I’m not anxious about AI taking my job. I’m anxious about the decision makers who think it can replace me.
When I bought my current home, I was delighted to find an ancient portable b&w tv/radio combo. It powers on but I’ve never acquired any of the adapters I’d need to make it work. I may, after reading your experience it sounds fun.
Thrift stores regularly have the DTV converter boxes. They can be bought new for $20 or so, but I found mine for $3. My DTV didn't have the remote, so I paired it with a universal remote. The remote was the only way to access the DTV's menu so you can do things like rescan for channels, which is essential. The menus on those DTVs are interesting as they replicate everything that an old TV did automatically, although it does add closed captioning.
My setup is a bit clumsy. The coax from the DTV to the doohickey is only a foot long and doesn't bend well. The 3.5mm connector on the back of the Sony doesn't seat very well. In order to use it as a portable TV again, I would need to buy a battery that has both 12v DC (for the Sony) and an AC inverter for the DTV. Minimum cost for this is $65 on Amazon. You'd also need to rescan whenever you moved locations, so the remote has to go along. Like I said, the radio's pretty good. That 5" B&W CRT is amusingly terrible, but it's more bizarre seeing Jimmy Swaggert singing with closed captioning on. It would be perfect sitting on a shelf in a garage or basement workshop.
There's still a few of my dad's old radios in my mom's basement. Three heavy "cabinets", a tombstone, and some tabletops. All power on, but they're in various states and two of them don't do anything but hum. One has a power cord like a Civil War bandage and is beyond sketchy.
I’m not anxious about AI taking my job. I’m anxious about the decision makers who think it can replace me.
When I bought my current home, I was delighted to find an ancient portable b&w tv/radio combo. It powers on but I’ve never acquired any of the adapters I’d need to make it work. I may, after reading your experience it sounds fun.
Thrift stores regularly have the DTV converter boxes. They can be bought new for $20 or so, but I found mine for $3. My DTV didn't have the remote, so I paired it with a universal remote. The remote was the only way to access the DTV's menu so you can do things like rescan for channels, which is essential. The menus on those DTVs are interesting as they replicate everything that an old TV did automatically, although it does add closed captioning.
My setup is a bit clumsy. The coax from the DTV to the doohickey is only a foot long and doesn't bend well. The 3.5mm connector on the back of the Sony doesn't seat very well. In order to use it as a portable TV again, I would need to buy a battery that has both 12v DC (for the Sony) and an AC inverter for the DTV. Minimum cost for this is $65 on Amazon. You'd also need to rescan whenever you moved locations, so the remote has to go along. Like I said, the radio's pretty good. That 5" B&W CRT is amusingly terrible, but it's more bizarre seeing Jimmy Swaggert singing with closed captioning on. It would be perfect sitting on a shelf in a garage or basement workshop.
There's still a few of my dad's old radios in my mom's basement. Three heavy "cabinets", a tombstone, and some tabletops. All power on, but they're in various states and two of them don't do anything but hum. One has a power cord like a Civil War bandage and is beyond sketchy.