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GottaDEAL 2018 Black Friday T-Shirt Club Posting Thread

Brad

By Brad
in 2018

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stina629

stina629

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Hi everyone!! Checking in for January...I can’t believe it’s 2018!!! I was in the mountains of VA yesterday and the wind chill was -10...back home here in SE VA it’s wind chills of 0 tonight...yikes, we’re off to a cold start. Hope everyone is having a fabulous new year!
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Brad

Brad

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I THOUGHT is was a good list.  Original list updated.

 

I’ll write a script that connects to the forum database and checks the status of everyone in real-time and spits out a page of stats. Give me a few days/weeks/months :P

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ilikefree

ilikefree

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Happy COLD New Year! Predicted windchill for tomorrow morning in my part of Ohio is -35 degrees!! Thankfully I have tomorrow off before heading back to work on Wednesday. Unfortunately, I don't think there will be a big warmup in the next day or so. :(

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wittenlover

wittenlover

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I was recovering from lack of sleep resulting from being the "hostess with the mostest" for my church's NYE party. Didn't get in till 3 yesterday morning, couldn't sleep till 5, finally got to sleep only to be back up at 10 to get stuff done. Back to reality today. After the week off from work, I'm more exhausted now than I was before Christmas. The "off week" is always, by far, my busiest week. Should have grabbed a NOS this morning to wake me up. Ha. Happy 2018, y'all. :)

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Kash

Kash

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HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

 

 

Hello, Cool Kids.  My artificial tree will be headed for a landfill next week.  My goal is to replace it with a zero maintenance alternative.  I want a tree that I can move from my living room to my walk up attic without removing anything.  Besides that, the tree should be inexpensive and spectacular.  Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to help me compile a short list of trees which fit the bill.  Extra credit if you post links to current, future, or past sales on the tree.  Gold star if you submit your suggestion in the form of a haiku.

 

I would think the tree should be 6-7 feet tall, no more than 2.5 feet at its base, and probably come pre-lit, but I am just starting my research, so consider no option inappropriate. 

 

I read this the other day and have been giving this some thought.  I assume you do not want one that has 3 or more pieces that might come apart while carrying it.  So, I was thinking more like the urn base style tree for you.  however, all the 6' / 7' ones I saw seem to be really skinny :(  Will post again if I come up with something.

Looks like we could lose several club members if they don't post today. Maybe they plan on doing a double-dip at midnight, so we'll see...

 

Disregard saw the list posted after this one.

 

Happy New Year!  If your New Years Resolution is to spend less, there is no better place to start than with television. There have never been more options at all price points and Google’s databases are repleat with how to guides and testimonials from happy cord cutters.

 

Best to start with broadcast television. Broadcast television or Over-the-Air (OTA) is ad supported television. Plug the right antenna into the right television and point it in the right direction and chances are you will be watching Big Bang Theory with no subscription at all. To determine which antenna is best for you, which way to point it, and what kind of service you can expect, visit TVFool.com and run a report for your address or the GPS coordinates for the location of your antenna. To see what sub-channels are carried on each channel, look up the wikipedia article for the main channel. To see what programming is available on each channel, visit TitanTV.com.

If you want help analyzing your TVFool data or choosing an antenna, post a comment including a link to your TVFool.com report below. Generally, this is the process I follow…

  • Run a TVFool.com report
  • Look up sub-channels on Wikipedia
  • Use TitanTV to decide which channels to target
  • Group ‘real’ targeted channels by frequency
  • Sort groups of channels by direction
  • Choose antenna(s)
  • Test
  • Build
  • Improve

Here is a real example using my own location…

 

I used a free IOS app called GPS Utils to snag my coordinates. My attic is about 30′ off the ground, so I used that for AGL. My TvFool report can be opened at http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d60edc97d153f34.

 

Let’s start with the big table. I am not trying to dx or get into the Guinness Book of World Records, so I am going to focus on channels down to W28CM. (The gray channels are not likely to come in reliably.)

 

Looking at the ‘Real’ column, channels 2-6 require a VHF-Low antenna, channels 7-13 require a VHF-High antenna, and channels above 13 require a UHF antenna. If I can eliminate one or more bands from my target channel list, I will be able to specialize my antenna to improve reception and, maybe, save some money.

 

W39AR (4) and WORK-LP (3) are translators of WBIN which has agreed to go off the air as part of the FCC reverse auction, so I do not need to worry about VHF-Low. WENH is New Hampshire’s PBS affiliate with Explore, World, Create, and PBS Kids sub-channels. WMUR (9) is the Manchester, New Hampshire ABC affiliate with a MeTV sub-channel. WMTW (8) is the Portland, Maine ABC affiliate with a Heroes & Icons sub-channel. So, I am at least interested in VHF-High. I have a lot of UHF stations. WUTF (27) is Unimas and LATV — not interested. WBIN is going off the air — not interested. WBZ (30) is CBS with a Decades sub-channel. WCVB (20) is the Boston ABC affiliate with a MeTV sub-channel. WMFP (18) is SonLife with Charge! and Comet TV sub-channels. It is also home to Boston’s NBC affiliate. WFXT (31) is the Boston Fox affiliate with Escape and LAFF sub-channels. WHDH (42) used to be the local NBC affiliate. Now it is an independent channel with little compelling programming, but its This TV sub-channel is interesting. WLVI (41) is Boston’s CW affiliate with a Buzzr sub-channel. WGBH (19) is Boston’s PBS affiliate. It’s a casualty of the reverse auction and mirrored on WGBX (43) so it’s not interesting. WGBX carries Create and PBS Kids sub-channels, but may get World and Explore when WGBH goes away. WSBK (39) is Boston’s MyNetwork affiliate and carries a Heroes & Icons sub-channel. So, here are my targeted channels…

 

VHF-Low

  • None

VHF-High

  • WMTW (8) ABC/H&I
  • WMUR (9) ABC/MeTV
  • WENH (11) PBS/Explore/World/Create/PBS Kids
  •  

UHF

  • WBZ (30) CBS/Decades
  • WMFP (18) Charge!/Comet TV/NBC
  • WFXT (31) Escape/LAFF
  • WHDH (42) This TV
  • WLVI (41) CW/Buzzr
  • WGBX (43) PBS/Create/PBS Kids
  • WSBK (39) MyNetwork/H&I

I could focus on UHF as most of my VHF-High programming is otherwise available, but WENH and WMUR carry local programming which I want. I could get a combination VHF/UHF antenna, but all of my UHF stations are due south of me and both the VHF stations are northwest, so I will join a dedicated UHF antenna to a dedicated VHF antenna so I can point each for optimal reception. For my VHF antenna, I chose the Stellar Labs 30-2476 which I believe is the best VHF antenna currently available. I probably would have gone with a DB8 if I did not want WMUR since it will pick up VHF-Very-High channels like 11. I went with the DB8e in case I wanted to articulate the panels for better reception. I joined the pair with an RCA TVPRAMP1Z Preamplifier because it has separate VHF/UHF inputs, gets good reviews, and is very inexpensive.

To test a new installation, I like to run a commercially terminated and tested coax from the antenna to a television. Ebay is a great source of such cables…

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2055119.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.X100'+rg+6+cable.TRS0&_nkw=100'+rg+6+cable&_sacat=0

 

It’s handy to have a portable TV close to the television for pointing of the antenna. A HDHomeRun tuner and a laptop will get the job done…
https://www.ebay.com/b/Silicondust-ATSC-Video-Capture-TV-Tuner-Cards/3761/bn_77184517?rt=nc&_sop=15

Once you have things working, it’s time to think about getting the signal to each television. If you have multiple sets, you will need a splitter. If your signal is marginal, you may want an amplified splitter…

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Delectronics&field-keywords=electroline+splitter

Don’t get more ports than you have televisions because splitting the signal makes it weaker for all other stations.  Be sure to terminate any unused terminals.
Installing an antenna is worthwhile even if you eventually go another route or stick with cable. Your local television service may not carry all broadcast channels, some may become unavailable during contract negotiations, and you will appreciate local news during an emergency when cable and/or internet are unavalable. Most important, having an antenna empowers you to tell Comcast to cancel your account when negotiating a more favorable situation.

 

Wow so much info, gotta come back and read this later.

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MariahA

MariahA

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Posted (edited)

Happy New Year everyone! Where did 2017 go? It flew by this year.

 

My resolution this year is to purge unused and unneeded stuff and to organize what we keep. I'm sick of clutter!

 

I went out to Dollar General to get storage tubs(organizing our closet) and the Christmas clearance was 70% off. Why did I look? I knew what would happen...

 

Got a ton of craft supplies for my Sunday School class for 30 cents each! We are well stocked on pipe cleaners and glitter glue now. And the best thing besides a whole new set of Christmas glasses (2.40 for 8) was my new scissors! They're covered in a Christmas light design all over the blades and handles, they are my wrapping scissors and no one shall borrow them for any reason. MINE!!!!

 

(Can you tell people borrowed my scissors a few too many times this year when I was wrapping?)

 

Who else to share happy finds with then my fellow GottaDealers?

Edited by MariahA
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len_mullen

len_mullen

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HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

 

 

 

I read this the other day and have been giving this some thought.  I assume you do not want one that has 3 or more pieces that might come apart while carrying it.  So, I was thinking more like the urn base style tree for you.  however, all the 6' / 7' ones I saw seem to be really skinny :(  Will post again if I come up with something.

 

Disregard saw the list posted after this one.

 

 

Wow so much info, gotta come back and read this later.

 

more information here: https://freetvforme.wordpress.com

 

good luck!

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len_mullen

len_mullen

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My resolution this year is to purge unused and unneeded stuff [so] I went out to Dollar General to get storage tubs and ... Got a ton of craft supplies for my Sunday School class ...And ... a whole new set of Christmas glasses ...

 

Good luck with that resolution! 

 

:sidesplit  :sidesplit  :sidesplit  :sidesplit  :sidesplit

 

and happy New Year!

 

:gd_partyu  :gd_partyu  :gd_partyu  :gd_partyu  :gd_partyu  :gd_partyu

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