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emergency tv

JERSEYTEX7

JERSEYTEX7

Joined
Dec 3, 2005
Messages
405
I have a question. In 2009 we switch to all digital tv signals, meaning converter boxes on antennae signals. In case of emergency/power outages, no power to run the converter boxes: we will no longer have visual access to emergency info on battery operated tv's. Does this bother anyone else?
 
Well, you'll still have radio. I don't think visual info would be all that important in an emergency. I mean what would the tv stations show? Just people running around what not, not really specifically useful stuff. I guess it would be a problem for people that are deaf though.
 
Well, during a power outage here in southern Illinois a couple of years ago, my small handheld battery tv let me see incoming storms, kept the kids entertained. I mean, it seems like "the government is taking an emergency option from us. I haven't heard any discussion on this. Just me worrying, I guess.
 
In the sense that Networks don't want to spend the money on two signal types, sure I guess its the Gov'ts fault. I would rely on an emergency weather radio with a crank and some good batteries. I keep a deck of cards and books around for times when the interweb is not available ;) I'm not trying to downplay your worry, as we do rely on TV/Internet/name your electronic medium for info, but Radio is simple and effective and a MUST HAVE these days. Its amazing to me how few people have a battery powered radio handy and know what stations to listen to for info. Also, several E-Weather Radios have a feature that they turn themselves on when an Emergency Weather Event or Warning has issued in your area - to assist in warning folks of tornadoes and the like. If you don't have one you should get one.
 
I'm not really sure why the gov't is so concerned about whether my tv is analog or digital. If my power goes out then I won't be watching TV anyway.

If this is a big concern, then you should investigate battery powered TVs that accept a digital source. (I don't know if they exist, but if they don't, then they most likely will soon.)
 
Since I won't pay for cable and get only one (local, public) broadcast channel anyway, I don't watch TV now. I guess I'm doomed.

I got one of these radios http://www.countycomm.com/gp4light.htm with the carrying case and the external antenna reel. Just playing with it yesterday (periodic checkup).
 
JERSEYTEX7 said:
I have a question. In 2009 we switch to all digital tv signals, meaning converter boxes on antennae signals. In case of emergency/power outages, no power to run the converter boxes: we will no longer have visual access to emergency info on battery operated tv's. Does this bother anyone else?
Click to expand...

Rotary phones, Betamax, buggy whips. . . Technology evolves - move on. (Are you still holding a grudge about 8 track tapes?) :p There will be plenty of battery-powered digital TVs available, as well as wireless internet devices for viewing up-to-date video information.

hlee said:
I'm not really sure why the gov't is so concerned about whether my tv is analog or digital.
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This has been in the works for years. The gubmint regulates the public airwaves to allow them to be usable. The move to digital is not because they want us all to have HDTV. Digital takes up far less bandwidth, opening up much needed space of cell phones, pagers, and other wireless devices that have exploded in popularity in recent years.

-- FLIX
 
I sold my old battery powered pocket TV for exactly this reason.
I used it during bad weather power outages that we have quite frequently. The local TV station is pretty good about showing radar images during storms.
This brings up another subject. Your local meteorologist is the best source for local weather. My local guy sometimes shows the forecast from the national weather service and then adds his own 2 cents and he is almost always right on.
 
Just a thought, but in my truck I've installed a group 31 deep cycle battery (today's project is to add an isolator and charge cable) and a 1 kW inverter. If need be, I could run an extension from the truck to the house and use that thousand watts to run the laptop, modem and router, so as long as the infrastructure is still up...if not, it'll run an FM receiver damn near forever!
Mobile AC and a laptop also gives you the option of cruising around looking for a working hotspot if your provider is offline.

A similar setup for a home would be easy to install with a 12V transformer and a solar panel for charging. That would let you run whatever comms/electronics you need to.

My installation is primarily for charging cordless batteries and running a jigsaw. It only set me back about 300 bucks for the batt, inverter and isolator. You can buy portable power packs with built in inverters as well, not to mention purpose built UPS units. I had a booster pack with a 300W inverter which was great for an AC backup. Although the lead acid batt was only 18 Ah, it ran the tv and PS2 for several hours when the power went out one rainy Saturday...

The price of making your own AC power has come down a lot in recent years thanks to a drop in price of solar panels and inverters and the introduction to the market of the Chinese gensets.

What all this means of course is that one can now provide backup power to a well equipped suite of electronics on relatively little cost. It wouldn't be a problem to build a system which would power a tv and converter box for a couple days.
 
Digital TV *is* the government's doing. They want the spectrum space. Analog TV takes a lot more radio bandwidth than digital TV, and that's why they have mandated the change.

It's not like you won't be able to get small battery powered TVs anymore. It's just that the old POS you have in your closet will have to be replaced with a digital model.

But seriously, if you're worried about being notified in an emergency, get a damned radio. In Canada, we don't even have the "Emergency Broadcast System" or whatever it's being called now. Never have.
 
I was thinking the exact same thing after the storms rolled though KC here last week. We knew that *that* storm had passed, but didn't know what was coming next. No TV or net to get the forecast and weather radio's only give current conditions and warnings.

(I turned on my police/fire scanner and got the current situation and found out about the downed power lines around my house.

Like I was saying, I knew we were safe 'for now'. A battery operated TV would allow us to get the forecast for the (near) future.
 
DeadeyeLefty said:
Just a thought, but in my truck I've installed a group 31 deep cycle battery (today's project is to add an isolator and charge cable) and a 1 kW inverter. If need be, I could run an extension from the truck to the house and use that thousand watts to run the laptop, modem and router, so as long as the infrastructure is still up...if not, it'll run an FM receiver damn near forever!
Click to expand...

Deadeye, it looks like you have it pretty well figured out. I thought I'd just mention a system I used to use years ago.

In my van, instead of using an isolator, I used an old 4 terminal starter relay. The coil of the relay was fed from the ACCESSORY terminal on my ignition switch. This closed the heavy current contacts on the relay, whenever the ignition switch was on (presumably this would be when the engine was running and the primary battery was being charged). This supplied the necessary charging voltage to my deep drain battery through the heavy contact terminals.

When the van was shut off, and the ACC terminal dead, the secondary battery was isolated from the primary, that way the load on the secondary could not drain the primary.

To this I added a SPDT, centre-off switch so I could shut the power off to the starter relay (and the secondary battery) if I wanted to disconnect the secondary completely, but also gave me the option of supplying power to the relay from another source which allowed me to 'jump' the primary battery with the secondary one.

I used this on 2 different vans and it worked well. I used the vans for family camping, and the secondary battery for lights, radio, and an air circulation fan in the van. I mention this in case it may have some application to the things you're doing.

Doc
 
Thanks, Doc - that's similar to how boats are wired. There's a solenoid that's powered from a momentary pushbutton on the dash. The solenoid incorporates the house batteries into the engine start circuits. I am doing a side project (77 RV resto) where I'm wiring it for that sort of redundancy.

For redundancy, the ideal backup power system would also incorporate multiple batteries wired in separate banks (think "...eggs in one basket"). Because suitable batteries aren't cheap, you could pick them up as you can afford them and keep adding them into the system indefinitely. This will also stagger the replacement schedule so it's not such a big financial hit. Of course, check your local regs if you're tying it into the grid and be careful: AC bites. Oh, and don't forget your bubblewrap suit...

I'll go start a specific 'backup power' thread...if there's no interest we'll just let 'er die a quick death.:D
 
I'm not really sure why the gov't is so concerned about whether my tv is analog or digital.
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As I recall, it is supposed to free up the last big chunk of frequency for the government to allocate to other communications programs. Of course, I could be misremembering, but I believe that is it.
 
:)I have battery powered and crank powered lights and radios. Will look for the portable digital tvs. Good feedback- thanks- also- hadn't thought about using my laptop- I could get a wireless modem card. ;)And I hold a grudge about8 tracks- can't find enough to play in my pristine '66 red Mustang.:D
 
It's not clear to me that the government mandated the change because it wants the spectrum. AFAIK, the amount of spectrum allocated to commercial television will remain the same. Digital is a more efficient mode than traditional analog, so the result is the possibility of more broadcast channels in the same amount of spectrum. Government does benefit indirectly via additional regulatory fees, taxes, etc. Broadcasters benefit more directly by having effectively created more real estate to use up. The FCC or whatever they're called these days has always assumed the ability to regulate the airwaves, and generally has done so with the guidance and lubrication provided by broadcasting interests. What's happening now isn't really anything new, and has happened before with television, FM radio, etc.

Of course, this DTV stuff is an upgrade that no consumers really asked for. The changeover has been scheduled for several years, and has been handled in the usual graceful way that we'd expect any government mandate, with things like converter boxes effectively just hitting the shelves now, confusion, questionable benefits to the end user, and government handouts not only to special interests but to consumers as well.
 
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Esav Benyamin said:
Since I won't pay for cable and get only one (local, public) broadcast channel anyway, I don't watch TV now. I guess I'm doomed.

I got one of these radios http://www.countycomm.com/gp4light.htm with the carrying case and the external antenna reel. Just playing with it yesterday (periodic checkup).
Click to expand...


Ditto on the GP4L from County Comm. I'm in Seattle and my disaster planning is on a regional scale-- earthquakes and volcanoes. We get some wind storms too, but that is mostly a power outage issue. You need the shortwave and AM reach to be able to hear stations from out of the area if all the local stations are out.

I EDC a little Sony jogger radio that gets AM/FM/Weather and analog TV sound-- soon to go away. There are plenty of models that get AM/FM/Weather. I have several small ones from thrift stores and yard sales.

As to the TV issue, you would need a converter box that will run on batteries, a generator or a DC/AC inverter. Inverters can be handy devices in a pinch.

When it comes down to it, a radio is much more compact and easier on resources than a TV.
 
I'm with Dale W on this one. A couple years ago, we had a powerful windstorm that knocked out power in the Puget Sound area. In my town, there was no power for 6 days.

We kept informed with a 9v am/fm radio. I keep a couple around the house for just those reasons. A portable TV would not get any reception due to the mountains around us.

I was also in the Bay Area earthquake in 1989 and used the same little Radio Shack 9v radio in that one too! Best $4.99 ever spent on consumer electronics.

I carry a Grundig Mini 300 in my EDC Maxped pack. It's a good little radio. You can read about it here: http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/4761
 
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