A converter box problem you may never have thought of

[vchimpanzee]

The TV is kind of old, but I don't understand how this happened.

I decided to watch the nightlight channel, so I changed the channel the way I have for years--I clicked on the up arrow and watched the number chnage. I did notice 36 was missing. It has only been four months since I watched channel 36 on this TV.

When I went back to channel 3, there wasn't one.

I was receiving the signal on channel 2 in a manner reminiscent of the good old days of analog TV. Not exactly snow, but it was like the old days when you had to adjust your antenna. Okay, for me that was February. No, June 8.

I had not touched those channel buttons since February, when I found myself watching the nightlight show even though I had hooked up the converter box. I hadn't learned the CORRECT way to change channels yet. I knew the way to do it but just forgot.

I thought that at a time I had set the VCR to record on channel 3 would work, but the thing didn't even start!

So I had to go in the other room and get the remote, which I moved so I could have room for the converter box remote and the TiVo remote. Actually, since the TiVo didn't work with digital TV, I guess I have room for the TV remote now.

So I turned to 3 manually. Not that easy since you have to precede it with 0. The number is usually green, but it was purple. I had to go to the setup screen. The truth is there's only the one channel now, so it wouldn't matter if I rescanned. But it gave me the option of just adding the channel, which I had to do with analog stations with poor reception back in the day. I did that, and I turned off the TV, and I was recording.

I don't know how channel 3 just disappeared like that. It could happen to you!

 

[jal41]

There is a simple fix. Turn on the convertor box, and rerun the autoprogram on the TV. It should store only channel 3 (or 4) in the up/down memory. This basically will for all intents and purposes disable the channel up/down buttons. Do the same thing with the VCR.

 

[vchimpanzee]

There is a simple fix. Turn on the convertor box, and rerun the autoprogram on the TV. It should store only channel 3 (or 4) in the up/down memory. This basically will for all intents and purposes disable the channel up/down buttons. Do the same thing with the VCR.

I thought of that, of course. And given that no other stations will be available after July 6, it would seem the logical thing to do.

Still, I wonder how the TV lost channel 3 in the first place. And what if it happens again (though if I never change channels that's not likely)?

The VCR is not separate. It's one unit, which means I've never been able to record one program while watching another. Of course, now I can only record channel 3.

The second converter box did something really strange. I don't know how this happened.

Last night I turned on "The Simpsons" to tape it while I was watching "Million Dollar Password". I got "No Signal". Now it was on channel 8.1, which doesn't work. But the station got temporary permission to move back to 35.1. I had left the TV on that station after they made the change, but it showed 8.1 when I turned it back on and I wonder if that could have been a problem.

Turning to 35.1 didn't work either. In fact, I couldn't get any channel to work. I had taped "Password" just for the few minutes it would take to see if I had seen "The Simpsons". If I had, no need to tape it. I missed the whole episode while trying to fix the problem, and I realized I'd better go back and watch "Password" before the tape runs out.

During the 30 minutes I tried to fix the problem, I turned the antenna in all different directions. It's one of these that will change direction if you push a button, and you can even save the settings so that when you change channels, it'll change settings too.

It hit me that the last time I lost all the channels on converter box no. 1, I had to plug the antenna back in. I had a very difficult time plugging the wire to the converter box into the antenna. I had done this with analog TV: the wire that actually connects is very thin and can get bent, so you don't get a signal if you don't straighten it out and plug it in right. So I checked the antenna on converter box no. 1 and the wire had just come loose.

Converter box no. 2 had done the same thing. I remember bumping into the wires a couple of days earlier, but I didn't think anything about it. But I had a hard time plugging the antenna wire into converter box no. 2 earlier. In fact, I had a hard time getting it to plug in and stay plugged in last night. Once the wire was finally in there securely, I tried again, changing the channels and the antenna direction in what I thought every way possible. Nothing! I went to the nightlight channel. It was fine, and pushing the antenna buttons made it even better. If only we had kept analog TV and just upgraded our antennas. This is great! This channel was such a pain in the old days.

I did move the TV and its wires so that I won't bump into them again. It's not a good place to put a TV, but the kitchen wouldn't be good for reception.

Later I decided to try every antenna direction with channel 2 because that was the best channel when I first turned the thing on. Nothing worked.

I figured the only thing to do was start over. After rescanning, I got my stations back. Furthermore, channel 8.1 was on channel 8.1 and I no longer have to deal with turning it to 35.1 every time I turn the thing on.

I wonder what happened? I guess you have to call it a converter box problem if rescanning solved it.

 

[vchimpanzee]

I don't understand why this keeps happening. Last night I turned on the same TV and couldn't get channel 8. It wasn't because channel 8 went back to channel 8 or because they were having a problem. I couldn't get anything.

I rescanned yet again and that solved the problem. But why did I have to do this?

The good news is I picked up two channels I couldn't before. One I couldn't pick up when it was analog.

And each station has a subchannel that looks interesting, but for the same reason it's pointless for me to have cable other than the broadcast stations, I'll have to pass. If I got started watxhing these stations I'd never have time for anything else. The good news is I probably wouldn't get a watchable signal anyway. I probably just got lucky last night because the antenna was turned the right way after I tried every direction again.

 

[vchimpanzee]

It hasn't happened again, but let me say what DID happen.

I called the converter box manufacturer, expecting some logical explanation for why one converter box can go right back to picking up signals when the antenna comes unplugged and the other doesn't. Or why the thing just quits working again.

Instead the man tried to get me to believe the stations were having problems. Or my antenna was. Or that I didn't have the antenna postioned right. I kept telling him I picked up all the stations before, and rescanning made them come back. He said talk to the FCC, because this is happneoing to lots of people , and it's because the transition wasn't done right, and the FCC was responsible for making sure it was done right. But lots of people were having problems a week after the final transition. The converter box was obviously working right because it was picking up the stations from the start, and after each rescanning.

Well, the FCC person heard a description of what happened and said it was the converter box, and call the company back and don't let them tell me it's not their problem.

I got the same thing again. Lots of people are having the problem, and some are even rescanning every day. But it's not the boxes. They're fine. Call the FCC again.

The second FCC person, a woman who had an accent, explained they can only help us pick up the signal. That wasn't what I was having a problem with. I either needed to conatact the converter box company or, if they wouldn't admit guilt, go to the Federal Trade Commission and report them.

It sounds to me like the transition has gone very poorly. All these problems and no one has to admit guilt because they can point the finger at someone else.
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