I wonder if there are any analog tv stations still broadcasting..

That was what I contemplated upon opening an old box out of my mom's storage with late 90s cell phones, a discman, a walkman (hahahaha) and an old 5 in. travel TV with a telescoping antenna.

So, I'm like, I wonder what would happen if I plugged this in.

The TV has a little line that scans across the screen. Nothing in the VHF spectrum. Switch to UHF. Scanning. Scanning. The Biggest Loser? Ok...

So, the Biggest Loser on NBC comes in a little scratchy and black and white. I flip on the Comcast and tune to NBC. The cable NBC is also on the Biggest Losers. At the end of one commercial, I count...one one-thousand, two one-thousand...

After seven one-thousand the commercial that began on my old analog TV finally started on Comcast's emission of the same channel.

What's the deal? I thought there was no more analog, so why was I able to get NBC on my little ol' portable TV?

All depends on the station perhaps they didn't kill the signal yet. I am also pretty sure you would receive Canadian stations, but they may have moved to all digital by now not positive though.

Australia has both 50% .Anolog is to go off 2013 .

reply to post by Sphota


You could be picking up some leakage from a nearby TV that has one of those devices that allows you to see your cable box in a different room.

RF signals have a way of leaking all over the place, when I was a 15 I realised that I could tune my TV to pick up what my 26 year old brother was watching on his VCR player in the next room. I won't go into too much detail but suffice to say that it quickly became my favourite channel

I often wondered the same thing but never got the motivation to plug in and check. I bet if you had a roof antenna you could pull in more/better picture.
What just occured to me though, is it possible to broadcast on those frequencies now? We could start a pirate TV show revolution! Haha that would be cool. I wonder if it's possible?

What your experiencing is often caused by ghost plasma transmitting signals when it passes through a wire. Have any exorcisms been held in your house ever? Are you also experiencing cold spots through out the house? Mists? Vapors? You defiantly have some sort of supernatural activity going on in your home.

reply to post by mutantgenius


In HR____(The number is not in the PDF), by Henry Waxman, I found the following language on page 6:

develop and implement a program to encourage and
11 permit, to the extent technically feasible and subject to
12 such limitations as the Commission finds to be consistent
13 with the public interest and the requirements of this Act,
14 the use by successful bidders in the 2008 auction of spec15
trum between frequencies 54 and 698 megahertz, inclu16
sive, for experimentation and testing purposes during the
17 period beginning on February 18, 2009, and ending the
18 day after the date established by law under section
19 3002(b) of the Digital Television Transition and Public
20 Safety Act of 2005 for termination of all licenses for full21
power television stations in the analog television service
22 and the cessation of broadcasting by full-power stations
23 in the analog television service.

They were auctioning off (or looking to develop a program to auction off) the VHF and low UHF frequencies. This HR can be found here.

I really find our government websites difficult to navigate. Then again, how often do I really use them? So, to that extent, it just might be that I am not used to them. The above house resolution appears to piggy back on the Communications Act of 1934, but I am only able to find that it was ammended in 1996, not nearly close enough to encompass such changes that would, from that point, be a decade off.

So, long story short, I do not know where to find out whether or not we may access those unused frequencies. My guess, however, is something in the legislation makes it illegal and the FCC will find, fine and jail you.

reply to post by spiderbadarse


Do you really think so? I'm a bit sceptical when it comes to paranormal stuff like that. I'm of the mindset that perhaps an energy signal could be retained, but as far as I know, no one has every died in my home, which was built sometime in the early 70s. In the 80s a woman who was watching our house while we were on vacation was violently raped in my current bedroom.

FYI: There are entire recording studios and television studio STILL packed to the gills with analog...ready to broadcast. This is because they didnt update when the switching happened due to costs etc, or that they just built new digital ones right next to them.
One example? In Detroit (Southfield) TV 20 has a beautiful analog facility, still avail to use for filming, editing and yes-broadcasting...or then it can be converted next door to digital and broadcast. But its still in operation...same as many Public Television Network Studios.
True most are gone now...but its possible some small stations around are still throwing out analog with "The Munsters" or "I love Lucy". It does still happen.

reply to post by Sphota


The 70's were a big time for Ouija boards. Chances are that one was a personal one was constructed in your home and used several times. This is one of the reasons I love to move in old homes. What you are expecting is a rare look in the paranormal would via energy that passes through your home from past tenants.A use of an Ouija bored with a person your close to will likely cause more channels to come through on your analog. The spirits run on this frequency, and often times there left over plasma can cause weird thing to happen. Good luck, and God speed.