[Shop-talk] TV converter box

[Randall]

> Best alternative is a digital antenna so you 
> can at least get
> the local digital broadcast signals.There are some very cheap 
> interior ones
> ~$10 that will pull in only strong signals.

Just to clarify a little, there is nothing "digital" about the antenna.  It's the same frequency band, so the old "analog" antennas
will work just fine.  Even "rabbit ears" will do, you just might need a balun to convert balanced 300 ohm to 75 ohm coax since most
TV sets don't seem to have 300 ohm inputs any more.

And FWIW, I just picked up a cheap directional outdoor antenna for $25; including rotator and amplifier.  No idea how long it will
last (probably not very), but it's cheap enough to experiment with.  SWMBO wants a channel that is broadcast from roughly 75 miles
away, and this antenna pulled it in clearly (during preliminary testing in the living room).  With any luck, it isn't so directional
that it has to be turned to get the other local channels (which are off in a different direction, of course); but I haven't managed
to try that yet.  Gonna try putting an amplifier on the omni-directional antenna first and see how that works out.

-- Randall