stutopia.com » DTV

TV converter box coupon, where art thou?

sho — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 06:53:50 +0000

Woohoo! I’ve been anxiously checking snail mail for the last month wondering when my DTV converter box $40 coupon is coming. I went to their site and they have a page to check its status:

Your application has been approved. Based on your application approval date of 02/28/2008, your coupon(s) are/were scheduled to mail on 04/25/2008.

I can’t wait to hook up to the projector with a DTV signal. Then we’ll get CBS and ABC on our temporary “big screen.”

Update (4/26): Woohoo! They’ve arrived.

My DIY DTV antenna

sho — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 15:30:06 +0000

So in the past week, I finally decided to put together the parts I had provisioned for my digital television (DTV) over-the-air (OTA) antenna using these schematics [you will need to register to view that forum post] for direction. It’s turns out to have a striking resemblance to this Channel Master which I’ve seen at Frys. It’s mounted in my coat closet right above the door out of the way of people who shit on coats for attention. However, I’m thinking about putting an extended arm in the mix since the turn radius was somthing that’s rather lacking due to those shapely dollar cooling racks. However, in its current state, this does achieve 4 DTV stations including ABC and CBS. So I’m sure the Oscars would have looked great in 720p.

DTV mix-up

sho — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 15:40:06 +0000

So February 17 rolled on by and I thought that, due to so much press over the switchover to broadcasting DTV-only, that I missed my chance to make my own DIY antenna in time. The minor detail that I had overlooked was that the cutoff of analog signals is in 2009, not this year! My first attempt to build an antenna went awry when I learned that copper needs heat to bend without breaking. =(

My next attempt will be better as the design is proven and I will be able to just use wire hangers in copper’s place (yay-cheap). And with some luck, I’ll get it done soon as I am refusing to pay for cable/satellite subscription to save some pesos. That way, my brother-in-law will stop asking me if I now have cable everytime he visits.