Portable LCD with Digital Tuner

[drmark7]

Greetings Group,

And so I picked up a Digital Prism 7 inch Portable LCD TV with DIGITAL tuner at CVS this week for $99. Picture quality, when available, is to expectations, but the weakness seems to be the TUNER and/OR antenna. There is just a standard, telescoping antenna on the unit.

I'm in Lancaster, so a good 30-40 miles from most Columbus stations. Though I do quite well from an amplified attic antenna on my living room TV. But on the LCD, inside my house, with the portable antenna, I get but 1 or 2 stations, and faintly, on a channel scan. So I stood in my backyard, facing north and did another scan. This way, I got 3 or 4 more, but no digital stations.

Next, I took it with me on a trip to Canal Winchester. While there, in the parking lot of Wal-Mart, I got about 8 stations, including some, but not all digital. 6.1 nor 6.2 registered and while 34.1-2-3 did, they didn't play well. Next (back home) I hooked it up to my amplified attic antenna. This picked up more, but not 34.1-2-3.

But PORTABLE is what I want. I've had a portable WATCHMAN tv with a 2 inch screen I've used for years that received the Columbus stations just fine in Lancaster- with just it's telescope antenna. I suppose we are just guinea pigs for the first wave or "test" models on the new digital technology.

Is the telescoping antenna even going to help get the UHF digital channels? Are there "portable" UHF antennas? That's going to defeat portability.

Then there's the notion that we've been told that after the final, digital switch, that with the analog gone, the digital signals will be boosted/ stronger. Do you suppose that's true and will it make any difference to folks like me with attic antennas, hoping for better?

What, if any, antenna would readers put on this type of portable TV? Any input is appreciated.

[KCJ]

I bought one of the tv's from CVS about two months ago and I would suguest two differtent external portable antennas.
The first one is a Radio Shack 15-234 IHF bow tie. You need to use and short piece of coax with f connector the solder in a 75/300 transformer to the 300 ohm twin lead. I covered the bugger with hot glue and it works quite well.
The other antenna I have is a RCA ANT111 you and get a walmart. It is VHF UHF and has 75 ohn mini coax with connector attached and is ready togo. This one has a stand to set it where you need to.
The preformence is about the same on uhf, in Gahanna I can get in HD 4, 6, 10, 17 , 28, 51, 53. In analog I get 19, 23, 32, 43, 48. have fun and patience.:ecstatic: I know its not as convenient but it works much better than the supplied antenna. In the Columbsu area I would not use an amplifed antenna, but in lancaster it might work better. I wish the tv didn't have such a tight squelch on the analog tuner, where you coluld tune the in better, but with HD its a mote point.

[drmark7]

>>>I would suggest two different external portable antennas.
>>>The first one is a Radio Shack 15-234 IHF bow tie.

Since I keep everything... coincidentally, I have a Bow Tie UHF antenna. (And THANX for the recommendation!) A leftover from an 80s portable TV. Now, how to connect it..? I have a couple of connectors in the box of odds and ends... The post coming out of the Digital Prism TV is *exceptionally* SHORT... One connector barely stays on the post, but another does Ok.

With the BOW TIE connected, going back to my upstairs, near the attic antenna location... The BOW TIE indeed picks up more stations than any of my previous attempts. Still gets no PBS 34.1-2-3, but almost everything else.

Still, I must be in THAT location, holding the antenna in an exact position to get anything at all. So this TV is still no PORTABLE replacement for my old WATCHMAN, that got all the analog channels in almost every location.

>>> Then there's the notion that after the final, digital switch, that the
>>> analog gone, the digital signals will be boosted/ stronger. Do you
>>> suppose that's true and will it make any difference to folks like me
>>> with attic antennas, hoping for better?

COMMENTS ON THIS, PLEASE! Will the digital signals REALLY increase, after the analog signal is shut off???

Might that make a digital portable like this receive signals like an old WATCHMAN? (In my location in Lancaster???) Otherwise, I'm considering returning this TV, as it is of no use if it won't receive signals well enough.

Mark

Questions?/Comments? * This Has Been e-mail From:
"Dr. Mark" Hill * The Doctor Of Pop Culture /*/ drmark7@juno.com
Lancaster, OHIO 43130-3019
MY WEBPAGE: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/popmusicpopculture

[KCJ]

Mark I think there may be some portables that have a more sensitive tuners. You can "Google it" and check them out. There may also be a quality control issues where all the sets are not up to snuff, your're not the only one with this issue.
I feel the digital tv sginals might have limitations like the HD radio. With HD radio AM is so bad that most digital AM stations have stopped the digital signal at night. The FM is good but WEAKER becuase is is a sideband of the main signal( I thnik I understand it correctly) and not full power, so its range is limited.
As for HD tv I like it and it will be a success, but HD radio is not going to make it in my opinion. regards Kirk