# So I suppose everyones portable TVs can be thrown in the trash next month? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 8, 2009, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-suppose-everyones-portable-tvs-can-be-thrown-in-the-trash-next-month/495775 "2009-05-08T18:55:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-suppose-everyones-portable-tvs-can-be-thrown-in-the-trash-next-month/495775/1 "2009-05-08T18:55:12Z")
I didn’t really think about this with the whole digital TV transition coming next month since I have newer sets and cable boxes, but I suppose all those little TVs people used in their garages, battery powered sets folks took to summer picnics, and handhelds fans took to ball games can all be thrown in the trash? ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-suppose-everyones-portable-tvs-can-be-thrown-in-the-trash-next-month/495775/2 "2009-05-08T19:13:50Z")
Wow. That’s a great question. As far as I can discern, they will no longer work. See [this article from the LA Times](http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jul/07/business/fi-portabletv7) last year, and [this later Chicago Tribune article from February](http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2009/feb/07/business/chi-sat-portable-tv-feb07). ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-suppose-everyones-portable-tvs-can-be-thrown-in-the-trash-next-month/495775/3 "2009-05-08T19:18:52Z")
Yes, they will no longer work. The guy who came in to bore us with a seminar on it (god, sometimes it sucks being the Universities of the Poor) said that there’s one quite expensive doohickey you can buy that fits a few of them, but most are out of luck. Ditto “tv on the radio”. ---
**Author:** ![Claire\_Beauchamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ec9cab/32.png) [@Claire\_Beauchamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claire_Beauchamp)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-suppose-everyones-portable-tvs-can-be-thrown-in-the-trash-next-month/495775/4 "2009-05-08T19:24:22Z")
There’s this little thing called a converter that you can hook up to an older TV. The government had a whole program to provide a sort of gift card that covered most of the cost of the converter. There are a surprising number of people who have older sets and cannot afford new ones nor can they afford (or perhaps they can’t get) cable/satellite. I’m in that boat – I have older TVs that work fine, I’ll be damned if I’ll spend hundreds of $$$ on the semi-disposable pieces of crap they call TVs now before I need to. I also think, for the most part, that subscription TV is a ripoff given how little of it I watch. I did finally sign up for limited basic cable, $11/mo for broadcast channels plus local access channels, ONLY because the reception isn’t very good in my area and I wasn’t sure the digital antennas would help. i.e.: [http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3149225](http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3149225) Target carries 'em, any place that sells TV should carry 'em. As for “throwing away” old TVs – no, no, a thousand times no. Please dispose of electronics PROPERLY, according to your county/city’s regulations. DON’T just put them out with the trash; in a lot of cases, they won’t even get picked up. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-suppose-everyones-portable-tvs-can-be-thrown-in-the-trash-next-month/495775/5 "2009-05-08T19:35:53Z")
Claire, I think that Hampshire is talking about things like [this](http://yanai.blackmage.org/sky2/wp-content/uploads/2006/08/watchman.jpg). Joe ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-suppose-everyones-portable-tvs-can-be-thrown-in-the-trash-next-month/495775/6 "2009-05-08T19:41:05Z")
> [@Claire\_Beauchamp](#): > > There’s this little thing called a converter that you can hook up to an older TV. The government had a whole program to provide a sort of gift card that covered most of the cost of the converter. How well is that converter gonna work when the electricity goes out and we’re using a battery-operated portable TV? Answer: it won’t. So far, the only battery-powered digital converter box I can find is a “Winegard RCDT09A.” [Here’s a CNET review](http://reviews.cnet.com/tv-hdtv-tuners-receivers/winegard-rcdt09a/4505-6487_7-33280760.html?tag=contentMain;compare). ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-suppose-everyones-portable-tvs-can-be-thrown-in-the-trash-next-month/495775/7 "2009-05-08T19:53:41Z")
> [@wheresgeorge04](#): > > Claire, I think that Hampshire is talking about things like [this](http://yanai.blackmage.org/sky2/wp-content/uploads/2006/08/watchman.jpg). > > Joe Yep. Or ones like [these](http://s206301103.websitehome.co.uk/museum/TV5-303.jpg) that everyone seems to have kicking around to take camping/parks/backyard to watch the ball game. Nobody’s buying a converter box for these things. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-suppose-everyones-portable-tvs-can-be-thrown-in-the-trash-next-month/495775/8 "2009-05-08T22:07:35Z")
I already threw out my portable television because it won’t work after the switch. I looked it over and decided it did not have the aesthetic appeal, novelty or general itness needed to make it as a collectible or antique and tossed it. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-suppose-everyones-portable-tvs-can-be-thrown-in-the-trash-next-month/495775/9 "2009-05-08T22:15:14Z")
I will toss mine into the pile with all my other [obsolete technology](http://z.about.com/d/dc/1/0/X/g/morse_telegraph_key.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-suppose-everyones-portable-tvs-can-be-thrown-in-the-trash-next-month/495775/10 "2009-05-08T23:32:00Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > I will toss mine into the pile with all my other [obsolete technology](http://z.about.com/d/dc/1/0/X/g/morse_telegraph_key.jpg). Heh, I’m in the process of preserving a few of those. As I mentioned in the thread about a dead TRS-80, My mom and I are going through my late dad’s ham radio stash. He had several old Morse keys of various vintages that are pretty cool-looking. I’ll put them out with some of our other “What the heck is that?” artifacts, and pass them along to my sister’s kids when they’re older. We are, however, disposing of several portable TVs he had, as those were well and truly dead even before anyone _thought_ of digital TV. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-suppose-everyones-portable-tvs-can-be-thrown-in-the-trash-next-month/495775/11 "2009-05-09T01:21:21Z")
The hard part is finding a small, battery-powered portable TV that has a digital tuner. Very few out there. Idiots in electronics stores trying to convince me that that I need is dramatically worse quality cell phone video that costs a huge amount of money every month instead of a cheap TV that picks up digital signals from the air. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-suppose-everyones-portable-tvs-can-be-thrown-in-the-trash-next-month/495775/12 "2009-05-09T01:28:14Z")
Don’t toss 'em! Analog TV might come back! Bring back mono! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-suppose-everyones-portable-tvs-can-be-thrown-in-the-trash-next-month/495775/13 "2009-05-09T01:38:16Z")
> [@](#): > > Don’t toss 'em! Analog TV might come back! > > Bring back mono! And color pictures? Don’t fall for it - it’s just a fad! ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-suppose-everyones-portable-tvs-can-be-thrown-in-the-trash-next-month/495775/14 "2009-05-09T02:04:42Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Don’t toss 'em! Analog TV might come back! > > Bring back mono! Yeah, and eight tracks, too. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-suppose-everyones-portable-tvs-can-be-thrown-in-the-trash-next-month/495775/15 "2009-05-09T03:27:20Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Bring back mono! Oh hell no. I had mono in 12th grade. Don’t want to go through that again. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-suppose-everyones-portable-tvs-can-be-thrown-in-the-trash-next-month/495775/16 "2009-05-09T03:55:28Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > Oh hell no. I had mono in 12th grade. Don’t want to go through that again. But think of the fun you had getting it. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-suppose-everyones-portable-tvs-can-be-thrown-in-the-trash-next-month/495775/17 "2009-05-09T04:33:27Z")
Actually, portable TVs might keep working out in the boonies where low-power repeaters rule the roost: They aren’t kept to any switchover schedule at all that I can determine, so they may well keep broadcasting in analog for who knows how much longer after the official [flag day.](http://catb.org/jargon/html/F/flag-day.html) ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-suppose-everyones-portable-tvs-can-be-thrown-in-the-trash-next-month/495775/18 "2009-05-09T14:54:36Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Actually, portable TVs might keep working out in the boonies where low-power repeaters rule the roost: They aren’t kept to any switchover schedule at all that I can determine, so they may well keep broadcasting in analog for who knows how much longer after the official [flag day.](http://catb.org/jargon/html/F/flag-day.html) I’m not an expert on repeaters, but it seems to me that if they are repeating an analog signal and that signal no longer exists, the repeaters won’t be providing any output signal either. To do so would require an investment in conversion equipment for a declining market. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-suppose-everyones-portable-tvs-can-be-thrown-in-the-trash-next-month/495775/19 "2009-05-09T15:02:31Z")
Well I have a conver box and I still can’t get TV. I live in Chicago 3 miles NW of Sears Tower and I get 16 analog Stations very nice. I get THREE stations (Only WLS-TV comes in constantly) with a converter box. If I use my digital TV with a digital tuner I get ZERO TV stations. I only have an indoor antenna so I’ll have to get cable, so as far as I’m concerned there are a lot of other issues, that will have to be addressed. In high density areas like Chicago where building block digital but allow analog to pass through it’s gonna be interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-suppose-everyones-portable-tvs-can-be-thrown-in-the-trash-next-month/495775/20 "2009-05-09T15:06:09Z")
Well I have a conver box and I still can’t get TV. I live in Chicago 3 miles NW of Sears Tower and I get 16 analog Stations very nice. I get THREE stations (Only WLS-TV comes in constantly) with a converter box. If I use my digital TV with a digital tuner I get ZERO TV stations. I only have an indoor antenna so I’ll have to get cable, so as far as I’m concerned there are a lot of other issues, that will have to be addressed. In high density areas like Chicago where building block digital but allow analog to pass through it’s gonna be interesting. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-suppose-everyones-portable-tvs-can-be-thrown-in-the-trash-next-month/495775.md?page=2)