Surviving a major catastrophy

[Barrykgerdes]

Hi
Sorry for getting away from the telescopes.

But on the 18th March the all the Australian capital city TV stations changed frequency and we have been advised for weeks about how to re-tune your TV.

Three days before this happened my TV remote control failed. No not batteries, completely dead. I can do most of the functions from the TV but while I could access the installation menu, to re-tune requires the input of the password and there is no local arrangement for entering numbers!

At great expense ($80) I managed to get a universal controller with a quite complex arrangement of programming via the USB on the computer. Alas my main computer is XP and the controller program failed to install. However my second attempt on the W7 laptop did work.

After about 4 attempts getting better each time I managed to get the program to clone the new controller, and Eureka ! It works. I have now managed the all important re-tune and I can comfortably control the TV from my bed!

Barry

[The_bluester]

Lol. First world problems.

I had loads of dramas over months getting a remote control setup to work for a htpc. Many iterations of cheap remotes, smartphone apps and dongles later I can drive the PC and TV from the same remote!

[mithrandir]

Now if only SWMBO could work out which of the remotes works each device.

For us the retune only affected SBS. If the idiots had bothered telling us that SBS would now be on VHF 7 I could have just scanned the one frequency.

As it was all the TVs found at least three frequencies for each network except TVS. That meant ages deleting all the duplicates.

We have a new antenna and the installers wanted to install a UHF only one for the transmitters at Kurrajong. Those don't broadcast TVS so I told them I'd rather have a better quality VHF/UHF one pointed at St Leonards.

Even though it is 170 deg off axis to the antenna the Kurrajong signal is good. The same goes for the Illawarra ones (Knights Hill) and those towers are over 100km away.

[h0ughy]

my controller failed - i ended up getting a logitech one, all i had to do was download some stuff from the web note the make model numbers and then it was programmed

[Barrykgerdes]

Yes David

I got the Logitech one. It works well but did take a little bit of trouble to get the program installed. I clicked "next" at the wrong time and had to start all over.

The main point of the post was to emphasize how much we rely on these "labour saving" devices and the problems we have when they don't work.

Barry

[h0ughy]

:rofl: i bought a spare just in case - its still in the bubble wrap;)

[Barrykgerdes]

Hi David
I recently had my VHS / DVD recorder player fail and had to buy a new one. VHS stuff is almost unobtainable however I got a new one for $50 but it was missing the controller. The controller I had did not have all the functions however I managed to buy a controller for $50 from the agent.

I needed a VHS reader to convert all my old home movies to DVD

PS The logitech was advertised at $99.9 and I nearly did not get it as there appeared to be cheaper controllers. However when I went to the checkout I only paid $79.9, something that often happens at this supplier.

Barry

[taminga16]

Is this thread really about someone having difficulties in not being able to operate their television whilst lying in bed?

The Oxford dictionary is a book full of definitions and to make it easier for you, the correct spelling is Catastrophe.
Greg.
Grouch Marx was correct when he said "I find television very educational, everytime someone turns on a set I go to another room and read a book".

[Barrykgerdes]

Sorry about the spelling. I missed that one when I was editing. When you get old like me you will discover that spelling is not as easy as it was when you were young. Words that you have used all your life and spelled correctly often give trouble.

The point was that the remote control failed when the re-tune was necessary last week and the local control of the set up menu does not have a way of entering the password so I needed to get another remote control otherwise I would not have been able to watch my favourite program.

Barry

[taminga16]

And that is catastrophic, come on Barry what about Ukranine, MH-370, the recent bombings in Iraq, mudslides in Washington State and so on.
If it was meant as humour, nowhere do I sense a tongue planted firmly in anyone's cheek.
Greg.

[Barrykgerdes]

Hi Greg

Sorry if I did not add the right emicons so that you would understand that it was all tongue in cheek. I thought that would be pretty obvious. As for other catastrophes what you want to discuss about them is your business.

Barry

[doppler]

I have always thought that was what tv's are for, when the SWMBO turns the telly on I can go outside and enjoy the stars without interuption.