DIGITAL CONVERTER

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Isn't your real question: Will the $60 converter box be better than the DTV you already have? In other words, will the generation N (n=5?) chipset in the box be that much better than the generation n-1? chipset in your Costco DTV that you can get decent reception? IMHO, probably not.

I've got the Radio Shack/Digital Stream box which supposedly uses the latest greatest LG chipset, and it's really discouraging. Hold my tounge just right, point the old rusty Radio Shack UHF log periodic the wrong way, and I can get the "just over the top of the hill" local stations. (I think I'm actually getting the signal via a bounce off a bluff about five miles away). Just on the margin of usabilty.

Putting up the Signal Strength/Quality display and changing channels shows the box learning how to cope with the multipath. First, it has to lock into the clock, which can take 10-15 seconds, then it takes about five seconds to bring the datestream up enough to a marginal level (from a reading of below 10 up to a reading of 35 or so).

And then a container ship sails in/out of Tacoma and all those stations go away for 15 minutes or so. Having 900x100 feet of flat metal surface go by, even 5 to 10 miles away, causes the signal to crash. For the analog stations (on the same towers), you can see the picture throb at about 1 hz. Too fast for the box to compensate.

On the other hand, if the multpath is below some threshold, the weak signal performance is impressive. Putting the box to the paper clip test (actually a 4 inch hunk of hookup wire jammed into the F connector), I could get a relativly low power station, (line of sight from 20 miles away), while the same station in analog, (from the same site and one channel over), was too snowy to bother with. The three (out of the ten possible) stations in line of sight don't have a problem when the ships going by.

Maybe with multiple antennas and a teraflop of processing power to do diversity, somebody could come up with a reliable box, but it won't sell for $60. Or some fancy phased array antenna...

You could try contacting the stations' engineers or their PR department and see if they could help you set up some translators on a nearby mountain. One of our stations here has a tradition of doing that, and it looks like they're going to set up some digital versions of same.

Mark Zenier snipped-for-privacy@eskimo.com Googleproofaddress(account:mzenier provider:eskimo domain:com)

That depends on how bad you really want one. :)

BTW, have you e-mailed Costco to see if it is a temporary thing? I use Sam's Club, and some things disappear for months at a time. They might be a couple percent higher when they come back, but most things do. I think it's part of their bargaining with their suppliers. Point out how much they are losing without the sales, vs agreeing on a new delivered price they like.

Yeah, we did cave in and bought a pack at the local supermarket. They are just sooo good.

We use the suggestion box because that has more impact. It goes to the store manager who AFAIK has at least some decision making power as to the product mix. It has worked a few times, brought the Johnsonvilles back once.

Hell no! I'd eat a Hebrew National.

I haven't had a hot dog in years. I prefer Smoked sausage, or Polish sausage. I am not supposed to eat either of them, so they are few and far between. :(

No, I just want it to be roughly the same reliability. Which isn't high with DTV to begin with.

:-(

But at least they had a box.

Ours throbs faster, on account of DHL or Fedex freighter planes lumbering into Mather field. Audio goes first, blocks pop up, image freezes -> blue screen. Then we switch to analog which except for some very slight fading remains rather clear. That option will be gone in February.

They'd probably tell me to get cable ...

A BSAT Story:

I ordered a converter from BSAT just over a week ago; a week and a half before my coupon was to expire. When four days went by and I did not receive a confirmation, I called the customer service number listed and left a message. I received a callback the next day, was told that the order had shipped the previous day, the amount I was to be charged which was correct, and that I would be emailed an invoice.

I received the invoice several days later, it showed that "no coupon was used", and that I was to be charged the full amount. After several phone calls to the direct (not 877 number), I finally reached a live person. After several minutes, I was told that the order had been canceled as I had not entered a coupon number". So, how could it have been shipped last week? ... rhetorical question. It's now the day before the coupon expires. No, they can not take a telephone order. Yes, I can place another order on-line, but I have to call them to let them know I have. What's up with that? Forgetaboutit.

So to save the coup> Joerg wrote: