Starter TV DX'ing Equipment (TV Set)?

[jlochey]

I'd like to also delve (and I mean dip a toe in!) into TV DX'ing. Can anyone recommend a smallish TV that is good for TV DX'ing?

Also a question... Why not use some of those small handheld B & W TV's made by Sony for TV DX'ing if they will take an external antenna?

Sorry, I'm very green here...:confused:


Thanks,



John

[KW4RZ]

The best TV for DXing would be a old set with a channel knob. Something from the mid 80's or before. A garage sale or maybe a pawn shop would be the place to get one. My DXing TV cost $5 in a garage sale. I have one of those 5" B/W TV's. I've never used it for DXing, but it might work with the strongest E skip.
Give it a shot and let us know what you identify.

[KC0LTV]

I'd like to also delve (and I mean dip a toe in!) into TV DX'ing. Can anyone recommend a smallish TV that is good for TV DX'ing?

Also a question... Why not use some of those small handheld B & W TV's made by Sony for TV DX'ing if they will take an external antenna?

Sorry, I'm very green here...:confused:


Thanks,



John

For analog TV DXing, the best sets to use are typically older (but not REALLY old) models, typically those built around the early 80's in my experience. Dial-tuning sets are often also good DX sets.

Now that it's 2006, and the planned analog shut-off is before the 2009 DX season starts, you might want to consider delving in to DTV DXing too, so that snow covering various analog channels pays off. I am using the WinTV-D card, as many DX'ers do, and find that while it works quite well for DXing, especially with the diagnostic screen, it also has a number of annoyances and shortcomings. Others have used various set top boxes (e.g. Accurian) that connect to a standard TV, while some have had great success with the PC-HDTV card (designed for Linux, but may run with some Windows programs like TSReader).

[Mike-CT]

And remember, now you can walk into Walmart (and other places, probably) and get SDTVs for $200. These have both analog and digital tuners in them, so you can have the best (we hope) of both worlds. I know at least a couple of TV Dxers use them. Can't be any worse than a STB...

[jlochey]

OK, so I guess what I'm looking for is some models that other users have been having good results with.

Rather then just buying one cold.


Do most people DX with an SDTV? Or maybe something else?


Thanks,


John

[NECRAT]

I picked up some great TV DX using a 1981 Panasonic VCR I bought off of eBay. It worked wonders until the head went south in it...

--Mike

[Guy in WNY]

Jeff has gotten more skip than just about anyone ad uses these TV's:

TV 1 - Zenith N1310 13" color TV circa 1982 (main UHF DX TV)

TV 2 - Zenith M1310 13" color TV circa 1981

TV 3 - Zenith Y1310 13" color TV circa 1983

TV 4 - Zenith 9" AC/DC b&w TV circa 1979 (main Es monitor bought new in 1979
and never repaired!)

TV 5 - Zenith 9" color TV circa 1988

TV 6- Zenith 9" color TV circa 1988
(Jeff-I cut and pasted this from your posting on the list, hope you don't mind.)
Guy in Lockport, NY

[Robert Grant]

1) Zenith 16D21 21" monochrome (1959), had excellent sensitivity and decent selectivity on lowband VHF. One day the tuner got dirty, and when I cleaned it, something went wrong with it, and I lost a lot of that sensitivity. Bill Draeb used this same model at one time, too.
Don't expect this with just any very old set, my 1958 Emerson 1224 is almost "deaf" to DX.


2) RCA 25" color console (model unk, 1981), not very sensitive, but had "bulletproof" selectivity. Channel 3 was unaffected by locals on 2 and 4, both about 16 miles away.


3) KTV 12" B&W, (model unk, 1983), possibly in common with many early 1980's mechanical tuning sets, the UHF sensitivity and noise figure were great. I would agree with the other posters that a 1980's set would be best for analog UHF DX, and they are EXTREMELY cheap at thrift stores and garage sales.