Trying to get a TV antenna to work, but I cant even figure out which component is at fault

[pyral]

My ultra-budget student apartment TV setup is using a 18" Sanyo CRT to watch local stations picked up by a TV antenna. I first realized that my free TV was not digital capable (likely made 1998), so I got a free Philips H9820UD DVD/VCR that was top of the line in 2005 and should be digital compatible. I have the remote to this VCR, which is important because not everything is on the front. Now I can get my TV to display stuff from the DVD/VHS player using coax cable (the TV only has RCA and coax). 

 

The problem is that even with the TV antenna plugged into the coax input port of the VCR, I still get nothing. And I cant tell if this is because my antenna cant pick up on any stations, or if its not compatible with my VCR. I don't have another device to verify that the lack of reception is the source of my issues, but I know that 4 broadcast towers are within 35 miles. How can I narrow down the problem component?

 

(I know its 2022, I just want to watch a few local stations for news and weather, and that is why I'm going with the bare minimum)

[Kilrah]

-> Moved to Home Theater equipment

 

There doesn't seem to be a manual anywhere for this thing, but most likely it doesn't actually support digital. In the menus it should be pretty obvious whether it does or not.

[Master Disaster]

A quick google shows that machine is not DTV compatible, it only supports analog TV or cable TV.

 

Even if it were its likely it still wouldn't work today anyway as around 10 or so years ago digital TV was upgraded to allow for better support for digital services (interactive stuff and extra channels etc) and this upgrade made most older receivers incompatible.

 

The reason I remember it so clearly is at the time I had a Pioneer DVR and the upgrade made it not work anymore. It went from being top of the line to a paperweight overnight.

[pyral]

12 minutes ago, Kilrah said:

-> Moved to Home Theater equipment

 

There doesn't seem to be a manual anywhere for this thing, but most likely it doesn't actually support digital. In the menus it should be pretty obvious whether it does or not.

Here is the manual PDF (online). Also forgot to mention how I search for channels: 

1. I push the TV button on the VCR remote, which makes the TV go from blue menu screen to static

2. I then use the buttons on the front of the TV to navigate to its own menu

3. Once in the spartan menu I make sure the TV is selecting antenna stations, not cable

4. I then scroll down to the scan for channel option and let the TV scan for stations

 

The TV will cycle through the channels, some channels will cause the static to change, but it never looks like a partial signal. I've tried doing this in short and long range using a toggle on the antenna. 

 

Really? I would pf expected a product from 2005 to be digital compatible, since the change from NTSC to digital would of only happened a few year later

[Kilrah]

2 minutes ago, pyral said:

Here is the manual PDF (online).

Yeah it's analog only, no digital TV support.

[AbydosOne]

8 hours ago, pyral said:

Really? I would pf expected a product from 2005 to be digital compatible, since the change from NTSC to digital would of only happened a few year later

Even if it were digital compatible, the DVD/VHS is only going forward the antenna signal over the coax, not convert it from digital to analog. You'd need a DTV converter box then connect to RCA on TV.

[thewelshbrummie]

Definitely analogue only, I couldn't find any mention of Digital tuning in the manual and products of this age would specifically mention the tuning process of analogue and digital separately if the unit supported both.

 

Thinking back to my old TV repair job I had in the UK, there were 2005 model DVD/VHS recorders that were analogue only so it doesn't surprise me that this doesn't support it. Especially Philips units - I came across one that used the TV's RF tuner to record TV rather than having one built-in. I thought that Philips had a tendency to make products that behaved in weird ways (my favourite being a TV that stopped working and would only display a full screen message to say it had developed a fault and to contact Philips customer service, without showing any signs as to what had gone wrong), and then make it practically impossible to repair those items as they would only let a handful of companies to repair them, rather than letting anyone with the knowhow do that (which Samsung were perfectly happy for us to do so).

 

That said, it's eye-opening to see just how bad things were on this side of the pond. I never thought I'd miss SCART cables but in this case it would have made setup far easier (even though it's irrelevant with analogue only equipment).

[IPD]

There were still residual analog-only products dwindling on the market much later than 2005.  My tv from 2007 had both receivers (built in).

 

10 years ago, I would say get a digital tuner box.  But anymore, bin that stuff and just get new.  IMHO the only thing that CRT is good for is Duck Hunt.

[pyral]

I just assumed that the VCR was new enough to be compliant. The last VCR/DVRs made without a digital tuner was back some time in 2007, 2 years before the planned switchover. But this was no surprise to anyone, the plans for this change was set in 1998 (originally planned to change in 06), and delayed a few times until it was 2009. 

 

I cant imagine buying an expensive 4 head VCR knowing that potentially in 4 short years it would be made useless. I assumed it was new enough and expensive enough to have been future proofed for the change to digital. I read that manual, but the word digital showed up a few dozen times in the manual so I just assumed it would be fine. 

 

I picked the TV up from a recycling center, the CRT I got was the only one that didn't have a smashed screen or water damage. Also if you want a CRT, don't buy the ones off ebay that are advertised as "gaming TV", keep visiting your local recycling center until a CRT shows up and you'll get it for nothing (they literally made millions of them its not like they are rare). 

[IPD]

I mean, you got a VCR in the hopes you would use it as a tuner.  That's not really what their strong suit is/was--and "useless" was relative in 2005, since DVD was already pretty much burying VHS.

 

Why CRT though?  There's like a bajillion early flat-panel TV's out there.

[pyral]

2 hours ago, pyral said:

I picked the TV up from a recycling center, the CRT I got was the only one [TV] that didn't have a smashed screen or water damage. 

 

[IPD]

Goodwill?

[maxithefox]

try ebay? theres loads of older flat panel tvs and you should beable to pick one up for quite cheap