# Will TV band radio still work after transition?



## bigshew

I have a couple of radios that include TV bands. Does anyone know if I'll still be able to tune in the television audio after Feb. 2009?


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## Stuart Sweet

I do not think they would work at all after the transition... they would have no way to tune the new channels.


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## scooper

IF you have any low-power analog TV stations / translators, your TV audio band radios would still work after Feb 17,2009. But you will not get the full power stations unless your radios can decode ATSC and extract just the audio.

The short answer is that no - your TV Band radios will not work after the shutdown.


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## brant

I was thinking about this over the weekend when TS Fay was coming through. Our power went out and I had to use my TV band radio to listen to the weather/news reports for tornado warnings, etc. . . .

That does stink they won't work.


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## scooper

If you still want to have something like that - get one of the governement eligble digital converter boxes (CECB) .


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## wilbur_the_goose

brant, you should be using NOAA weather radio for weather warnings! Not your TV stations.


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## paulman182

NOAA is great for the warnings about what could happen, but TV or local radio are really good at telling you what is going on in real time.


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## FTA Michael

Read an article about this a few months ago, that all of those analog portable TVs are going to be doorstops and useless during weather-related blackouts and stuff. (And by extension, so will TV-band radios.)

I only mention it because the broadcaster reps said that The Big Plan for such situations is to use the radio instead of the TV. Analog radios will continue to work fine.

So, does that TV-band radio also have AM/FM?


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## Stuart Sweet

I don't think it will be long until you can buy a reasonably priced portable TV with ATSC, but there don't seem to be any yet.


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## n3ntj

bigshew said:


> I have a couple of radios that include TV bands. Does anyone know if I'll still be able to tune in the television audio after Feb. 2009?


No, unless your radio can decode digital audio from TV stations with the VHF range.


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## brant

wilbur_the_goose said:


> brant, you should be using NOAA weather radio for weather warnings! Not your TV stations.


I listen to the weather band, but during bad storms the TV station's give up to the minute warnings for tornados and hurricane tracking. The NOAA station takes several minutes to get the information out. It doesn't pick up well at my house either during bad weather.


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## scooper

It just happens that my favorite TV station / FM radio station are owned by the same company. When there is a serious weather situation, the radio station simulcasts the audio from the TV station.


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## Christopher Gould

Stuart Sweet said:


> I don't think it will be long until you can buy a reasonably priced portable TV with ATSC, but there don't seem to be any yet.


here is one for $149.99 i don't know if thats reasonable

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8870046&type=product&id=1210377520598


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## wilbur_the_goose

Don't you have any AM-band news stations? They tend to be very good with weather emergencies.


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## scooper

Christopher Gould said:


> here is one for $149.99 i don't know if thats reasonable
> 
> http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8870046&type=product&id=1210377520598


It didn't look like it had a battery. It will probably suffer the same problem as other "portable" ATSC TVs have had - really needs an external antenna to work halfway decent.


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## Cholly

scooper said:


> It didn't look like it had a battery. It will probably suffer the same problem as other "portable" ATSC TVs have had - really needs an external antenna to work halfway decent.


The product description says it's powered by an included ac adapter.


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## 4HiMarks

wilbur_the_goose said:


> brant, you should be using NOAA weather radio for weather warnings! Not your TV stations.


Yeah, the local radar and satellite video show up real well on a RADIO.
:lol:


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## jerry downing

There are ATSC tuners that can plug into a USB slot. They are about the size of a flash drive and cost under $100. Use one on a laptop and you are all set. I am not sure if they are USB powered, but I believe that they are. Check first before buying if you want to use it during a power outage.


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## kevinwmsn

jerry downing said:


> There are ATSC tuners that can plug into a USB slot. They are about the size of a flash drive and cost under $100. Use one on a laptop and you are all set. I am not sure if they are USB powered, but I believe that they are. Check first before buying if you want to use it during a power outage.


I have a usb tuner(they are about $70 now) for my laptop and it shortens the battery life a good bit. a laptop with a usb tuner on battery isn't a portable TV.


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## Moisey Barkan

TV band radio won't work with the DTV stations. You may use a converter TV box. It has a sound signal jack. You may listen to the TV sound with earphones, wireless earphones or whatever, connecting to this jack.


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