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Rank: Top Rank Aluminum Star
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Joined: 12/28/2007
Posts: 475
Points: -1,040
Location: JACKSONVILLE,FL.
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Looking into it all, May go back to just leaving radios on. 20 years ago had breakin at local Marina my boat was in,both boats on each side of me were broken into. I have been leaving radios on since the 70's and had mine on that night. Works well. If tv is used close blinds so they cant see in and can only see light flashes. Thanks Guys
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Rank: Dedicated Tin Star
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Joined: 5/6/2008
Posts: 60
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Location: LAKE NORMAN NC
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I bought a 20'' flatscreen HD TV last sunner I thinkg for the boat.
It's a motorrola I believe. Anyway I bought it for the boat cause so many times were out anchored for the weekend and I wanna watch NASCAR or something , The damm signal would go in and out depending which way the boat moves
So I got the flat screen, Channels , wow, I get 3 times the channels.
and clear as all on the picture.
I am hook into my ships antenna for now. works great out or in the slip.
So am I understand that I will to buy the box next year to be able to receive a TV signal?????
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Rank: Top Rank Aluminum Star
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Location: New Tripoli, PA
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..."So am I understand that I will to buy the box next year to be able to receive a TV signal?"
Yup. Got mine with a discount from the Federal Government. Looks like an old cable TV box. You have to put your flat screen on Channel 3 and dial in the stations on it.
About 70 bucks without Uncle Sam's help.
Jeff
PS: Thanks John S for saving me 40 bucks!
Only 30 days 'til splash time!
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Rank: Top Rank Aluminum Star
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Joined: 12/5/2007
Posts: 236
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Location: Cleveland, OH
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EDDY wrote:I bought a 20'' flatscreen HD TV last sunner I thinkg for the boat.
It's a motorrola I believe. Anyway I bought it for the boat cause so many times were out anchored for the weekend and I wanna watch NASCAR or something , The damm signal would go in and out depending which way the boat moves
So I got the flat screen, Channels , wow, I get 3 times the channels.
and clear as all on the picture.
I am hook into my ships antenna for now. works great out or in the slip.
So am I understand that I will to buy the box next year to be able to receive a TV signal????? If your new TV is already HD, then you do not need the converter box. You should know, by whether or not the channels "lock in", with no static, etc..
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Rank: Top Rank Aluminum Star
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Joined: 12/5/2007
Posts: 2,023
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Location: New Tripoli, PA
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I have a rotating TV antenna on mine--I tell everyone it's my "radar" unit--yet with it and the digital TV box I could not raise a signal. This is near Elk ton, MD, and the analog signals aren't that great there either.
After going on-line to investigate, I found that this is not uncommon: Most testers of the new digital system either lost all or most of their analog channels. The antenna must aim right at the station for any signal, apparently, and that's a big issue in a boat on the hook (as stated above).
We'll all see after Feb 09, but if this digital deal is a real mess, they'll be hell to pay since a surprising number of people still get their TV through the air.
Jeff
Only 30 days 'til splash time!
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Rank: Administration
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Joined: 12/4/2007
Posts: 673
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Location: Potomac MD
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Jeff: digital tv reception should pretty much follow patterns for analog. Try a set of cheap rabbit ears before you give up. Elkton is down low, kinda bad for getting signals from Baltimore, Philly, Salisbury.
Joel Albert, Potomac MD
"Charlie B" - 32' FBS
docked Deale, MD
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Rank: Top Rank Aluminum Star
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.."Elkton is down low, kinda bad for getting signals from Baltimore, Philly, Salisbury."
You ain't whistlin' Dixie! Gonna be watching a lot of prerecorded tapes next summer (as I already do).
Jeff
Only 30 days 'til splash time!
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Rank: Dedicated Tin Star
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Joined: 12/6/2007
Posts: 93
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Location: Michigan
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Jeff,
Tape????? What the heck is tape? You need to dig up one of those cans in your back yard and pull out a few of the those gold coins to buy a blu-ray hi def dvd deck!!!
Fred
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Rank: Top Rank Aluminum Star
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Joined: 12/7/2007
Posts: 756
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Location: Central Florida and the DC area
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If you buy a new flatscreen TV for your boat, it will, these days, be a HDTV unit, probably with analog capability. Look for ATSC tuner. If you get one with 1080p capability and a VGA input, then you can likely use it as a monitor for your laptop. There are a lot of 1024 X 768 pixel sets on sale now with HD tuners but I find that this is not enough resolution for use as a computer monitor. The "1080p" units also look great with Blu-Ray. The 1024 X 768 sets don't show much improvement over a regular DVD. Contrast is very important for watching movies, since film has such a wide range. A cheap set will not show black and dark areas properly. "Dynamic Contrast" just turns the backlight down to show darker scenes better. "Native Contrast" is the difference between light and dark on the screen in a single frame: 3000:1 is pretty good for movies. http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11313991&whse=BC&Ne=5000002+4000000&eCat=BC|79|2341|3316&N=4001382%204294908733&Mo=13&pos=1&No=10&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&ec=BC-EC10605-Cat2341&topnav=#reviews looks like a good deal, although the contrast is a little low. The fluorescent backlighting in most LCD sets is sensitive to moisture. When they are available cheap, the LED backlit sets will be better for a boat.
"I remember when welfare was for poor people..."
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Rank: Top Rank Aluminum Star
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Location: Alpena, Michigan
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The biggest mess with Digital TV is going to be the little local stations that do not have to (low power transmitters) and cannot afford to switch. So now some of the off air stations will be tuned through that decoder box the Government is helping to pay for and the rest will have to be tuned through the old style TV tuner. Switching between them might be a PIA and therefore the number of people watching the small stations will drop even more and probally will put a lot of them out of business.
Heard tell there are some digital tuners that can do both but they can't be got cheaply.
"When THE PEOPLE fear their Goverment, there is tyranny.
When the Goverment fears THE PEOPLE, there is liberty." Thomas Jefferson
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Rank: Top Rank Aluminum Star
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Location: Petersburg, Illinois
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I don't think I need High Def TV, I can't see all the detail on my TV now. Especialy after looking at "SorryDog's Mermaids!
Roger
The trouble with getting old, There is a lot of info in memory, I either can't find it or don't trust it if I do!
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Rank: Administration
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Posts: 673
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Location: Potomac MD
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ComputerJoe wrote:The biggest mess with Digital TV is going to be the little local stations that do not have to (low power transmitters) and cannot afford to switch. So now some of the off air stations will be tuned through that decoder box the Government is helping to pay for and the rest will have to be tuned through the old style TV tuner. Switching between them might be a PIA and therefore the number of people watching the small stations will drop even more and probably will put a lot of them out of business. Giuseppi: if you are concerned about getting low power stations (LPTV), make sure the digital converter box has "analog pass-thru". That gives you both worlds - it will convert the digital signals (and they will look better than the analog version but not true HD unless the set itself is HD capable) and it will let the straggling stations that can't afford to convert to come right through. I think the analog pass-thru feature does not add any significant cost to the unit - you just have to check specs. Around our Washington DC area, LPTV's are not a force in the marketplace. There may be some but they are marginal in the marketplace.
Joel Albert, Potomac MD
"Charlie B" - 32' FBS
docked Deale, MD
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Rank: Top Rank Aluminum Star
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Posts: 547
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Location: DeWitt/Lansing, MI
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Good tip Joel. Thanks.
 Surface Interval 1975 28' Express, Single Chrysler M360 ('87), Raymarine E120 MFD, HD digital sonar, GPS, 4KW radome, Sirius satellite weather,
X-10 autopilot with ST70 controller, Yahama 15HP 4 stroke electric start and tilt with hyd steering & remote throttle control,
Floscan 9000, ACR Sat2 406 EPIRB, 24 volt stern thruster, Interlux Brightside paint ('06-'08) Trilux 33 on bottom,
Big Jon electric downriggers, Fish Hawk X4, Traxtech swivel mounts, Bert's track and ratchet holders. Click here for all the equipment details and here for the complete photo album. |
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Location: Upper Chesapeake
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I think you guys are confusing HDTV, and DTV.
The FCC mandate has to do with the signal being transmitted digital (most are 8PSK or ATSC, Some are 64QAM/256QAM), versus Analog (NTSC).
HDTV refers to the resolution of the signal (720i/p or 1080i/p), and indicates the number of vertical lines in the picture (with "i" only 1/2 of the lines are drawn per frame, alternating odd then even. "p" indicates that all lines are drawn each frame). Traditionally, analog is 420i, (aka SDTV), but COULD be HDTV, though it doesn't make sense (won't go into why).
DTV only refers to the modulation and compression type (uses MPEG compression, 2 or 4).
Ok, that's it for now... Anyone want to guess what I do for a living...
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Rank: Top Rank Aluminum Star
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Location: Central Florida and the DC area
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I find that you can get converter boxes that work with "smart antennas" to adjust the antenna for best reception on each station. This is done once on power-up, not continuously. Still, it seems like a good deal for a boat since it can be re-adjusted for each location and orientation of the boat. Down in Florida, winds are usually steady, so once anchored, using two anchors, the boat doesn't move much.
I have been looking for one of these smart boxes that runs on 12 vdc but haven't found one. Maybe someone who "does this for a living" could help out a guy who remembers when vacuum tubes were still called DeForest Valves.....
"I remember when welfare was for poor people..."
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Rank: Top Rank Aluminum Star
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Location: Central Florida and the DC area
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I bought a small converter box that runs on 12 v, and an antenna, not a smart antenna, that is directional using a selector dial. I couldn't find a 12 v box that supports the "smart antenna" standard, and I think that the manually aimed antenna will be OK, since I know where the TV signals come from in central fl. I plan to use these with the small Radio Shack lcd tv that has been on the boat for some time. The tiny screen is OK since I only watch weather broadcasts. Going digital will let me access the radar picture which most HDTV stations put up as a "second" screen. http://www.digital-tv-converter.net/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=48http://www.digital-tv-converter.net/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=44
"I remember when welfare was for poor people..."
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