Apartment Therapy Unplugged | Battery Powered DTV Converter Box Might Save Your Butt

Battery Powered DTV Converter Box Might Save Your Butt

If there's anything this year has taught us, it's to be prepared for anything. From market meltdowns to natural disasters, it never hurts to have a plan, a solar flashlight, a solar cell phone charger (that you DIY'd!), and a portable TV ready. And for those of you who are ignoring the February switch from analog to digital broadcast because you've got some other service already, make sure you don't wait until disaster strikes to realize you need a battery-powered digital converter. We weren;t sure that any battery-powered models would be on the market, but thankfully, Winegard has figured it out.

The Winegard RCDT09A can work off standard power like any other DTV box, but you also have the option of purchasing a separate battery pack and running it off six D-batteries. It retails for about $69.

Read CNET's review here.

Comments (2)

Wouldn't this solution require a battery powered TV too? If major shit goes down, my first concern is not going to be that I need TV.

And what's with stressing solar power devices. I have a dynamo powered flashlight/radio/siren/cell phone charger. Much more flexible. You don't have to make sure it is where the sun will shine on it. You don't have a problem if the sun is block by clouds. If it powers down in the dark, you can recharge it and have light again. And the battery life is ridiculous. I tried to test it but stopped after it was still going after two days of continuous light output...that was on about 30 seconds of cranking. The size of my device is the same as just that solar power light. And it only cost me $20 bucks. I assume that's because dynamos are much cheaper than solar cells.

I really hope no one took the suggestion that the solar powered light was perfect for emergency kits. Unless you leave your kit in the sun open with the light on top, it's not going charge and you're going to find a powerless flashlight during the emergency.

posted by wunami on October 2nd 2008 at 2:52pm
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I think the battery powered converter box is a great idea if you're tent camping or something like that. Now "when the shit goes down" and communications are down people are trying any means to get news and updates. A real 12Volt TV with Built in Digital Tuner would be great if you have a constant 12 volt power supply; car cigarette lighter socket, motorhome, solar panels. . .. What would be better? A small rechargeable TV. I found one that is a great deal and I picked one up. To my surprise the built-in battery really does last a good 3 1/2 hours and it comes with a 12 volt car charger. It has an analog and a digital tuner in it, it also has USB, SD-MMC and some other inputs if you'd like to use them. It supports all popular media formats. It's a 7inch HiDef LCD Battery Powered TV with Digital Tuner

posted by Troy on March 21st 2009 at 11:09pm
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