Just bringing this up because the converters have been discussed here
before. I'd ordered two coupons when they first came out. Not realizing
that they would expire after 90 days, I held onto them figuring there
would be a better selection closer to the cutoff time. When I tried to
reapply; it wouldn't let me.

So for anyone interested, the coupon website is now accepting requests
for coupons to replace *unused* coupons that have expired. You still
just get a total of two.

I applied on 5/3, they were mailed on 5/9 and I got them about 2-3 days
later.

Lee B wrote:

Just bringing this up because the converters have been discussed here
before. I'd ordered two coupons when they first came out. Not realizing
that they would expire after 90 days, I held onto them figuring there
would be a better selection closer to the cutoff time. When I tried to
reapply; it wouldn't let me.

So for anyone interested, the coupon website is now accepting requests
for coupons to replace *unused* coupons that have expired. You still
just get a total of two.

I applied on 5/3, they were mailed on 5/9 and I got them about 2-3 days
later.

Since you brought it up...

my suspicion is that converter boxes will die off and become unavailable
in a couple years or so, since the pool of TV's out there requiring same
is only going to grow smaller over time. I currently have one Zenith
box and one Channel Master box and am reasonably happy with them both,
although I do prefer the guide of the Channel Master, as well as the
S-Video output.

Question is this, in the last six months or so, are there any new
developments in converter boxes that would motivate one to replace
either one of the ones that I have (while the "good ones" are still
available,) or are they still about as good as they are going to get?

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

Nate Nagel wrote:
my suspicion is that converter boxes will die off and become unavailable
in a couple years or so, since the pool of TV's out there requiring same
is only going to grow smaller over time.

Going back a generation, UHF converter boxes were available for about 15
years after the FCC mandated UHF tuners on all new TVs. The last
inventory of converters was grabbed up by hackers building bootleg
pay-TV converter boxes. Also, back then TVs were much more expensive
and people were less likely to throw them out merely due to the need for
an add-on box.

On May 17, 12:11*am, Bob wrote:
Nate Nagel wrote:
my suspicion is that converter boxes will die off and become unavailable
in a couple years or so, since the pool of TV's out there requiring same
is only going to grow smaller over time.

Going back a generation, UHF converter boxes were available for about 15
years after the FCC mandated UHF tuners on all new TVs. *The last
inventory of converters was grabbed up by hackers building bootleg
pay-TV converter boxes. *Also, back then TVs were much more expensive
and people were less likely to throw them out merely due to the need for
an add-on box.


Yes, like all electronics, they will become obsolete and disappear.
But I suspect the timeframe will be closer to your 15 years example
above. I doubt the converters are going to just disappear in a year
or two. There still will be a need for replacements for ones that go
bad, people who change setups for some reason and now need one where
they didn't before, people who move, etc. Surely enough volume to
support at least one manufacturer for many years.

wrote in message

And then there are people like myself who will not buy a new tv under
any circumstance, because the new ones are all have the crappy LCD
screens. Give me a real picture tube, or I wont watch tv.

A few years ago I bought the largest 16:9 CRT available for the same reason.
Today, I'd not hesitate to get the LCD screen. They've improved
considerably and most action is fast and not choppy as in the past too.

"Ed Pawlowski" wrote in
:


wrote in message

And then there are people like myself who will not buy a new tv under
any circumstance, because the new ones are all have the crappy LCD
screens. Give me a real picture tube, or I wont watch tv.

A few years ago I bought the largest 16:9 CRT available for the same
reason. Today, I'd not hesitate to get the LCD screen. They've
improved considerably and most action is fast and not choppy as in the
past too.




an LCD screen will not last as long as a CRT screen.
the LCD backlighting is a common failure.
also,there's always a few dead pixels,sometimes dark,sometimes full bright.
if they're in the main viewing area,it's very annoying.

Then add the initial higher cost of a flat panel TV.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

Nate Nagel wrote:
Lee B wrote:

Just bringing this up because the converters have been discussed here
before. I'd ordered two coupons when they first came out. Not realizing
that they would expire after 90 days, I held onto them figuring there
would be a better selection closer to the cutoff time. When I tried to
reapply; it wouldn't let me.

So for anyone interested, the coupon website is now accepting requests
for coupons to replace *unused* coupons that have expired. You still
just get a total of two.

I applied on 5/3, they were mailed on 5/9 and I got them about 2-3 days
later.

Since you brought it up...

my suspicion is that converter boxes will die off and become unavailable
in a couple years or so, since the pool of TV's out there requiring same
is only going to grow smaller over time. I currently have one Zenith
box and one Channel Master box and am reasonably happy with them both,
although I do prefer the guide of the Channel Master, as well as the
S-Video output.

Question is this, in the last six months or so, are there any new
developments in converter boxes that would motivate one to replace
either one of the ones that I have (while the "good ones" are still
available,) or are they still about as good as they are going to get?

nate

Not sure how new this development is, but one of the converter boxes
(Winegard)also takes an optional battery pack. Since my neighborhood had
a lot of power outages last summer, I'm thinking of getting one of them
so that I can continue to watch my old battery operated tv set. (The
alternative is to buy a new battery op tv, but most of them don't seem
to have a battery life as long as our average outage).

OTOH, speculation on one of the DTV forums is that after the cutoff of
the coupon program, there may be more enhancements to the converter
boxes. Apparently the coupon eligible boxes aren't allowed to have too
many bells and whistles.

I haven't done a whole lot of reading on the boxes since I have cable
and am buying a box as a backup. (Plus I have a coupon burning a hole in
my pocket, LOL).

Jim Yanik wrote:

"Ed Pawlowski" wrote in
:


wrote in message

And then there are people like myself who will not buy a new tv under
any circumstance, because the new ones are all have the crappy LCD
screens. Give me a real picture tube, or I wont watch tv.

A few years ago I bought the largest 16:9 CRT available for the same
reason. Today, I'd not hesitate to get the LCD screen. They've
improved considerably and most action is fast and not choppy as in the
past too.




an LCD screen will not last as long as a CRT screen.
the LCD backlighting is a common failure.
also,there's always a few dead pixels,sometimes dark,sometimes full
bright. if they're in the main viewing area,it's very annoying.

Then add the initial higher cost of a flat panel TV.

That's why I bought a new Sony Trinatron 36" CRT with a true black screen.
The color is amazing but it weighs a TON!!! Oh and its Digital Ready but
now I have to put an antenna back up in order to get everything available
in my area, right when I got use to CATV.
--
"You can lead them to LINUX
but you can't make them THINK"
Running Mandriva release 2008.0 free-i586 using KDE on i586
Website Address http://rentmyhusband.biz/

"Jim Yanik" wrote in message

an LCD screen will not last as long as a CRT screen.
the LCD backlighting is a common failure.
also,there's always a few dead pixels,sometimes dark,sometimes full
bright.
if they're in the main viewing area,it's very annoying.

Then add the initial higher cost of a flat panel TV.

The largest CRT with a 16:9 ratio is a 34" screen. If that is the most you
want, OK, but LCD can go to 60" or maybe more. As for initial cost, the LCD
is now cheaper. Plasma is still higher. I'm not sure you can even get the
16:9 CRT any more either.

"Lee B" wrote in message
...


Not sure how new this development is, but one of the converter boxes
(Winegard)also takes an optional battery pack. Since my neighborhood had a
lot of power outages last summer, I'm thinking of getting one of them so
that I can continue to watch my old battery operated tv set. (The
alternative is to buy a new battery op tv, but most of them don't seem to
have a battery life as long as our average outage).

OTOH, speculation on one of the DTV forums is that after the cutoff of the
coupon program, there may be more enhancements to the converter boxes.
Apparently the coupon eligible boxes aren't allowed to have too many bells
and whistles.

I haven't done a whole lot of reading on the boxes since I have cable and
am buying a box as a backup. (Plus I have a coupon burning a hole in my
pocket, LOL).

I have cable and found it goes out more than the power and will stay out
longer. Last time the power did not go out and the telephone worked,but
the cable was out for almost 3 days. I have a digital ready
TV for the main viewing, but no way to get an antenna wire to it without
rerouting some things. In the basement I have an older TV that needs the
converter and it will pick up about 30 channels on the antenna hooked to it.
Also have a small generator (5000 watts) just incase the power goes out.

On Sun, 17 May 2009 16:50:06 -0500, "Ralph Mowery"
wrote:


I have cable and found it goes out more than the power and will stay out
longer. Last time the power did not go out and the telephone worked,but
the cable was out for almost 3 days. I have a digital ready
TV for the main viewing, but no way to get an antenna wire to it without
rerouting some things. In the basement I have an older TV that needs the
converter and it will pick up about 30 channels on the antenna hooked to it.

Wow, where do you live that you can get 30 channels on the air?

Also have a small generator (5000 watts) just incase the power goes out.

On Sun, 17 May 2009 22:39:37 -0500, "Ralph Mowery"
wrote:


"mm" wrote in message

Wow, where do you live that you can get 30 channels on the air?


Near Salsibury NC. About 30 miles up I85 from Charlotte. That is with an
outside antenna. Those 30 channels are not that many differant stations as
each one has several duplications. I picked the Zenith converter as it was
suspose to be the most sensitive. The converter is hooked up to a ham radio
antenna for 146 MHz up about 70 feet. This is just used for TV whenever the
cable is down.

Good to have a backup.

I'm supposed to have an amplified attic antenna but it's broken and I
don't fix it. So when DTV starts, I may have only 6 dot-1 stations
and 3 dot-2 or higher, plus a lot of weather. I suppose that's when
I'll start trying again to fix the attic antenna.

"mm" wrote in message

Wow, where do you live that you can get 30 channels on the air?


Near Salsibury NC. About 30 miles up I85 from Charlotte. That is with an
outside antenna. Those 30 channels are not that many differant stations as
each one has several duplications. I picked the Zenith converter as it was
suspose to be the most sensitive. The converter is hooked up to a ham radio
antenna for 146 MHz up about 70 feet. This is just used for TV whenever the
cable is down.

"Ralph Mowery" wrote in
:


"mm" wrote in message

Wow, where do you live that you can get 30 channels on the air?


Near Salsibury NC. About 30 miles up I85 from Charlotte. That is
with an outside antenna. Those 30 channels are not that many
differant stations as each one has several duplications. I picked
the Zenith converter as it was suspose to be the most sensitive. The
converter is hooked up to a ham radio antenna for 146 MHz up about 70
feet. This is just used for TV whenever the cable is down.




I built a coathanger quad bowtie antenna from MAKE TV plans I found online.
It works great,indoors,my apartment is stucco with metal mesh underneath.
I already had everything except for the 300:75 ohm balun.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

On Sun, 17 May 2009 16:50:06 -0500, "Ralph Mowery"
wrote:


"Lee B" wrote in message
...


Not sure how new this development is, but one of the converter boxes
(Winegard)also takes an optional battery pack. Since my neighborhood had a
lot of power outages last summer, I'm thinking of getting one of them so
that I can continue to watch my old battery operated tv set. (The
alternative is to buy a new battery op tv, but most of them don't seem to
have a battery life as long as our average outage).

OTOH, speculation on one of the DTV forums is that after the cutoff of the
coupon program, there may be more enhancements to the converter boxes.
Apparently the coupon eligible boxes aren't allowed to have too many bells
and whistles.

I haven't done a whole lot of reading on the boxes since I have cable and
am buying a box as a backup. (Plus I have a coupon burning a hole in my
pocket, LOL).

I have cable and found it goes out more than the power and will stay out
longer. Last time the power did not go out and the telephone worked,but
the cable was out for almost 3 days.

It was like that here. That's why I don't have cable phone.

I have a digital ready
TV for the main viewing, but no way to get an antenna wire to it without
rerouting some things. In the basement I have an older TV that needs the
converter and it will pick up about 30 channels on the antenna hooked to it.
Also have a small generator (5000 watts) just incase the power goes out.


--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us

"Properly read, the Bible is the most potent
force for atheism ever conceived." -- Isaac Asimov

In article ,
Lee B wrote:

I haven't done a whole lot of reading on the boxes since I have cable
and am buying a box as a backup. (Plus I have a coupon burning a hole in
my pocket, LOL).

So you mean, I'm buying a box for you. Something you don't need, but
your friends and neighbors and family are paying for it, so might as
well grab one. You're welcome.

In article
,
Smitty Two wrote:

In article ,
Lee B wrote:

I haven't done a whole lot of reading on the boxes since I have cable
and am buying a box as a backup. (Plus I have a coupon burning a hole in
my pocket, LOL).

So you mean, I'm buying a box for you. Something you don't need, but
your friends and neighbors and family are paying for it, so might as
well grab one. You're welcome.

Wait until the healthcare changes come around. Same principal, MUCH
bigger outlay.

--
"Distracting a politician from governing
is like distracting a bear from eating your baby."

--PJ O'Rourke

In article 4a134293.599115048@localhost,
wrote:


Hey, *I* pay taxes too, ya know! I probably pay a bigger slice of my
paycheck in taxes than you do.

If so, then you earn more money than I do. And I sure as hell earn
enough to buy a $40 gadget without the gummint helping me. Of course, I
don't need one, because I have cable. Oh, that's right, so do you.

Tuner box coupons are just a tax refund,
except that the government is telling me how to spend it.

Bull****. But you just go ahead and tell yourself whatever fairy tale
you need to let you sleep peacefully.

So I'm going to
spend it that way, on boxes I don't need, then turn around and sell the
boxes on ebay to put my money back in my pocket where it belongs.

That ain't what you said yesterday, compadre. But thanks for confessing
your criminal greed.

Smitty Two wrote:
In article 4a134293.599115048@localhost,
wrote:

Hey, *I* pay taxes too, ya know! I probably pay a bigger slice of my
paycheck in taxes than you do.

If so, then you earn more money than I do. And I sure as hell earn
enough to buy a $40 gadget without the gummint helping me. Of course, I
don't need one, because I have cable. Oh, that's right, so do you.

Tuner box coupons are just a tax refund,
except that the government is telling me how to spend it.

Bull****. But you just go ahead and tell yourself whatever fairy tale
you need to let you sleep peacefully.

So I'm going to
spend it that way, on boxes I don't need, then turn around and sell the
boxes on ebay to put my money back in my pocket where it belongs.

That ain't what you said yesterday, compadre. But thanks for confessing
your criminal greed.
I've got satt, so won't be using the converters on a regular basis. But
since I want a backup, and don't care to replace perfectly good TVs just
because the PTB mandated a change in the transmission method, I needed
converters. Note also that not all local channels are carried on
cable/satt, and some areas satt doesn't carry locals at all.

The price point on converters was set based on the coupons happening. If
the coupon program didn't exist, they would be about 20 bucks.

--
aem sends...

aemeijers wrote in
:

Smitty Two wrote:
In article 4a134293.599115048@localhost,
wrote:

Hey, *I* pay taxes too, ya know! I probably pay a bigger slice of my
paycheck in taxes than you do.

If so, then you earn more money than I do. And I sure as hell earn
enough to buy a $40 gadget without the gummint helping me. Of course, I
don't need one, because I have cable. Oh, that's right, so do you.

Tuner box coupons are just a tax refund,
except that the government is telling me how to spend it.

Bull****. But you just go ahead and tell yourself whatever fairy tale
you need to let you sleep peacefully.

So I'm going to
spend it that way, on boxes I don't need, then turn around and sell the
boxes on ebay to put my money back in my pocket where it belongs.

That ain't what you said yesterday, compadre. But thanks for confessing
your criminal greed.
I've got satt, so won't be using the converters on a regular basis. But
since I want a backup, and don't care to replace perfectly good TVs just
because the PTB mandated a change in the transmission method, I needed
converters. Note also that not all local channels are carried on
cable/satt, and some areas satt doesn't carry locals at all.

The price point on converters was set based on the coupons happening. If
the coupon program didn't exist, they would be about 20 bucks.

--
aem sends...


More 'good' news!

Today I read that the gov't is going to pay for IN-HOME installation of
converter boxes.I read it in the business section of the Orlando Sentinel.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

On May 20, 1:45*am, Smitty Two wrote:
In article 4a134293.599115048@localhost,

wrote:

Hey, *I* pay taxes too, ya know! *I probably pay a bigger slice of my
paycheck in taxes than you do.

If so, then you earn more money than I do. And I sure as hell earn
enough to buy a $40 gadget without the gummint helping me. Of course, I
don't need one, because I have cable. Oh, that's right, so do you.

Tuner box coupons are just a tax refund,
except that the government is telling me how to spend it.

Bull****. But you just go ahead and tell yourself whatever fairy tale
you need to let you sleep peacefully.

So I'm going to
spend it that way, on boxes I don't need, then turn around and sell the
boxes on ebay to put my money back in my pocket where it belongs.

That ain't what you said yesterday, compadre. But thanks for confessing
your criminal greed.

You mean because someone has cable they don't need a tuner box?
Because cable would never go out, right? Especially not during some
kind of weather emergency when being able to receive broadcast media
might be of real benefit?

nate

In article
,
N8N wrote:


You mean because someone has cable they don't need a tuner box?
Because cable would never go out, right? Especially not during some
kind of weather emergency when being able to receive broadcast media
might be of real benefit?

nate

If you go back and read the thread, you'll see that he first claimed
that he wanted the boxes as back-up in case his cable goes out. But then
he 'fessed up to his real plan, selling the boxes that you and I bought
for him on ebay.

If I was going to do something that ugly in its petty-greed, dishonest
way, I'd not be bragging about it on a worldwide forum.

I've got respect for a man who can pull off a well-executed bank heist,
say, but the common scum who lie, cheat and steal their way through life
in myriad small ways on a daily basis, annoy the crap out of me.

Jim Yanik wrote:
aemeijers wrote in
:

Smitty Two wrote:
In article 4a134293.599115048@localhost,
wrote:

Hey, *I* pay taxes too, ya know! I probably pay a bigger slice of my
paycheck in taxes than you do.
If so, then you earn more money than I do. And I sure as hell earn
enough to buy a $40 gadget without the gummint helping me. Of course, I
don't need one, because I have cable. Oh, that's right, so do you.

Tuner box coupons are just a tax refund,
except that the government is telling me how to spend it.
Bull****. But you just go ahead and tell yourself whatever fairy tale
you need to let you sleep peacefully.

So I'm going to
spend it that way, on boxes I don't need, then turn around and sell the
boxes on ebay to put my money back in my pocket where it belongs.
That ain't what you said yesterday, compadre. But thanks for confessing
your criminal greed.
I've got satt, so won't be using the converters on a regular basis. But
since I want a backup, and don't care to replace perfectly good TVs just
because the PTB mandated a change in the transmission method, I needed
converters. Note also that not all local channels are carried on
cable/satt, and some areas satt doesn't carry locals at all.

The price point on converters was set based on the coupons happening. If
the coupon program didn't exist, they would be about 20 bucks.

--
aem sends...


More 'good' news!

Today I read that the gov't is going to pay for IN-HOME installation of
converter boxes.I read it in the business section of the Orlando Sentinel.

If some local goodhearts want to volunteer to help the elderly and
technophobes do the setups, that is wonderful. If the gummint is gonna
hire a contractor to do it, somebody should be in jail. No, many of them
are not user-friendly in setup or daily operation. Setup takes ten
minutes- walking the end-user through what buttons to press in what
order to get the channels they want, a wee bit longer. I did that over
Xmas while visiting my elderly father. I had to wire each TV differently
because of available input jacks, so the learning process took twice as
long. And is his town, Dish doesn't even offer locals, so the converters
are a 'must have' for him, for local weather in hurricane country.

--
aem sends...

On Tue, 19 May 2009 22:45:13 -0700, in alt.home.repair, Smitty Two
wrote:

In article 4a134293.599115048@localhost,
wrote:

Hey, *I* pay taxes too, ya know! I probably pay a bigger slice of my
paycheck in taxes than you do.

If so, then you earn more money than I do. And I sure as hell earn
enough to buy a $40 gadget without the gummint helping me. Of course, I

What, so if I make more money (which isn't necessarily so), I should have to
buy my own gadgets AND have to subsidize yours?

don't need one, because I have cable. Oh, that's right, so do you.

No, that't the other guy -- I have satellite, and I don't have any interest
in a "backup plan" during outages.

That ain't what you said yesterday, compadre. But thanks for confessing
your criminal greed.

You have me confused with someone else -- *he* wants them for backup in case
of a cable outage; *I* want to resell them, and I've always been forthright
about that.

But before you accuse me of criminal greed, go talk to the welfare momma who
gets another government check every time she makes another illegitimate
baby. Talk to the farmer who gets a subsidy check for not growing corn.
Talk to the school district that's installing marble floors and cherrywood
trim while cutting programs and paying teachers a subsistence salary to
teach classes of 40+ kids.

You talk to all of them, and then you go talk to the government who thinks
it's a good idea to spend taxpayer dollars to subsidize TV advertisers,
because THAT is who benefits from this DTV converer program. God forbid
that anyone turn off their TV and pick up a book, we gotta support the
economy by putting eyeballs on those TV ads! News flash, friend, when you
watch TV, you aren't the consumer -- you are the product, and the
advertisers are the customer.

So forgive me when I say "**** 'em". The government takes thousands of
dollars out of my pocket every year, and spends a lot of it on things that I
strongly disapprove of, including this converter box program.

I want to have a say in how *my* money is spent, and you think I'm greedy?
That...is rich, very rich indeed. Socialist.

--
Due to Usenet spam, emailed replies must pass an intelligence test: if
you want me to read your reply, be sure to include this line of text in
your email, but remove this line before sending, otherwise my filters
will delete your email with all due prejudice. Thanks!