Astratec woes
 

Just been in to Comet, as I wanted an STB with RF modulator for an old, but
good, Toshiba which doesn't have a scart socket. Needless to say, no one
there knew why I had to have the RF modulator - "Just plug in the aerial and
it will work ok - nobody has ever returned a unit because there was no scart
socket" (and more irrelevant rubbish of that sort).

Well, there was a Panasonic TUCT20 there. Nothing on the packing, but I
knew it had an RF modulator. But it was a bit pricey at just under £80.
There was also a Humax MG-TU1 for just under £70, which also has an RF
modulator.

Then I spied a cheapo - an Astratec, for just under £50. Nothing on the box
about an RF modulator, but it said "Works with any TV". The salesman didn't
know if it had a modulator, and as all the boxes were sealed, he phoned
upstairs for the open box for the set on display, plus the instruction
manual. While we waited (the individual he spoke to never appeared -
there's a surprise), I noticed that the Astratec packaging had on it "Model
MG-TU1". That's odd, I thought, as that's the same as the Humax model
number (the Astratec STB itself had TOPD2 printed on it - and indeed it has
a Topup TV slot)). A quick peek at both STBs on display revealed them to be
almost identical - same connection layout at back, and the front had only
minor differences. I said to the salesman that if he opened a sealed box,
and I could have a look at the manual, if it had an RF modulator, I would
buy it. So out came the manual. Nothing in the technical details as to
whether it had a modulator or just loopthrough, but a lot of info about
setting it up with a TV which had no scart sockets. So out came the plastic
and I bought it.

I connected it up to the Tosh, but couldn't see a startup screen. Looking
at the "problem solving" section, I saw that the Astratec output was on
channel 69 - but the Tosh only tunes from 21 - 68. The manual suggested
pressing 52 to try to get round the problem. It didn't. So I phoned the
helpline, and was very surprised to get through at 5.15 on a Friday
afternoon!

When I explained the problem, I got the explanation I didn't want. "Oh, we
know about that, the manual is wrong, we are putting the correct manual in
the boxes now". I told her the info on the packaging about it working with
any TV was also wrong. I didn't bother trying to explain the law on
misleading information.

Looks like the previous model Astratec (same code number!) did use to have a
modulator, according to info gleaned on Digitalspy.

So I called Comet, and told them I was returning the Astratec tomorrow. Oh,
well, you get what you pay for, I suppose. Now, the Astratec is going back,
but I wondered if all the other STBs modulate using Channel 69. If so,
perhaps I'd be better off getting a new TV with a scart, rather than risk
not being able to tune the Tosh in even if the STB does have a modulator.


--
Jeff
(cut "thetape" to reply)

Astratec woes
 

Jeff Layman wrote:
Just been in to Comet, as I wanted an STB with RF modulator for an old, but
good, Toshiba which doesn't have a scart socket. Needless to say, no one
there knew why I had to have the RF modulator - "Just plug in the aerial and
it will work ok - nobody has ever returned a unit because there was no scart
socket" (and more irrelevant rubbish of that sort).

Well, there was a Panasonic TUCT20 there. Nothing on the packing, but I
knew it had an RF modulator. But it was a bit pricey at just under £80.
There was also a Humax MG-TU1 for just under £70, which also has an RF
modulator.


You can get an excellent UHF modulatot (with stereo sound) from
www.cpc.co.uk for about £25.
Try http://cpc.farnell.com/jsp/endecaSea...=SR04002&N=411

or this gives all the search results for "modulator CCTV"
http://cpc.farnell.com/jsp/endecaSea...tk =gensearch

Have fun
Dave

Astratec woes
 

modulatot

Is this a noisy baby?

Bill

Astratec woes
 

Dave Spam wrote:
Jeff Layman wrote:
Just been in to Comet, as I wanted an STB with RF modulator for an
old, but good, Toshiba which doesn't have a scart socket. Needless
to say, no one there knew why I had to have the RF modulator - "Just
plug in the aerial and it will work ok - nobody has ever returned a
unit because there was no scart socket" (and more irrelevant rubbish
of that sort). Well, there was a Panasonic TUCT20 there. Nothing on the
packing,
but I knew it had an RF modulator. But it was a bit pricey at just
under £80. There was also a Humax MG-TU1 for just under £70, which
also has an RF modulator.


You can get an excellent UHF modulatot (with stereo sound) from
www.cpc.co.uk for about £25.
Try
http://cpc.farnell.com/jsp/endecaSea...=SR04002&N=411

or this gives all the search results for "modulator CCTV"
http://cpc.farnell.com/jsp/endecaSea...tk =gensearch

Have fun
Dave

Thanks, Dave. I had wondered if there was such a thing as a scart-RF
modulator. Hadn't thought of looking at CCTV pages. It's another option to
think about.

--
Jeff
(cut "thetape" to reply)

Astratec woes
 

"Jeff Layman" wrote in message
...

So I called Comet, and told them I was returning the Astratec tomorrow. Oh,
well, you get what you pay for, I suppose. Now, the Astratec is going back,
but I wondered if all the other STBs modulate using Channel 69.

I have a Pioneer TF100GB. You can set the rf output to any channel you like. I
am not sure what the default is though!
Maybe using another TV you could set the Astratec to another channel.


--

Michael Chare

Astratec woes
 

"Michael Chare" wrote in message
...
"Jeff Layman" wrote in message
...

So I called Comet, and told them I was returning the Astratec tomorrow.
Oh,
well, you get what you pay for, I suppose. Now, the Astratec is going back,
but I wondered if all the other STBs modulate using Channel 69.

I have a Pioneer TF100GB. You can set the rf output to any channel you like.
I
am not sure what the default is though!

Range 21-68; Default 38 - So the manual says!



--

Michael Chare

Astratec woes