Digital TV converter time coming up...

If you have cable (or satellite) it doesn't matter.  The set top box handles all the conversions, if necessary.  It's only OTA signals that are of any concern.

I'd connect it like John's drawing - place a splitter ahead of the digital box with the A-B switch after it.  If you put the A-B switch ahead of the digital box you will be combining it's Channel 3 or Channel 4 output with your over the air antenna, which could cause problems trying to receive stations on or adjacent to those channels.

BTW... you don't need a "satellite type" duplexer - there's no DC on the TV side of the wall switch.  A plain old cable TV style two-way splitter works fine as a combiner, and is quite a bit cheaper.

John In Detroit said:

First: There is some question as to analog after Feb cut off date.. Some folks claim that if you are "out in the boondocks" that repeater stations and some other "low power" analog stations may remain.. I AM NOT CONVINCED of this however do not yet write off all analog over the air.. yet.


As I said, there may still be a little analog out there post Feb

And if you hook to park cable, Many CATV systems (Cable) convert the analog to NTSC video so if the park does that you are good to view  (Provided you can either bypass the converter or it has pass-through,,, I understand the new Zenith/Insignia boxes do)

Digital cable is a different digital standard from OTA so there you need a different STB (Set Top Box) which you can either rent (I expect some parks will have them for so much a day) or buy  (E-bay?)

Many systems will be digi-log  that is both digital and analog on the same cable

Click to expand...

After Feb 17th all over the air broadcasts will be digital. Analoge over the air will be dead. Repeaters only repeat a signal, they do no digital to analoge conversions.

The cable companies have known for over 10 years that the conversion is coming. All cable set top boxes will convert the digital signal to analoge. All RV parks that supply a cable signal will be supplying a a signal that will work on either a digital tv or an analoge tv, you won't need to buy or rent a converter.

The smart thing to do is to throw away your analoge tv sets and get a digital set. The difference is mind blowing.

Thanks Ned and Lou,

  Got a little confused after Ned's statement. So I set up my other converter at home with a rabbit ear antenna and an old TV set. I was able to search for digital stations and it found 6. Most of them were Univ. of Florida station, very weak at times and totally dropped intermittently after a while. 1 station was indeed strong and originated here in town -CH47, a charity organization. So I now know the converter is working.

  I also tried feeding a cable signal into the antenna input.... that doesn't work at all. So that means I'll have to go with the A-B switch setup in the RV.

    John's plan will work but is incomplete. Remember I have 2 TV sets to activate. Each set only has one RF input. So, I'll need an A-B switch ahead of the converter and another one after the converter to switch the analog signal back onto the RF lead to the TV. So when watching Off-air dig signals the A-b switches will be on B. When watching cable (analog) both A-B switches will be an position A.

  And that's not all; For the other TV set I'll have to duplicate that scheme.

  So 4 small switches mounted neatly on a board should do the trick. A few short connecting cables will finish the job.

  I'll try to scan my schematic soon and post it.

Re reception in this area on VHF, the closest antenna is in Holiday, FL, north of St Petersburg, a CBS affiliate. There are Gainesville stations but their power output is too low to reach us here on the Coast.

  One reason I was unable to receive dig stations is because the RV is sitting in somewhat of a low area and UHF is virtually line of sight.

  You might be interested in seeing the list of TV stations in Florida right here.

  Let me know what you think

carson FL

John's plan will work but is incomplete. Remember I have 2 TV sets to activate. Each set only has one RF input. So, I'll need an A-B switch ahead of the converter and another one after the converter to switch the analog signal back onto the RF lead to the TV. So when watching Off-air dig signals the A-b switches will be on B. When watching cable (analog) both A-B switches will be an position A.

Click to expand...

You don't need a switch on the downstream side - just a passive combiner to merge the two coax to one. Most passive splitters aren't directional, so you can simply mount a two-way splitter backwards, with the two inputs to the terminals labeled "Out" and the output  to the tv connected to the "In" terminal on the splitter. Voila! You have merged the signal inputs to the tv.  [This is not the same as a diplexor, that maintains separate frequencies through the combiner]

Great stuff, Gary. I was worried that splitting the signal twice may reduce the signal strength; probably not enough to worry about.  I'll give that a shot.

  Was trying to scan my plan but can't get my printer to scan right now... have to dig out the manual. yikes.

carson

seilerbird said:

As I understand it all signals coming off of cable will be digital after Feb 17th. You should only need a converter box for you antenna.

Click to expand...

There is no such requirement, It is anticipated that several cable companies will retain analog service for their legacy customers for some time.  However SOME cable system are already all digital now

Every cable system de-modulates and re-modulates the incoming signal there is on requirement that it be in the same format (Digi/Analog) and since Digital cable is a different standard than OTA digital... They will still need to convert

Just hooked up the 2nd converter here in the house.. There are now two fantastic digi-channels so I had to bring in converter #2 and hook it to one of the other DVR's for recording

The problem with using a combiner on the downstream side of the converter box is the Channel 3 (or 4) signal from the box will combine with the signals you're getting from the antenna, interfering with over the air analog or cable reception on those and possibly other channels.   Using an A/B switch there instead will isolate the converter box's output from the over the air signals.

You don't need a second A/B switch ahead of the converter box.   A cable TV splitter will work nicely there, with one output going to the digital converter, the other to one input on an A/B switch.  The output from the converter goes to the second input on the switch.

The output from the switch goes to the TV.

This way, you only have one switch for each TV.  Just select whether you want to watch analog (cable) or digital via that set's A/B switch.

Hi Lou, I am trying to get my head around your idea. Sounds good. Could you draw your schematic and post it. I am still trying to post mine but have printer/scanning problems at the moment.

  I have purchased 2 A-B switches and 2 splitters. Also enough F59 connectors to make up my on cable jumpers.

carson FL



 

Hi Carson -

Is this enough or should I do something better?

Lou


Antenna Wallplate--------> splitter -----> converter box ------> A/B Switch -----> TV
                                             |                                               ^
                                             |                                               |
                                              ----------------------------------

You don't need a second A/B switch ahead of the converter box.  A cable TV splitter will work nicely there, with one output going to the digital converter, the other to one input on an A/B switch.  The output from the converter goes to the second input on the switch.

The output from the switch goes to the TV.

Click to expand...

That's a more elegant solution, Lou. Good thinking (as usual)

I was assuming there would be no output from the converter box when it was bypassed by the A/B switch, but of course that's not true if it  is powered on. As long as it has power it is probably putting out a signal on Channel 3 0r 4, even if just a blank screen. Powering off would cyre that, though.

If you snag the JPG I posted up-thread....
That's exactly what I suggested

Wall plate ------Splitter====converter on one port patch cable on other======switch---- television

In included several hook up methods there  Including the one I actually use

Antenna line to splitter, one of the Split lines goes to converter the other to television ANT-in (or recorder ANT-In in my case) the RF-out is not used on one converter (Goes to TV on the other but that one is special)  Base A/V out to the Recorder's A/V (line) in for both of them.. On the one where I hooked up the RF-out to the tv the tv gets line out from the DVR  Only used for set up anyway, never watch that TV

Hi guys, I am glad that other ideas showed up. I finally was able to scan my plan and it is attached below. Had a bit of trouble sizing it properly but the gist is there..

  I find that the John and Lou plan are workable but they address only one TV set.... no problem.

With 2 TV sets I find a different scenario. Take a look at my plan below and see if your alternatives will work.

carson FL

Reverse the A-B switches and the downstream splitters.  Splitters before the converters and the A-B switches after, per Lou's diagram for each TV.

seilerbird said:

After Feb 17th all over the air broadcasts will be digital. Analoge over the air will be dead. Repeaters only repeat a signal, they do no digital to analoge conversions.

Click to expand...

Sorry, not true. There are hundreds and hundreds of low power (LP) and Class-A stations that will remain analog, and convert to digital at their discretion only (there is no current requirement to do so). These stations staying analog further the need for the analog pass-thru function on converter boxes. Some people think that this will be useless in Feb., but it will be just as important to those living in areas primarily served by LP & Class-A transmitters, or anyone on the road.

John, Gary, Ned and Lou,

  Looks like we have it nailed down now, thanks to everyone's help.

Putting the switches at the end makes sense. I will however, run a test both ways to see if the double splitter in-series situation at the front end will degrade the signal strength going into the converter, perhaps causing a poorer image. Just wondering...

  In any case both methods will work, if the converter is shut off during analog and cable reception, in the one case.


carson

Carson,
I have an amplified 4-way splitter I don't need - you can have it for a pittance if it would help. Could have it in the mail to you today. Could take the antenna panel output and generate the 4 outputs you show in your diagram and the amp would eliminate any concern over loss of signal.

Gary,

    That is neat idea. Thanks for the offer. Please hold of a bit, I'll be running a few tests here in the next few days before I finalize anything. If it turns out that I need it I'll be sure to give you a shout.

  Ciao, carson

Update on my DTV converter project, for those interested.

  Today I implemented my plan, as outlined above, for testing purposes. Since the test was successful, all I have to do now is to neaten up the wiring and mount the switches and splitters in a neat fashion. I will post pics once it is completed.

  During dis-assembly I quickly noticed that my main antenna feed connector was  defective; the cable fell out as I touched it. Repaired same with a good connector, Twist-on "F", works like a charm, no crimping.

  For my first test I chose Plan A--- splitters on the input to the converter and A-B switch at the TV set end. (see diagram above).

    Reception of the TV signals were successful. On VHF I received channel 10 as usual. Then I started up the converter, changed the A-B switch and (on CH 3) I scanned for signals. It found 3 strong signals. (DTV- UHF). Bear in mind the RV is in a low area and miles away from the rest of Florida. The channels were DTV10-1, DTV10-2 and DTV47-1. The Batwing antenna direction was surprisingly important and distinct. At the best direction the signal strength, as shown on the screen, was "good", I would say 90%. The images were perfect.

  I was worried that the splitter may degrade the signal, so I then temporarily replaced it with another A-B switch, to get a pure signal. Well, I ran the same air/scan test and the results were identical. So it seems that a small input signal degradation with a splitter has no effect on the final output.

  I found this to be the same on the VHF signal.

  I guess this is the ideal setup and will work just fine. For cable TV it would be the same, only the 'antenna amplifier' switch would have to be turned of.

  Plan A is in effect and working great.

carson FL



 

 

Gald you like it  That's the method I worked out and have sent to many folks

It's also the method I use here at home