I know I haven't been able to be around a lot lately but over the past week we were camping and boating. I realized I need to get a digital converter for my motorhome in order to have our late night tv watching..

Has anyone done this for their boats (or motorhomes) yet? Al, any project tips or tricks?

And for those that have those little pocket tv's, I guess you are out of luck on those old ones...

Here's a link for those that haven't read or heard much about it yet. http://www.dtvanswers.com/dtv_converterbox.html

A couple of years ago we got USD TV, which came with all the local channels in HD (if available) and a few cable channels, with a promise of more cable & HD channels to come.

But--the company sold out, and the company that bought them dumped it a couple of months later.

But I still have the 3 HD receivers! --one has developed an audio output problem (no audio output!) but the other two still work great! One is at home, the other is in our bedroom on the houseboat. (since I don't have a second dish receiver, it does what we need for late night TV)

It's hooked up to a set of $3 rabbit ears, and works great! If you're close enough to the transmit source, that should be all you need. If not, the roof-mount antenna's typical on motorhomes should work like gangbusters. DTV is great, and as close to a no-brainer as you can get...

I have seen small battery powered units for portables as well.

A good portion of Over the Air DTV broadcasts will be over UHF, so your old roof antenna or bowtie antenna will work if you are in range of the transmit towers, you just need a DTV receiver to handle the digital signal.

Any recommendations on a DTV receiver? I'd like something compact; not a big deal for the front tv in the motorhome but the rear one is in a tight spot and I'll have to mount the receiver below a cabinet.

Here are some that are 'Coupon-Eligible', which means you can apply a Govt converter box program coupon worth $40 toward the purchase.

http://www.afterdawn.com/hardware/category.cfm/dtv_converters?feature_627=1

Coupon applications available here: https://www.dtv2009.gov/

This one is great for installing in tight spots.
Manufacturer: Artec
Model #: T3A Pro
Dimensions: 6.42" W x 3.94" D x 1.18" H
Weight: 0.44 lbs
Warranty: 6 Months



Here it is installed on a boat.