I've got a different problem -
1) the folks that had this mobile home before me "burned" this
address as far as the coupon database is concerned (I can't
get coupons at this address).
2) They won't send them to a PO box.
3) The post office forwards my old address, but I can't use
it - the envelopes have a DO NOT FORWARD stamp on them.
4) I can't use my work address, as the address database
knows that it's a business.
5) All of my friends are getting boxes using their addresses - they
want the extra box for hacking purposes (nobody has a spare coupon).
6) According to the NAB SmartBrief newsletter for January 6, 2009 the
coupon folks have run out of DTV coupons and have started a waiting list.
>As of Sunday, the U.S. government had run out of the $40 coupons that
>can be used to buy converter boxes for the DTV transition. A huge
>spike in requests in December -- when the government anticipated about
>4 million requests but received 7.2 million -- now means new
>coupon-seekers have to be put on a waiting list. According to a report
>in National Journal's CongressDaily, the coupon shortfall stems from
>NTIA's reliance on estimates from the Consumer Electronics Association
>and Nielsen Media Research, as opposed to the higher estimate made by NAB.
For info on the National Association of Broadcasters SmartBrief see
<http://www.smartbrief.com/nab>
Anybody else have suggestions / recommendations / warnings
about what brand of box to buy or to avoid ?
Mike WA6ILQ
At 12:21 PM 01/05/09, you wrote:
Having issues converting over to digital TV.
My father "volunteered" my services to a few of his friends, all
serious seniors, Detroit market, As an elecronic wizard (my dad's
words) I should be able to make anything with wires work well.
Most converter boxes I tried took forever to scan, channels missing,
analog TV worked great.
Most of the seniors already had their "free" box, obtained with the
converter box coupon.
Only boxes I have found so far that seem to work very well are the
DigitalStream & Zenith pass thru boxes, scan quickly, best picture on
rabbit ears. Cost more, but worth the price.
Below is a message from another user group, also detailing the
frustration in switching over to digital.
CJD
--- In <mailto:lptv%40yahoogroups.com>l...@yahoogroups.com, BB
<beazer...@...> wrote:
>
> I went out to the home of an elderly couple having problem hooking
up their converter boxes. When I arrived, the man had set up the
boxes correctly. His problem - he was missing half of the stations
he had before! I ran the scan about 10 times. Each time it found
different stations. But very few of the UHF channels from Phx.
>
> According to www.antennaweb.org - he should be able to get them
all - plus some of the Tucson stations. He's getting the Tucson ones
that are 70 miles away, but not the Phoenix ones that are 30 miles
away. He's using an indoor set top antenna, the kind with the built
in amplifier. We tried different settings without much change.
>
> Weather conditions at the time - rain. I've noticed at my house
when it rains, some channels have severe pixelation.
>
> With the converter turned off, he gets all the Phoenix stations
analog signals just fine on that indoor antenna. But going through
the converter, he's missing a few of the incidental ones...ABC,
UPN...ION.
>
> Needless to say, he isn't too happy. It looks like unless we can
come up with a better option - he needs to call DISH. If Congress
wants to talk to an average consumer about what they think of digital
television - he'd give them an earful!
> Any ideas?
> Bea Lueck
