Old DX-ing equipment worth anything?

[Retro1234]

Having to get rid of stuff this will eventually include Amiga stuff. I have a VHF UHF fine tuner etc used for analogue TV DX-ing would this be worth anything to anyone? Seems a shame to just chuck it.

[Nowee]

Well, indeed. In this context of war the wave activities have changed and I have already setup a few systems to track the waves.

I am interested.

[Retro1234]

What are you thinking Russian Number stations? This is TV equipment.

[Nowee]

Well I look for distant signals. Aside of usual HAM/FM stuff. Tv is not in my list, therefore why not? But yeah, maybe it's overkill and I'm just fooling myself. Also, not all signals are Russians. In Europe, the choice is broad - with many different technologies and hobbyists. I believe it raised the interest.

[Retro1234]

I think it's a real shame analogue TV has disappeared.

But you're spoiled for choice there in Luxembourg. You must be able to pickup digital TV from many countries.

[Nowee]

Yes, it's nice to get the choice. I do love analogue, too - I remember my first attempts at gathering signals from another country, back then I would live in the Pyrenees and I couldn't get a single French TV station, but some nice Spanish and Catalan stuff.

So, what kind of hardware is it? A regular TV modulator? If it's more technical I'm interested by the hardware used, and eventually compatible software.. Not necessarily to get it "overseas", but at least to reproduce the gig and see if I can get anything out of it.

On another, similar topic, I was recently looking at some shiny TV signal emitter to get my old, beautiful Sony TV-511UK back to life. It has a pretty limited range, something around 50m . It's interesting to note that these broadcasting channels are still controlled and subject to authorizations even though they're supposedly not used anymore.

[Retro1234]

I still use analogue to pipe the Xbox one, Cable TV and CCTV around the house. I have a rather nice RF modulator I can't remember the name but it's they use to use them in hotels - lovelky picture for analogue. Also a Panasonic DVD/VHS player the RF modulator on that is average.

Anyway the DX device is called a "D100 Deluxe DX-TV converter"

[Nowee]

Ah nice, it even handles UHF IV. It's pretty complete for such a small unit! I see it's mostly used to convert signals.. Strangely, it says that the signal should be positive and not negative for the French L norm. Negative usually yields better results. Perhaps it was only for the G norm.

About CCTV I'd probably hook that to a video digitalizer or Mediator TV card to boast about my 30 years old security environment.

The one they use in hotels.. The blue panel one? I think I've seen that once or twice, a local TV broadcaster for hotels. It was an all blue panel.

[phx]

I'm not interested anymore, since analog TV mostly disappeared, but this brings back memories. Sitting on the balcony in the early 80s and receiving spanish, dutch, norwegian and icelandic(!) TV on VHF-I with my black&white portable TV... sigh.

[Retro1234]

Yeah real shame...... You're based in Germany?
I have heard of people picking up Digital signals - with the right conditions, but yeah not the same.
With Digital normally there is a working Signal or there isn't. That was one the best things about analogue, especially in rural areas, you could receive a fait signal.

I don't think that most people realise here in the UK we only used UHF and 90% of TVs only had a UHF tunner.

I have my first TV that doesn't have a Analogue Tuner recently - I was a bit disappointed.

[phx]

Originally Posted by Retro1234

Yeah real shame...... You're based in Germany?
I have heard of people picking up Digital signals - with the right conditions, but yeah not the same.

Yes. Indeed, some of the old TV transmission towers now transmit a few DVBT channels here in Germany. I think they mostly use UHF for it, so situations where you can receive something beyond the normal range are very rare.

Even for VHF-I (channel 2, 3 and 4 with PAL-G) it was rare and mostly in specific weather conditions in summer, which allowed the waves to be reflected by the ionosphere (similar to Short Wave). I didn't know all that when I was 12, though. Still I was sitting there every day doing scans.

That was one the best things about analogue, especially in rural areas, you could receive a fait signal.

Absolutely. And B&W also works better than color TVs.

I don't think that most people realise here in the UK we only used UHF and 90% of TVs only had a UHF tunner.

Didn't know that. But now that you mention it, this explains I could never receive something from Britain.

Although I should have known, as I frequently bought the World Radio TV Handbook (WRTVH) during the 80s, which lists all radio and TV stations of the world with frequencies and location...