Portable DTV Sets More Available

By Doug Lung
published

Portable battery operated TV sets have long been an important source of news and information during hurricanes and other natural disasters.

In the Wilmington, N.C., early analog shutdown, one analog transmitter stayed on the air, ready to provide emergency information in the event of a hurricane. USB DTV tuners for laptop computers are widely available and inexpensive, but they are not as easy to use as small portable battery operated DTVs.

The good news is that battery operated DTV sets are now available at reasonable prices. While many of these portables are available only on the Web, RadioShack's Accurian 7 (catalog number 16-454) can be found at most Radio Shack stores.

I had a chance to test one while in Phoenix this week and was impressed at the number of stations it received in an inside office with only three bars of cell phone signal. Although I couldn't do a direct comparison, it appeared to be far more sensitive than the Insignia portable DTV I bought two years ago.

In the article Battery-powered televisions getting digital capabilities, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Bill Husted talks about the 7-inch RadioShack Accurian and suggests readers do a Google search to find more DTV sets. I found a search on the words “ATSC portable TV battery” (do not include the quotes in the search) provided several other options.

The battery operated portable DTV receivers available now and the receivers for ATSC M/H expected to appear late next year and in 2010 provide a way for residents in areas prone to natural disasters and power outages to continue to receive emergency information by TV. As part of their analog shutdown announcements, broadcasters should inform viewers their battery operated analog TV won't receive full power TV stations after Feb. 17. Otherwise, viewers may be disappointed when they turn their battery operated TVs during the next power outage.

Read more of Doug Lung's RF Reporthere.

Doug Lung
Doug Lung

Doug Lung is one of America's foremost authorities on broadcast RF technology. As vice president of Broadcast Technology for NBCUniversal Local, H. Douglas Lung leads NBC and Telemundo-owned stations’ RF and transmission affairs, including microwave, radars, satellite uplinks, and FCC technical filings. Beginning his career in 1976 at KSCI in Los Angeles, Lung has nearly 50 years of experience in broadcast television engineering. Beginning in 1985, he led the engineering department for what was to become the Telemundo network and station group, assisting in the design, construction and installation of the company’s broadcast and cable facilities. Other projects include work on the launch of Hawaii’s first UHF TV station, the rollout and testing of the ATSC mobile-handheld standard, and software development related to the incentive auction TV spectrum repack.
A longtime columnist for TV Technology, Doug is also a regular contributor to IEEE Broadcast Technology. He is the recipient of the 2023 NAB Television Engineering Award. He also received a Tech Leadership Award from TV Tech publisher Future plc in 2021 and is a member of the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society and the Society of Broadcast Engineers.