August 14, 2003. I won't forget that date because it was the day that Detroit, along with most of the cities in the Northern and Mideastern states, went into a total blackout because of problem that started with the New York state power grid.
I rushed out of work about 4pm to drive every back street (avoiding all the non working traffic lights) to pick up my son from daycare and get home before the huge traffic jams started. Once I got home, I found out I did not have a corded telephone (all cordless folks) nor a television that did not need electricity. My status on the blackout came from calling my parents on my still working cell phone and from my neighbors.
After the electricity came back on, my father gave me a corded phone (thank goodness for dads) and I went out and bought a portable battery powered television so that I would not be without the local news stations again. That portable analog TV worked great until the digital TV switch over killed all the analog signals. Battery operated portable TV sets virtually disappeared with the transition to all digital broadcasting in 2009.
Portable battery operated TV's are Back - AND AFFORDABLE! RCA just released a new line of portable digital TV receivers that give access to local TV news and weather broadcasts. The new sets are small, affordable, and designed to receive local news broadcasts, emergency information, and your favorite broadcasts from TV and radio stations. Some models are equipped with reception capability for new Mobile DTV viewing that allows TV watching while moving.
"Our new Portable TVs allow viewers to experience a variety of local programming including news and weather broadcasts at any time from local TV stations," said Chris Lee, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Digital Stream, the RCA licensee for small-screen TV products. "We encourage people everywhere to be prepared for emergencies by having a battery-operated TV at the ready, and we're offering a variety of models that should be attractive for any budget."
RCA Battery Operated Portable ATSC TV - Retails for $89
RCA loaned me the Portable TV Model DHT235C which I loved. It features a 3.5" LED backlit screen and can be powered for up to three hours with four AA batteries. The TV is about 3.5"x5"x1" and can easily fit in your purse, briefcase or backpack.
It has standard ATSC digital reception (No Mobile DTV support), real‐time signal strength indicator, closed captioning capability, easel‐back stand, and a built-in monopole antenna with a mono speaker on the front to the unit.
VERY Easy to Setup and Use!
After I unpacked the portable TV, I inserted 4 AA batteries and turned the unit on using a switch on the back. After I choose English as my language, I pulled out the antenna and the TV did an automatic channel scan and that was it. There are easy to use buttons on the right side of the screen that I used to change the channels and turn up and sound.
The Detroit area stations that the auto scan found were WDIV-HD (Channel 4 NBC), WDIV-SD (local), WXYZ-HD (Channel 7 ABC), WXYZ-DT (local), WTVS-HD (Channel 56 - Detroit Public TV). WTVS-SD, WTVS-SD2 (Detroit Public TV - CREATE) and WWJ-HD (Channel 2). The channels were all clear although there was some distortion in the reception every once in a while.
DEAL ALERT!!!
$59.99 + FREE shipping at Radio Shack for a limited time
The new RCA Portable TV Model DHT235C is an excellent addition to a home emergency kit or just to use on the go. It's available now in the RCA online store at a retail price of $89, which includes FREE shipping anywhere in the continental U.S.
I also found the RCA TV DHT235C online at Radio Shack for $30 off until 5/21/2011.
A Father's Day Winner!
This is one gift that Dads everywhere will L-O-V-E, but I won't tell if you also pick one up for yourself. Watch my video review below.
Click here if Video Review is not shown
Enjoy!
Disclosure: I was loaned the RCA Portable TV model DHT235C for the purpose of writing this review and stating my unbiased opinion. I was not compensated for this post.
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