AEG Electrolux ERN 2922 User Manual download pdf (Page 64)

VIII

ELECTRON

/CS

OMNIBUS /1111111

How

to recover

use

of your

TV/VCR

remote

controllers

a cable

setup

and finding

buys

electronics

flea

markets

Curt Phillips

Welcome

to "Electronics

Omnibus."

This

column

will

cover a broad spectrum

of electronics

activities:

audio,

video,

computers, communications

and

other

general

electronics topics. I'll

be review-

ing new

equipment

and developments in

these

areas as

well

as covering topics

general interest

electronics enthusiasts.

Cable Television

One

of my pet peeves

is the

way

that

many

cable television

companies negate

the

utility of remote

-control TV receivers

and programmable VCRs

requiring

that all

channels come

through their spe-

cial converter.

One of the attractions

cable TV is the premium

channels

and

special programming

they offer. Because

they

charge extra for these

channels, al-

most

all cable

companies scramble them.

When

the premium

channels are de-

scrambled

outside the subscriber's

house,

a cable -ready

TV /VCR can

used directly.

But

very

often scrambled

channels require

an in- the -home

convert-

/descrambler, which

can make your re-

mote controls

and programmable VCRs

useless.

However,

if you

are fortunate to

served by one

of the older -style

cable sys-

tems, you

can

recover

most

the

usabili-

ty from your

remote

control and

VCR.

Midband

and superband

cable channels

can be converted

to uhf frequencies

use

"block

converters" available from

many

sources. One use

of a block

con-

verter

is to make

any TV receiver

VCR

"cable

ready,"

but for

the purpose I am

describing

they are

useful

with

equip-

ment

that already tunes

cable channels.

Most

of the converters

supplied

by the

cable companies

output

to Channel

3 or

and block (filter)

out

all other

chan-

nels.

Even if your

TV /VCR

cable -

ready, you

must

use the

cable company's

converter to

descramble

the premium

services

(HBO,

Showtime,

etc.) paid for;

filtering

action of

the cable

converter

prevents

the tuner

from receiving

any-

thing

on the other

channels.

(Occasional-

ly, you

may receive

weak

picture

on a

few

of the other

channels

due to the

cable

wire

acting as an

antenna.)

using a block

converter

as shown

Fig. 1, you

can use the

cable converter

descramble

the premium

channels

you

subscribe to, which

are then

tuned on the

output

channel (Channel

3 or 4, typical-

ly).

All other

cable channels will

then

tuned on the

uhf

channels. Since

a block

converter also

converts

vhf

Channels 2

through 13

to uhf,

the original

occupant

of Channel

will

be tunable

on one of

the

uhf

channels. The

exact uhf

channel

will

depend

on the brand

of converter you

have,

but a

conversion

chart is often in-

cluded

with

(otherwise,

it can

be found

by trial and

error).

With

your

/VCR

combination

wired

this way,

you

can

watch

one chan-

nel

and tape another,

program your VCR

for multiple

-event

taping of different

channels and

use your remote

controls

they were

originally

designed to

be used!

If you

have two

scrambled premium

channels, it

can get a little

more difficult.

You

can use the

foregoing

system

and

choose

one scrambled

channel at a time

for programming

or simultaneous

tap-

ing /viewing with

the other

channels. If

you

want

maximum

flexibility,

however,

there is

another wiring

option.

this case,

you

will

need two

convert-

er /descramblers,

one

tuned for

output

on Channel

3 and

the other

tuned for

out-

put on

Channel 4 (it

is not

mandatory

that

they

use Channels

3 and 4,

but they

will

probably

be your

only choices).

Us-

ually,

a second

converter

/descrambler

available

for

a nominal

fee from

the

ca-

ble

company.

Be sure

to specify

that the

output of

the second

unit is on

a different

channel than

the first

one. Connections

for

the two

descramblers

are

shown in

Fig.

2. A

signal mixer,

also known

channel

combiner,

widely

available

(MCM Electronics'

Part. No.

33 -255,

for

example).

Tune

the first

unit to premium

channel

"A"

and the

second to

premium

channel

"B." Now you

still

have

access to all

the

other

cable channels via

the

uhf tuner,

and the

scrambled premium

services are

Channels

3 and 4. If you

have more

than two

scrambled

premium

services,

this

setup

will

allow you

watch

any

premium

channel

while

simultaneously

taping another.

As mentioned

earlier,

these techniques

work

with

the

older cable systems.

Some

cable operators

use

a newer addressable

system

that scrambles

all

channels

out-

side the

original

vhf

Channels 2

through

13.

If you

are served

by a company

using

this type

of system,

the techniques

de-

scribed here will

of only limited

use.

Electronics

Flea Markets

A great

source for

electronic

parts

and

other

equipment

that is under -utilized

general

electronics

hobbyists

a radio/

electronics

/computer

show

and flea mar-

ket

known

as "hamfest."

Hamfests

began

as get -togethers

for

amateur

radio

operators

(hams)

to pro-

Cable

Block

converter

VHF

OUT

UHF

OUT

Cable

company

converter

/descrambler

VHF

UHF

VCR

VHF

UHF

receiver

Fig.

I. Using a

block converter to

tune a premium pay

-TV channel

and any other

cable channel simultaneously.

80 / MODERN

ELECTRONICS / February 1988

Say You

Saw It

In Modern

Electronics

1 2 ... 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 ... 79 80

Comments to this Manuals

No comments

AEG Electrolux ERN 2922 User Manual Page 64

Comments to this Manuals

Related products and manuals for Unknown AEG Electrolux ERN 2922