Do you suppose....

I can use a converter box on cable to receive the over the air sub channels?

I have a digital flat panel big screen TV in the family room and I can get the sub-channels on it on cable. I have a little 19" CRT set in my office, also on cable. But I can't get the sub-channels with its analog tuner. Can I hook my converter box, made for use with an antenna, to cable to receive those sub-channels? Like 7.2 and 45.2 and that. When the wife is watching the Suns games, I have to miss Perry Mason. If I could make this work, it would save me buying a flat panel for my office.

WC

I've tried that and it didn't work. I had to use a separate antenna to get those. I don't know if the cable company sends a jam signal through the cable or what. If you can pick up the subchannel's on your converter box using an external antenna, you could always hook up an A-B coax switch to switch between your cable and converter box.

Thanks, Tony. I guess I get a new TV. This one will work fine in the bedroom.

WC

I miss analog TV, 3 channels and Sanford and son. Back then I had stuff to watch on TV. Today I have hundreds of channels and no shows on them I am interested in. On a good note Honey Boo Boo has been canceled. Maybe there is hope for TV.

You couldn't use a small amplified antenna? In the hilly areas around Atlanta I can get most of the metro area channels. You ought to try one (they have them for cheap at big lots) before you give up on ota signals.

75X11 wrote:You couldn't use a small amplified antenna?  In the hilly areas around Atlanta I can get most of the metro area channels.  You ought to try one (they have them for cheap at big lots) before you give up on ota signals.

Would that depend on how far you are away from the broadcast antenna more now that it is digital over analog. I am about 70 miles out and when it was analog I could get the 3 major stations and pbs great. I could also get in some like fox and WB but they were snowy. Now that it has went to digital I can't get anything even with a proper antenna. If wildcat is far away like I am I am wondering if a antenna would even bring them in. But here in TN we have a harder time with hills an such than I bet AZ does. Although I remember mountains there outside of Tuscon when I lived there as a kid.

From what I understand the area is a valley where WC lives.  The hills you have in TN has their start down here.  The distance could be overcome with amplification but the necessity for the line of sight makes getting through the hills a problem.  that is why they operate repeater stations covering areas not reached by conventional broadcast towers.  The other problem with digital is that there is no snowy fringe area reception.  there is either clear reception or no reception.  The digital receiver decides when the signal is weak and cuts off.  If I were WC I would try some amplified rabbit ears and a digital converter.

We allegedly have 60 OTA channels and sub-channels here in the Valley of the Sun. Officially the Salt River Valley. I have no problem with antenna TV reception. I have a problem with a TV antenna. I don't have a good place for one. The frau does not want me to have one "sitting somewhere". The HOA does not allow an external antenna that can be seen from the street. We are happy with cable, but I can't get METV on my little RCA CRT set in the office. I stole this TV from our bedroom and I have been in trouble ever since. We have both "normal" cable and HD. I can switch between the two on the newer TV. I wanted that capability for the little TV. A politically better solution would be a new TV. Walmart is going to have a fire sale on 32" Emerson TV's for Black Friday, and planting the frau at the local Walmart on Black Friday may be the plan.

We have an antenna TV in the breakroom "associates' lounge" at work. METV, Antenna TV, Movie TV, Sci-Fi TV are all sub-channels of Phoenix broadcast TV channels. There is more good stuff on these sub-channels than there is on cable or satellite. And, of course, they are all TECHNICALLY free. Cox cable makes most or all of these sub-channels available in their basic cable package. IF you have either a CRT or a 720i flat panel, the basic cable is just fine. But on a 1080 or better HD TV, it is pretty fuzzy. So you have to pay for HD cable, which is amazing. You get one or the other. The sub-channels are not available on HD cable. I griped to the installer, a kid named Brad, why I had to pay for basic cable, yet not get it. So he connected our TV so we could actually have both. I thought perhaps if the converter box would work with cable, I could get these sub-channels on the older TV.

WC

Can you put an otherwise outdoor antenna in the attic?

Like this?

http://www.homeantenna.org/hd.html?gclid=CK7t6au35MECFSxk7AodQSYA1w

I think he's working on a new flatscreen.

lol. An OLED 4K 3D 90 inch, must be driven by tubes.