A New Item For The TV

Well, today I cut the cable to the degree that I can get reasonably priced internet.  I also got my bill from comcast saying they were going to raise my rates from $106 to $126.  I dropped it to $63.  The crappideaux cable service gives me the OTA channels that get washed away in the rain.  It's looking pretty good so far.

After using a cheapie weepie streaming device and getting familiar with it, I have finally got the long term device, a ROKU 3.  It is more reliable and is somewhat easy to use.  It had a free trial of Directv Now, and it has supplanted the cable.  I have found that in order to get internet at a decent price I have to get the rock bottom cable lineup.  That gives me the local channels.  The tier I chose was the $35 and carries TCM as well.  I even get a better picture in that they don't mess with the aspect ratio as the cable provider does.

Here is a website that identifies and locates adjacent towers to given locations.

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My location is 30236.  That would give you an idea of my area's tower locations.

signal strength from broadcaster may be an issue, I have an outside rotating antenna and I can point it to PBS in Tacoma and it comes in fine till either the wind or rain starts. 
It is about 27 miles away.

This occurs with the rotor set to those outlets.  They are the most difficult to get.  Most of the others stay up when the antenna is directed to the 3 I lose in the rain.

Welcome to the world of free TV, Happens to all of us. you said you had a rotor, use it.

I've been using the antenna more and more and ME TV has opened up another outlet here in the Atlanta area.  Another problem has reared it's ugly head.  I have found when it rains, the signal is lost to both PBS outlets and the ME TV outlet.  That makes the antenna fairly useless when it rains, bearing in mind that the antennas' output is already amplified.

Count your blessings.  My basic cable and internet is $126.  It is about to go down sharply.  I also get OOMA VOIP with my internet.  I bought the terminal used and like me, it is quite cheap.  I use a lan cable for the streaming adapter and the WiFi for other more short duration purposes.

wildcat445 wrote:

We have been threatening to do away with cable and fibre optics.  These things start out reasonable, but keep getting more and more expensive with time.  With phone, Internet and TV bundling, it is now nearly $200 a month, which is an insane amount of money.  Our Internet service is fast and reliable, but the cost is no commensurate with the benefit.  I've been thinking about some type of Internet connection myself, so your comments and experience are well-taken.

I have seen our cable service/Internet rise over the years. When Comcast took over from the local cable TV to provide Internet was an entry at $42/mo. I have dial-up previously, one hasn't lived until one navigates eBay with dial-up. waiting some 20 seconds as each page renders. Cable TV initially came in 1981 at $11, welcomed as I desired PBS and it was deep fringe for my location. Old antenna at 32' up was getting tired. Had bought into Movie channel and Weather channel.

Today, cable TV and Internet are $62. I get simple basic, no premium channels. I got free digital to analog converters and bought my own cable modem, of which I had to upgrade 3 times at $$ a pop... I have a mid grade bit rate and can stream up to 720 on YouTube.

I get bombarded in my snail mail for "better" Xfinity cable offers, all of which are at least double and could reach as much as 1K/ month with full blown phone web and security services...

Hey, I can default to OTA TV but at $12 /mo for basic, a bargain. As for an alternate Internet connection? I guess there is satellite service but FWIK of a couple of years ago they are still higher, an iffy when satellite is next to SUN..

Comcast/Xfinity has the Town in their back pocket by providing FREE access for the local channel as well as free cable to all other public buildings. There is no leverage position for Verizon FIOS. It is a monopoly in every sense of the word. So when bad or no service comes up. Local cable board is just a bunch of talking heads...

I would welcome Internet over the High lines but as a Ham I know of the digital roar it makes in the receivers.

My suggestion is to cut down to minimum, do not discuss data rates. You might get forgotten an still have a rate that supports reasonable. Or, deliberately reduce the data rate by requesting to provider, get into your router service and turn off Internet access between say 11:00pm and 7:00am. Get back to land line and one phone.

Be sure your wifi isn't hacked by reducing power level and/or using a password for access. Get rid of premium channels and get back outdoors, paint the house, plant some tulips, service the snowblower. Join a health club and GO, get to the library and access Internet from there.

Basically, unplug all the frills, keep only what would cost more to do if essential any other way...

I have a new, medium fringe TV antenna to move along to someone in need.

GL

Chas

The little one I found has been doing just fine.  Thinking about it,  I guess the bigger ones' bulk could be offset by using it to power items from each of it's outputs.

Why not use an computer power supply, and make an adapter from the 5V conn. to the device?
 A good used one likely would set you back 2-5 bux, the only drawback being its bulk. 
Some of those supplies I see are good for large output amperage.

Well, I got my first subscription TV service for Acorn TV.  I has a lot of the old programs I like and it looks like a lot of new ones too.  pretty cheap too, in comparison to cable.

The reception here is pretty good after tweaking the direction with the rotor.  I watched PBS most of last evening.  There is no other antenna movement since it is in the attic.  This and YouTube is a good option.

Cliff Jones wrote:

The only thing is when the antenna isn't pointed exactly right.
The screen and sound lockup or cut in and out and stutter.
But hey! no $$$$$$.

That seems to happen if a bird lands on it or there is a slight breeze!  I hate getting into a show only to have it disappear right off the screen!

We removed Direct TV 18 months ago and have never missed it.  They have more commercials than over the air TV had when I was a youngster! Remember back in the 70's when they were pushing cable TV?  When you would ask; "why would I pay for that?" The answer would be; "Because it is commercial free!"


Netflix is working just fine for our entertainment!


I don't like over-the-air digital TV......it's either a very sharp picture or nothing at all.

My wife follows the Phoenix Suns, so we have to have cable to get those broadcasts.  It is cheaper than season tickets, so I guess that is one way to look at it.  If we could get Suns broadcasts in any other medium than cable, we would certainly can it and go to something else.  It works okay, but the cost is almost prohibitive anymore.

I have never had the cable, and won't. I just rescanned my TV and was surprised that there are now 62 over the air channels. Funny that there are several duplicate numbered channels. Several shopping channels. Two PBS channels, one in Tacoma and one in Seattle, both have several subchannels. The only thing is when the antenna isn't pointed exactly right.
The screen and sound lockup or cut in and out and stutter.
But hey! no $$$$$$.

Made another purchase for the TV.  Looked at the selection of antennae on Amazon and found a likely looking unit about3 weeks ago.  Finally got things together to put it up.  I bought a Kaput torchiere lamp at the thrift store and used a little aluminum tubing to fashion a stand for the antenna.  It has a heavy base and I just set it in the attic and aimed it toward the Atlanta skyline. Ran the line through the garage along the wall, under the house and up at the DVR/TV.  It has an amp in the head end that is powered by the amp/rotor box at the TV.  The rotor is remote controlled.  Powered everything up and I am really impressed with the results.  The cable changes the picture size and aspect ratio so the picture is never the size of the set.  The OTA signal just fills the screen at the correct aspect.  There is a tv guide channel and each station carries the programs description and its' schedule.  The only downside is that MeTV is not broadcast in the ATL.  All the stations come in clear and brilliant, compared to the cable feed.

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Got a new wall wart and it is noise free on AM and SW.  The streamer works well.  There is a trove of Inspector Morse episodes it brings up and they are of good quality.  The TV brings up the proper aspect ratio.  The only drawback is finding the programs.  One has to know what they are looking for, so that inhibits finding not yet seen material.  I would like to get good enough with this to cease using cable.

We have been threatening to do away with cable and fibre optics.  These things start out reasonable, but keep getting more and more expensive with time.  With phone, Internet and TV bundling, it is now nearly $200 a month, which is an insane amount of money.  Our Internet service is fast and reliable, but the cost is no commensurate with the benefit.  I've been thinking about some type of Internet connection myself, so your comments and experience are well-taken.

I'm sure I'll Locate something soon.

Look for unusually heavy wall warts, the analog type. Another type is a hefty wall to USB, I have one of 1.5amp.s I haven't noticed any RF faraway.

I hadn't had the chance to get another wall wart yet, but I have used the streaming device and watched several programs on YouTube. I think this is going to be pretty nice.

As the choices get fewer and fewer on cable, I thought I would try internet streaming.  I bought a no name device with decent reviews on Ebay and have tried it out on Youtube.  It works quite well. The downside is that it operates from a wall wart for 5VDC at 2A.  It is a cheapie weapie and I found this morning it hoses away a portion of my AM reception centering on 920 Khz.  Now to find a better filtered power supply to use with the device.  I hate it as it is trial and error.  It usually consists of hitting several thrift stores and picking likely units from the orphan basket, taking them home and giving them an audition before the Magnavox.  The quiet one then gets a connector graft.