstreeters are a lot more likely
to get realistic IME. They have much lower overheads and need
business, plus they have cheaper ways of doing things, such as using
reclaimed parts.

It all depends where you are though, not everywhere's the same by any
means.

As for ineffective repairs, its just basic business sense when dealing
with unknowns, insist on seeing the item work before you pay.


NT

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"David Brodbeck" wrote in message
...
Captain Midnight wrote:
Nothing to discuss if you don't like TV. I watch TV mostly in

HD(1080i/720.
Not crappy 480p/i. Have been capturing it to my computers hard drives,
skipping commercials and watching what I want when I want for 2+ years.


I take it you're getting this with an antenna? I've heard most cable
providers encrypt most or all of their HD channels, effectively blocking
recording. This is one of the reasons I'm going to stick with analog
cable as long as I possibly can.


Both. Get all the OTA networks from the antena. Our NBC affiliate doesn't
allow cable provider to use their digital output and CW must be considered
out of the area so couldn't get them without the antenna. 2 of the PBS
stations are out of my antennas "reach"(one is deep fringe for me). At the
moment I'm getting Discover and TNT HD unencrypted, not the norm I know so
that's a crap shoot.. They aren't allowed to encrypt the local affiliates
feed. OTA and cable use different modulation so a tuner that can do QAM is
required for cable. OTA modulation is 8VSB. Not using a box to get any of
this and the PQ of even the SD is better than what I do get from the non-HD
box.

It doesn't take much of an antenna to get OTA. I could get 4 of the 6
stations with the UHF equivalent of rabbit ears. Got the last 2 by putting a
home made antenna(DB-4) in an upstairs window. The stations are 33 miles
away.

http://www.hdtvprimer.com/

http://www.lumenlab.com/forums/index...opic=9613&st=0


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Captain Midnight wrote:
They aren't allowed to encrypt the local affiliates feed.



From what I've heard, this is not enforced and it's kind of a crapshoot,
too. I'm on the MythTV list and there's lots of complaints about cable
companies arbitrarily turning encryption on on local feeds.

It doesn't take much of an antenna to get OTA. I could get 4 of the 6
stations with the UHF equivalent of rabbit ears. Got the last 2 by putting a
home made antenna(DB-4) in an upstairs window. The stations are 33 miles
away.


I've never had any luck receiving analog TV with an indoor antenna, so
I'm guessing I'd have even less luck with HDTV.

Thanks for the info. I wish this wasn't all getting rammed down our
throats in another couple years.
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"David Brodbeck" wrote in message
t...
Captain Midnight wrote:
They aren't allowed to encrypt the local affiliates feed.



From what I've heard, this is not enforced and it's kind of a crapshoot,
too. I'm on the MythTV list and there's lots of complaints about cable
companies arbitrarily turning encryption on on local feeds.

I monitor alt.tv.tech.hdtv and have not seen anything to indicate that
happening. If anything the FCC is like the SS with Broadscasters, at least.
avsforum.com has local threads. It'd be easy to find out what's going on.
Sure doesn't here. "Chatttter" in my local avsforum indicate people regulary
call/e-mail the broadcasters and cable providers. Kind of amusing, some
think the cable provider is at fault and some think the NBC affilliate is
for thier digital not being on the cable.

When I first connected the QAM tuner I didn't get several stations I knew
were on it. After removing a couple of splitters, there they were. There are
some channels that don't have anything on them most of the time. They are
the TV On Demand channels. Nothing shows up as encrypted like it does on
analog. My guess would be it's people that don't know what they are doing.

It doesn't take much of an antenna to get OTA. I could get 4 of the 6
stations with the UHF equivalent of rabbit ears. Got the last 2 by

putting a
home made antenna(DB-4) in an upstairs window. The stations are 33 miles
away.


I've never had any luck receiving analog TV with an indoor antenna, so
I'm guessing I'd have even less luck with HDTV.

Thanks for the info. I wish this wasn't all getting rammed down our
throats in another couple years.


Most of the digital channels now are UHF so require a smaller antenna. What
you got before may be totally different than what you'll get now. In my area
the stations are going to stay UHF but in some areas some stations will
change again when analog goes away. Some are even going back to VHF-High.
Some people use antenalocator.com or something like that( should be a link
on hdtvprimer.com) to find out about stations and antenna required for their
location. I use the FCC.gov site to find out about the stations in my area.
http://www.fcc.gov/mb/video/tvq.html

I think most will find digital worth while. Don't forget digital channels
can have sub channels. Admittedly only PBS is making good use of it now. I
really liked The Tube but it's gone.


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