Signal sources?
 

What are you guys using for signal sources these days?

For awhile I heard the Blonder Tongue modulators were all the rage. I have one but it needs some repair work. both video and audio modulator lights are stuck on. They are also getting alot more scarce, and the price is going up. But anyways, they need a composite input which brings me to my next point:

My sat box was just changed out so I lost my coax ability, and even RCA jacks. its HDMI only, and it seems that everything is HDMI only anymore. This also killed my ability to use my 25" magnavox CRT thats in my bedroom which has been faithful to me. Now its just snow.

Amazon reveals a few HDMI to RF/Coax but they are bloody expensive! There is a ton of cheap chinese HDMI to Composite boxes, but the reviews are mixed, so it makes me a bit leery on what works and what doesn't, and then you would still need a modulator that plays nice with old sets as well as modern "ish" ones.

I would like some direction/opinion from you guys.

I connect a centralized older VHS/DVD player to whatever set I want to use at the time. I have no care to watch present day TV on them, so I rely on a library of classic shows and movies I've compiled over many years. Those are the most fun to watch on a vintage TV in my opinion. I gave up on the modulator idea years ago. There was just too much "get this one" "don't get that one" advice associated with them. Too much money to take a chance on.

Well, I only have I love lucy and Bewitched on DVDs.

My entire classic collection is digital on my PC. But I do watch regular TV from time to time. So I am trying to take that into account.

I use an over the air (OTA) I built 4 years ago with set top converter boxes. They show up at garage sales quite often. The newer boxes scan faster. I live where we can receive signals from 3 cities, about 50 to 60 miles away. The same antenna signal is used for our three flat screens and vintage analog sets. I use a signal amp with 0.5 db splitters to the various sets. The signal amp is in the basement, not on the antenna.
Ed

I use a Blonder Tongue with a ROKU and a digital converter box hooked to it with a splitter box. A DVD/VHS combo I can quickly plug into the splitter box if I want to. Some older roku's have the RCA plugs on them. No HDMI needed with my setup.

I havent got to carried away with the antenna length on my Blonder Tongue. I just have rabbit ears on it. In did try all the channels up to 13 on my most used tv and use the channel that seemed the best, which is 12.

I'm starting to sound like a broken record on this topic, bit you can't do any better than a Raspberry Pi in my opinion. No DRM bullshit to deal with, onboard hardware accelerated H264 decoding is provided by default, hardware accelerated decoding of MPEG2 video can be unlocked for a dollar or two, the colorburst can be turned on and off to eliminate chroma dots, and it is extremely customizable by default. You have an unparalleled choice in software.

Just feed the analog video output to a modulator and you're all set.

The only area I fault the RPi is with the analog audio out. The onboard DAC sucks. Replace it with a cheap USB soundcard, or better yet, use a Hi-Fi Berry HAT DAC. The possibilities are nearly limitless.

I have a pile of raspberry Pis as I use them for development in my day job, but not for video. Not sure about the Chroma though, I am unaware. Also I havent seen a composite jack on them since the first model or two, So unless its hidden in the 3.5MM jack I dont see composite?

But then I need the modulator. Any modulator that anyone can recommend?

Also Digital converter boxes are out of the question. I live in the mountains of WNC now, and you cant get any stations except for MAYBE 1 with an amplified directional antenna. Also you can only get a couple radio stations both on FM and AM. Crazy.

Look for a used blonder tongue AM40 series (or AM60 if you want to transmit) modulator on eBay...Some need new lytics, but they are among the best performing and can be repaired/maintained easily and kept in service indefinitely.

I use a Cloud Media "Popcorn hour" A-500. It comes minus the Harddrive. Currently have a 6TB installed. I copy all the old shows (plus any new shows and movies, as well as photos and music) to the drive. The picture quality is the best on the market.
https://www.cloudmedia.com/?product=a-500
Tony

I'll second this. I've been using a Blonder Tongue AM-60 which was used at a university for years. I'll second the recapping as well, after thousands of hours mine could use a little refurb but otherwise works well for something that stays on 24/7. The rackmount capability means I don't have to take up shelf or bench space, and I just use a pair of rabbit ears. A DVD player provides all the classics I need to watch anyway. If you can't get up to change the DVD how can you be expected to adjust the picture:D

as "I think" I mentioned in my first post, I have one already but both overmod LED lights are stuck on and doesnt work so I need to service it somehow. I dont have the schematics so it might be a bit difficult. I believe the one I own is a AM60-450 set for Channel 43. But I need to get it between 2 through 12 somehow as all of my sets are VHF only. Plus again, repair iit.

Just change the lytics, the values are printed right on each part so no need for a schematic(just remember/mark polarity of original relative to board).

Most have a settings card built into the front cover for what dip switch setting for what channel. It can also be found online.

okie dokie, I will po pit apart and see what I can find.

On the very bottom of this links page it gives a little info on it. https://antiqueradio.org/HomeTVTransmitter.htm

Yah, I wrote that article. My B-T modulator has run happily 24/7 for several years since I replaced its power-supply electrolytics. The article also includes the chart for setting the channel DIP switches on that model.

I also made a tuned antenna for transmitting throughout the house, although if I’m receiving in the same room, some TVs don’t need any antenna at all.

Once you have the modulator running, you can plug in any source with a video and audio output. At various times, I use a DVD player, cable TV box, iPhone with A/V adapter, whatever.

Since you already own one, it’s worth spending a few bucks to get it working.

Regards,

Phil Nelson
Phil’s Old Radios
https://antiqueradiorg/index.html

The chroma is turned on and off using a setting in the config.txt file used by the RPi during boot up.

The composite video output is on the 3.5mm jack now.

I found the easiest way to get classic tv show content to play on my vintage TV's with the proper aspect ratio without going through a convoluted processes is just use one of those media converter boxes that are listed on Ebay. i got one of those a few months ago & they work nicely. i download a lot of my classic TV shows off of You-Tube, Which i got a large collection. i use a program called YT-download, which downloads them as mp4 files. i just copy them to a flash drive & plug it in this converter box.
The converter box has both a NTSC (via coaxial or composite video) & HDMI outputs). the RF outputs to channel 3 or 4 (NTSC)

the pictures below are showing playing Mr Lucky off of the attached flash drive.

http://videokarma.org/attachment.php...1&d=1528222935

http://videokarma.org/attachment.php...1&d=1528222935

The boxes that have been suggested are fine, but they come with a major caveat: usually very limited codec support, and infrequent firmware upgrades (if ever). The RPi is a bit more future proof, and certainly more powerful.

For better or worse, still in copyright until 2056. Or available thru Amazon at 99 cents.

I use the crap out of amazon prime, hulu, etc.. So I wonder if maybe a Raspberry Pi with Kodi or something along those lines would work out.

And then there are android TV boxes I can plug into the modulator. Then the TV box/modulator doesn't have to be in the same room as I can then control the TV via my phone, or etc. Same thing with Kodi on the Pi.

OOhh. that gave me an idea. I could make a small little relay gizmo for the TV to turn it off an on as well from my phone. Or maybe chinamart has one. But eh.

Hm... thats a thought. Thanks for all the insight.

I stream all my content over my home network. You clearly thought along the same lines I did. My current setup uses two RPis, one with the burst off, one with it on. Monochrome is on four, color on two. The color box has an optically coupled relay which is connected to a color roundie, the monochrome box an identical relay connected to a black and white set (currently a 630 clone).

When not in use, the B/W box shows a WWJ-TV test pattern from the 40s, and the color box shows color bars.

I have a small app I wrote for my tablet. I select a program. It determines if it is B/W or color, streams it to the appropriate box, and then turns on either the color set or the B/W set. There's a two minute delay where the pattern or bars are still shown to give the set time to warm. At the end of the program there's another two minute delay with a pattern or bars. If I fail to select another program, the set in question is shut off.

I went to all this trouble because I have a tendency to fall asleep in front of the TV and don't want a vintage set to run until I wake up hours later.

The only major caution I can give regarding relays is to NOT use a latching type. Somehow one of my 630s was turned on while I was away (bug in my code?), and the latching relay failed in the closed circuit position. No harm was done to the set, but it's scary to come home to a 70 year old television running after being away for a long weekend. I went to a cheap optically coupled type and haven't looked back.

So, I recapped the blonder tongue AM60-550 modulator that I have, it works. Mostly...

However, I get a black and white picture that rolls. my handheld TV it looks "ok" and its a black and white watchman, So I tried my modern color CRT and its displaying a black and white picture with rolling, basically no vertical lock.

adjusting the video modulation only brings buzz in the audio without making anything better.

any thoughts?

Actually it might be my goofy TV box. I think it may be in PAL, but I have no idea how to switch it over.

Not to mention the audio starts lagging behind the video during playback over time which I think is stupid. its an MX10 box.

Mine will do that if I dont have the antenna right. Lengthening, shortening, or moving the antenna's stop mine from doing that.... if I understand correctly what you mean... kind of a thick area/line that moves from bottom to top.

Try a DVD player. or digital converter box.

Thats what it was, the box was set for 576I instead of 480I The blonder tongue is working great ;-)

And yes I do have an interference bar that moves up the screen.

I am using one of those twinlead antennas that connect to FM stereo recievers, I am using Channel 6 which is vacant and is within that antennas band.

I've had better luck following this video's advice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4dhRt7tmd4
I don't have an antenna analyzer, but I know that on a dipole like that shortening a dipole by the same percentage of length will have the same effect on impedance match/SWR on any dipole of any frequency.

One additional trick: sometimes a ground loop develops between cord and or power supply and or signal grounds in the system which will cause hum. On my main rack all the BT modulators (and only the BT modulators) are powered by a single 120V isolating transformer that lets the ground prong of the BTs float. I could have possibly fixed it by isolating all my signal sources but 12 of them (including a PC) would have required a bigger isolation trans than I could fit and I may have had to come up with isolation for the CATV line which would have been more work.

I bought an eBay $8.00 hdmi to composite video with RCA jack and l/r audio RCA jacks out.

It works and makes as good a picture to display on an NTSC set as I need. powers from the HDMI cable.
Cliff

Ah yea I saw those but I didnt know if they actually "worked" or not as they seemed so chineasy.

BTW, Hows the 'ol 12LP4 holding up cliff?