OT Rabbit's Ears TV Aerials
 

My daughter (7) is in hospital at the moment (just had a piece of her
tibia and part of her knee replaced with titanium (as part of her
treatment for bone cancer)).

All the kiddies on her ward have a combined TV/Video by their bed to
keep them ammused c/w an indoor aerial. Some have small Yagis which
work absolutely fine, some have rabbit's ears (like twin transistor
radio FM aerials) these are comletely useless.

I remember my parents using such an aerial for TV reception about 30
years ago and they were completely useless then. Why on earth are they
being sold again?

Is there any instance where these would work well?

On 27 Jun 2005 05:21:27 -0700, wrote:


I remember my parents using such an aerial for TV reception about 30
years ago and they were completely useless then. Why on earth are they
being sold again?

Because people will buy them and they are priced sufficiently low that
many will not bother to return them.


Is there any instance where these would work well?

Not really.



--

..andy

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The information contained in this post is copyright the
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In article . com,
writes
My daughter (7) is in hospital at the moment (just had a piece of her
tibia and part of her knee replaced with titanium (as part of her
treatment for bone cancer)).

All the kiddies on her ward have a combined TV/Video by their bed to
keep them ammused c/w an indoor aerial. Some have small Yagis which
work absolutely fine, some have rabbit's ears (like twin transistor
radio FM aerials) these are comletely useless.

I remember my parents using such an aerial for TV reception about 30
years ago and they were completely useless then. Why on earth are they
being sold again?

Is there any instance where these would work well?


These were used more in the days of 405 line band 1 and 3 TV to which
they are/were better suited. Their not a lot of cop at UHF frequencies.

I'm sure the other contents of this NG will wish you daughter all the
best, and to get well as soon as.

Bless her:))
--
Tony Sayer

In message . com,
wrote:

My daughter (7) is in hospital at the moment (just had a piece of her
tibia and part of her knee replaced with titanium (as part of her
treatment for bone cancer)).

All the kiddies on her ward have a combined TV/Video by their bed to
keep them ammused c/w an indoor aerial. Some have small Yagis which
work absolutely fine, some have rabbit's ears (like twin transistor
radio FM aerials) these are comletely useless.

I remember my parents using such an aerial for TV reception about 30
years ago and they were completely useless then. Why on earth are they
being sold again?

Can't add any more answer to your question than the others already have,
but the hospitals around here don't let people bring their own equipment
in, where is this enlightened establishment? All the big ones around
here have some rip-off pay-as-you-go thing combining mini LCD TV,
telephone and radio which hinges down over the bed. Visitors are
encouraged to buy "top up cards" from vending machines and even mobile
phones are supposed to be switched off on the wards, forcing you
to use the bed-phone thing, though the nurses on general wards don't
seem to mind if you set the ringer to silent.

The smaller hospital we've been to has ordinary tellies on the wards run
through a communal aerial system.

All the best to the little one. Our #2 (now 18 months) has spent some
time in hospital, nothing life threatening, but it's an incredibly
heart-rending moment when the anaesthetic takes hold...

Hwyl!

M.

--
Martin Angove: http://www.tridwr.demon.co.uk/
Two free issues: http://www.livtech.co.uk/ Living With Technology
.... Happiness is finding special characters



On Mon, 27 Jun 2005 14:36:19 +0100,it is alleged that tony sayer
spake thusly in uk.d-i-y:

These were used more in the days of 405 line band 1 and 3 TV to which
they are/were better suited. Their not a lot of cop at UHF frequencies.

Indeed. In the US and Canada, they as you may know still use both VHF
and UHF for TV. On a portable set, the VHF antenna is usually a set of
'rabbit ears' which work well at VHF, and the UHF is usually a loop
antenna identical to the type that used to be supplied with BW tv sets
in the UK.

I suspect originally cluelessness as to the type of TV transmissions
in use in the UK on the part of some executive in far distant lands
(It works here and TV is the same everywhere, so it'll work in
London), immediately followed by 2 discoveries:

1. They don't work properly on UK UHF tv unless the transmitter is in
your backyard.

2. The public will still buy them in sufficient quantities to cause
profit, so point 1 doesn't matter.

I'm sure the other contents of this NG will wish you daughter all the
best, and to get well as soon as.

Bless her:))

Seconded :-)

--
The follies which a man regrets most in his life are those
which he didn't commit when he had the opportunity.
- Helen Rowland

Martin Angove wrote:
Can't add any more answer to your question than the others already have,
but the hospitals around here don't let people bring their own equipment
in, where is this enlightened establishment?

This particular establishment is the Royal National Orthopaedic
Hospital in Stanmore Middlesex. However, the TV/Videos (and aerials)
are hospital equipment and are free to use. This is also the case in
both Southampton General and Chichester (where she has Chemo and more
general care respectively).

I think it's an ageism thing, you or I would have to pay for a telly,
but I think they've worked out it makes for an easier life for the
nurses if all the patients have them provided on the childrens wards.

Chip wrote:
On Mon, 27 Jun 2005 14:36:19 +0100,it is alleged that tony sayer
spake thusly in uk.d-i-y:


These were used more in the days of 405 line band 1 and 3 TV to which
they are/were better suited. Their not a lot of cop at UHF frequencies.

As said they were intended for VHF TV which ceased transmission in the
UK in '84.

The best way to use them for UHF is to fold the "ears" horizontally
(ASCII ART attempt):
^
-----------(=)----------

The arrow points in the direction of the transmitter, (i.e same as the
axis of the Yagi) Still not really as intended and won't be as good as
the little Yagis.

Mike

Imagine the outcry and costs if someone's own equipment caused an injury.
Look at PAT testing. Consider fire risks.
This doesn't imply that th eold TV donated by the League of Friends is any
better - but it should have been tested and the Hospital will have accepted
liability.

In message ,
"john" wrote:

Imagine the outcry and costs if someone's own equipment caused an injury.
Look at PAT testing. Consider fire risks.
This doesn't imply that th eold TV donated by the League of Friends is any
better - but it should have been tested and the Hospital will have accepted
liability.

Absolutely. I suppose what I was really asking was why does this
hospital have a free-for-all on the TV front (a followup by the OP made
it clear that these are hospital-provided TVs) while most of those
around here see this sort of thing as an opportunity to make money, or
rather for some private firm who happens to have the contract to make
money.

Ho hum.

Hwyl!

M.

--
Martin Angove: http://www.tridwr.demon.co.uk/
Two free issues: http://www.livtech.co.uk/ Living With Technology
.... I can SPELL, I just can't TYPE worth a hoot !

In article , Martin Angove
writes
In message ,
"john" wrote:

Imagine the outcry and costs if someone's own equipment caused an injury.
Look at PAT testing. Consider fire risks.
This doesn't imply that th eold TV donated by the League of Friends is any
better - but it should have been tested and the Hospital will have accepted
liability.

Absolutely. I suppose what I was really asking was why does this
hospital have a free-for-all on the TV front (a followup by the OP made
it clear that these are hospital-provided TVs) while most of those
around here see this sort of thing as an opportunity to make money, or
rather for some private firm who happens to have the contract to make
money.



In our local hospital Addenbrookes Cambridge, they use Patientline which
costs but as far as I know its free on the children's wards, so perhaps
not that bad;)

--
Tony Sayer

In message ,
tony sayer wrote:

In article , Martin Angove
writes
In message ,
"john" wrote:

Imagine the outcry and costs if someone's own equipment caused an injury.
Look at PAT testing. Consider fire risks.
This doesn't imply that th eold TV donated by the League of Friends is any
better - but it should have been tested and the Hospital will have accepted
liability.

Absolutely. I suppose what I was really asking was why does this
hospital have a free-for-all on the TV front (a followup by the OP made
it clear that these are hospital-provided TVs) while most of those
around here see this sort of thing as an opportunity to make money, or
rather for some private firm who happens to have the contract to make
money.



In our local hospital Addenbrookes Cambridge, they use Patientline which
costs but as far as I know its free on the children's wards, so perhaps
not that bad;)

Oh right. We've never actually made it as far as a modern children's
ward. Our first stay was at Llandough (Cardiff) where they had portable
sets and a communal aerial (#2 was about 8 weeks old at the time). Our
second stay was just after they'd closed Llandough children's services
but although the spanking new Children's Hospital at UHW (Heath,
Cardiff) was taking patients, the operating theatres weren't in use so
wife and #2 (now about 15 months) were plonked on a ward full of
teenagers, and the dreaded payg things.

Won't go even further OT complaining about all the things which meant #2
managed about three hours of sleep instead of his usual 12 on the night
before the operation :-

Hwyl!

M.

--
Martin Angove: http://www.tridwr.demon.co.uk/
Two free issues: http://www.livtech.co.uk/ Living With Technology
.... All you folks do not exist. My sysop types all this stuff in.

tony sayer wrote:

In our local hospital Addenbrookes Cambridge, they use Patientline which
costs but as far as I know its free on the children's wards, so perhaps
not that bad;)


And in same said hispital when my wife went in she bought a £5 card to
use the paitentline telephone. ('Cause I couldn't afford the premium
rate for incoming calls). She was then carted off to theatre and on her
return no card to be found anywhere!

I understand that the systems are a self financing way of getting more
IT infrastructure built into the hospitals. Upgrades being required to
support the system and are shared by other systems! Dunno of the
pedigree of this info though.

"mike" wrote in message
et...
tony sayer wrote:

In our local hospital Addenbrookes Cambridge, they use Patientline which
costs but as far as I know its free on the children's wards, so perhaps
not that bad;)


And in same said hispital when my wife went in she bought a £5 card to
use the paitentline telephone. ('Cause I couldn't afford the premium
rate for incoming calls). She was then carted off to theatre and on her
return no card to be found anywhere!

I understand that the systems are a self financing way of getting more
IT infrastructure built into the hospitals. Upgrades being required to
support the system and are shared by other systems! Dunno of the
pedigree of this info though.

It's roughly correct. They interviewed the vermin who ran a lot of these
schemes on the Jeremy Vine show on Radio 2 one lunchtime. As has been
noticed, he admitted the outcry made the children's wards free and the
elderly quite cheap, but everybody else paid for it.