I mentioned in another thread and so have others, that those cheap Chinese UHF modulators are awful and that most are a danger due to the inadequate TX. Doz came up with a mod which I and others followed, this meant wiring in a wall-wart. Even so, though now safe, the one I did recently started giving an absolutely awful picture.
Hunting around I found mention of the Maplins VH89, I managed to source a NOS one via e-bay, it arrived today and what a difference. For starters the first thing you notice before removing it from it packaging is the sheer weight of the box. A stark contrast to the featherweight plastic, abundant, cheap offerings available from China.
Upon removal from its box you discover this is in part due to the unit having a solid metal case. Secondly, upon opening the unit up for inspection, you discover a decent sized transformer inside, unlike the 1cm squared, underrated TX found in the cheap offerings.
The usual connectivity inputs, SCART, Composite Video, RCA-Audio, RF in/out but the addition of a brightness control. Finally channel selection is via a set of DIP switches. These are set to select CH 21-69. Despite being NOS (it was still sealed )The box did not come with the user manual, so no instructions on how to set these. A short hunt on the web found the settings and are now stored here.
I'll give it a test later but the reviews I've read from many varied sources, all seem to rave about it. Not sure why I've not heard it mentioned here before, its certainly been discussed before over on UKVRRR. I'll either use it in the workshop or most likely use it in my lounge for daily use.
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Well the difference between the VH89W and the cheap modulators is night and day. The VH89W give a crystal clear picture, I think I'm going to get another for the workshop.
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Certainly in a different league construction wise. Sadly I had to give up on mine as it put out a constant background 'mush' on audio that was intrusive. Maybe I just had a duff example?
Steve
I have a Labgear modulator of a similar age which I picked up at last November's Golbourne event. It's easy to use and the only oddity was having F connectors for the RF connections, but the adaptors are easy to source & I already had some around.
Unfortunately I lost a mid 1990s Maplins catalogue in a clearout, but I think they sold a cheaper modulator that was fixed to channel 36.
The Maplin modulator looks just like my short lived Philex. I hope my purposes are served by the JVC video recorder I have, for a while, but I am keen to hear others' experiences.
"Yes, a bit of wet string may get you a good TV signal here on four channels, but you'll have to dry it out to get Channel 5!"
