TV Reception device

[Ted in NE-OH]

They are advertising a device that supposedly can pick up cable TV right out of the air but looks like an antenna amplifier. They say that they have sold over 1 million. Does anyone have one? Looks too good to be true.

 

[zuhnc]

Well, *cable* TV, by its very nature, is not over the air, so, not possible to pick it up with an antenna. The "cable" is either fiber or co-axial, neither of which emit any appreciable radiation.

And, who are "they"? A link to the device, maybe? zuhnc

 

[Dennis K]

i bought one at walmart for about 25.00 and it picks up 17 channels 30 miles north of Rapid City,SD. I know someone in Rapid that picks up about 49 channels.

 

[Gambles]

i bought one at walmart for about 25.00 and it picks up 17 channels 30 miles north of Rapid City,SD. I know someone in Rapid that picks up about 49 channels.

Sounds like rabbit ears?

 

[Russ from MN]

We get enough channels to watch at any of our homes, in Arizona, East Phoenix valley, we must get close to a 100, and most are in English, but it's not cable, it's broadcast! In extreme N MN we only get about 10.

 

[John T]

for the answer check it out on the internet wink wink. Anyone can find whatever answers they want that way doncha know My opinion is tv from a cable supplied company isn’t the same as old fashion antenna reception. While I still have an old fashion tv antenna on a tower at home for local stations I get streaming tv over the net at home or in the rv with a gazillion more stations than I could ever watch lol

John T

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

They're playing word games.

You know all those "sub" channels that popped up after the changeover to digital TV? The ones that play old shows 24/7, like Matlock, Bonanza, Have Gun Will Travel... and there's always a game show channel, and HSN and/or QVC. Most of those are a part of every basic cable package.

So in a way you are getting "cable" television.

 

[DoubleO7]

in a way you are getting "cable" television.

Unless your TV is getting the signal wirelessly, without any signal cable connected to the tv, anything else is "cable" television.
Because there is a cable in between the tv and the over-the-air antenna. Bazinga!

There, I edited to reflect my intent at sarcasm.

 

[jimg.allentown]

Unless your TV is getting the signal wirelessly, anything else is "cable" television.

Satellite TV is wireless, but not broadcast - basically no different than cable. Even cable TV is wireless for part of the "journey" from the provider to your TV.
The bottom line is that if you have to pay for it, it is equivalent to cable, and if you don't, it is equivalent to broadcast.
What you get on ANY antenna that connects directly to your TV is broadcast.
With today's technology, there are no truly precise definitions.
To those of you who are technologically challenged, it is truly difficult to determine which is which.
To those of you that watch advertising, know that 99.99% of what you see and hear is made up bullcrap. Some of those people will try to convince that up is down and down is up. The rest will try to convince you that the earth is flat.

 

[Keith True]

After fooling with different antennas all my life I hired an antenna guy to come out.He walked up and down my roof,holding an antenna and a TV hung around his neck.Then I picked him up in the manlift,and tried a couple of poles I have near the house.Found a good spot on the roof,and set the antenna there.I have two absolute directions for signals.One toward Boston,and another toward Manchester,that one is my local station.He aimed the big antenna toward Boston,then mounted a little one underneath,that just picks up Manchester.Works great,airplanes will disturb it,and weather sometimes,but it gets over it.Doesn't bother me enough to spend $75.or $100.per month just to watch a TV.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

Unless your TV is getting the signal wirelessly, anything else is "cable" television.

Yes, thanks for the "literal" definition.

They are not using "cable" literally here. They are calling the digital subchannels you can pick up over-the-air, "cable" because most of them started out as part of basic cable TV packages. Your GRIT, H&I, COMET, MeTV, etc.. Like I said, I've also picked up Home Shopping Network and QVC with the digital antenna. Those are for sure "cable" channels.

 

[wp6529]

Well, *cable* TV, by its very nature, is not over the air, so, not possible to pick it up with an antenna. The "cable" is either fiber or co-axial, neither of which emit any appreciable radiation.

And, who are "they"? A link to the device, maybe? zuhnc

Cable TV (traditional coaxial) most certainly does emit RF radiation. Indeed the cable operators have to comply with FCC regulations on "cumulative leakage index" to ensure such leakage is kept to a minimum so it does not interfere with OTA spectrum. As things transition more and more to fiber there is less of a leakage issue, but it still exists in areas that are still coax to the home.

Technically in those areas one could point a directional antenna and pre-amp at the CATV line gear and if there is enough leakage you could receive the signal. These days where most everything on the cable (even coax cable) is in digital form you aren't likely to get anything useful, but in the old analog days this would indeed work to get you the basic channels.

 

[jimg.allentown]

Cable TV (traditional coaxial) most certainly does emit RF radiation. Indeed the cable operators have to comply with FCC regulations on "cumulative leakage index" to ensure such leakage is kept to a minimum so it does not interfere with OTA spectrum. As things transition more and more to fiber there is less of a leakage issue, but it still exists in areas that are still coax to the home.

Technically in those areas one could point a directional antenna and pre-amp at the CATV line gear and if there is enough leakage you could receive the signal. These days where most everything on the cable (even coax cable) is in digital form you aren't likely to get anything useful, but in the old analog days this would indeed work to get you the basic channels.

I would be inclined to disagree with that. I sincerely doubt that there would be a high enough level of leakage from SHIELDED coaxial cable to get a useful signal. The shielding grounds out the signal. That is why they use it. Otherwise, we would have still been using 300-ohm twin lead.

 

[Blackhole49]

They are advertising a device that supposedly can pick up cable TV right out of the air but looks like an antenna amplifier. They say that they have sold over 1 million. Does anyone have one? Looks too good to be true.

You don't say who "they" are or how much "they" want for said device. That being said, after reading all the replies, I say buy it and try it. All you got to lose is probably less than I pay for 1 month of internet/tv.

 

[wp6529]

I would be inclined to disagree with that. I sincerely doubt that there would be a high enough level of leakage from SHIELDED coaxial cable to get a useful signal. The shielding grounds out the signal. That is why they use it. Otherwise, we would have still been using 300-ohm twin lead.

There used to be a *lot* of coax in a CATV system, most of it hardline rigid up on the poles along with numerous amplifiers. Hardline rigid coax is 100% shielding but can still get damaged as well. CATV companies also switched from RG59 to RG6 for better shielding as well as lower loss as CATV frequencies extended higher. Every connection that wasn't tighten sufficiently or was somehow damaged would leak some signal. A CATV line amp with the housing not closed solidly or with damaged or missing shielding gasket would leak signal as well.

Again CLI compliance is/was an FCC requirement and surveys had to be done and repairs made where maximum leakage levels were exceeded. Indeed there are/were companies who did flyover surveys in small aircraft to do such surveys for the CATV operators. BTW I worked for a cable company for a few years way back when.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

You don't say who "they" are or how much "they" want for said device. That being said, after reading all the replies, I say buy it and try it. All you got to lose is probably less than I pay for 1 month of internet/tv.

It doesn't matter what it is. There is no "magic" here. Just marketing word games barely shy of bald faced lies. The "device" is a simple digital TV antenna and/or signal booster that helps you pick up the digital subchannels broadcast by nearby television stations. That's what they ALL are.

Also if you have good internet service and a Roku or other "smart" TV, you get hundreds of channels, including those digital subchannels you get over the air for FREE, without fiddling with rabbit ears, without annoying disruptions because of marginal signals.

The only reason for having a digital antenna is to pick up the local network affiliates and PBS.

 

[jimg.allentown]

There used to be a *lot* of coax in a CATV system, most of it hardline rigid up on the poles along with numerous amplifiers. Hardline rigid coax is 100% shielding but can still get damaged as well. CATV companies also switched from RG59 to RG6 for better shielding as well as lower loss as CATV frequencies extended higher. Every connection that wasn't tighten sufficiently or was somehow damaged would leak some signal. A CATV line amp with the housing not closed solidly or with damaged or missing shielding gasket would leak signal as well.

Again CLI compliance is/was an FCC requirement and surveys had to be done and repairs made where maximum leakage levels were exceeded. Indeed there are/were companies who did flyover surveys in small aircraft to do such surveys for the CATV operators. BTW I worked for a cable company for a few years way back when.

While I grant you there can be signal leakage, what I disagree with is that there would be any usable signal leakage. Whatever the little "bits and pieces" that do leak out are so minimal as to be negligible. Most would probably require exotic equipment to even get close to a usable signal.
Now, add to that EVERYTHING that goes through those coax cables is encrypted with continuously changing decode algorythms. Without their proprietary cable box, an account, and receiving the decoding information, all you would get from those leaked signals would be gibberish. One guy I knew had one of those descramblers for satellite. Their encryption is extremely strong.

 

[wp6529]

While I grant you there can be signal leakage, what I disagree with is that there would be any usable signal leakage. Whatever the little "bits and pieces" that do leak out are so minimal as to be negligible. Most would probably require exotic equipment to even get close to a usable signal.
Now, add to that EVERYTHING that goes through those coax cables is encrypted with continuously changing decode algorythms. Without their proprietary cable box, an account, and receiving the decoding information, all you would get from those leaked signals would be gibberish. One guy I knew had one of those descramblers for satellite. Their encryption is extremely strong.

In the old days CATV was analog and unencrypted for the basic channels, and you could very easily get useable signal with a directional antenna and pre-amp if you had a leaky CATV amp or tap nearby.

Again this was "back when" and today there is a lot less coax in the CATV systems as well as little or no analog transmissions so there is less leakage and when leaks isn't likely to be useable.

As far as OTA broadcast TV antennas go, there is certainly a lot of deceptive marketing going on to sell $10 antennas for $100 and the like. I expect this is done by big operations that continuously change names / fronts as FTC investigations get going.

Happy to say that I haven't watched any TV be it cable / OTA / other in a good 15 years and I don't miss it at all. It's shocking how much time people waste out of their lives on that garbage as well as the netflix, social media, etc. Those same people likely complain they don't have time to cook meals at home either and waste more $ and their health on take out or worse yet the trendy "meal kits" for those who can't figure out how to stock a pantry.

 

[jimg.allentown]

In the old days CATV was analog and unencrypted for the basic channels, and you could very easily get useable signal with a directional antenna and pre-amp if you had a leaky CATV amp or tap nearby.

Again this was "back when" and today there is a lot less coax in the CATV systems as well as little or no analog transmissions so there is less leakage and when leaks isn't likely to be useable.

As far as OTA broadcast TV antennas go, there is certainly a lot of deceptive marketing going on to sell $10 antennas for $100 and the like. I expect this is done by big operations that continuously change names / fronts as FTC investigations get going.

Happy to say that I haven't watched any TV be it cable / OTA / other in a good 15 years and I don't miss it at all. It's shocking how much time people waste out of their lives on that garbage as well as the netflix, social media, etc. Those same people likely complain they don't have time to cook meals at home either and waste more $ and their health on take out or worse yet the trendy "meal kits" for those who can't figure out how to stock a pantry.

It has been over 15 years since I cut the cable. Prices kept rising, and I simply could not justify the money they wanted just to watch TV!!!
I have been a NetFlix subscriber almost since they started. I choose what little I watch with NO advertising. I also don't have to support 300 channels I will never look at to get the 5 or 6 I like.
This time of the year, the TV stays mostly off. Much healthier and more interesting outdoors.

 

[zuhnc]

In the old days CATV was analog and unencrypted for the basic channels, and you could very easily get useable signal with a directional antenna and pre-amp if you had a leaky CATV amp or tap nearby.

I agree with most of your posts. That was the old days! Todays' "cable", as most understand physical cable, has so little leakage as to be useless for signals to be picked up via an OTA antenna. zuhnc