TomsFocus Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 Long story short, still haven't found a solution to the problem I was trying to solve with the large capacity powerbank in my previous thread. May now have an alternative option...which will leave me with no TV, BUT will have mains power and possibly an aerial socket. Should be able to carry the laptop there. Just seen that you can get TV tuner USB sticks for this purpose for around £30... So has anyone used one? Is the inbuilt aerial good enough? How much do they pick up, and can you still get BBC? (I'm aware of the licence issue but it will only be a short time and I pay licence on my own property.) Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexp999 Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 You can watch BBC channels through iplayer live* (It's about 30s behind in my experience). I think you can with ITV hub and 4 OD now too, not sure about 5 but wouldn't surprise me if you can use their players for live too. I used a USB TV tuner many years ago, you'll need to use an external aerial unless you are in a very strong signal area. Tbh, even on my TV I don't watch TV through aerial or satellite anymore, I watch most things on demand, or as I say the odd live thing through the player over the internet anyway 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsFocus Posted May 11, 2022 Author Share Posted May 11, 2022 I won't have an internet connection in this scenario unfortunately, so can't watch anything on demand. Pretty sure there will be an external aerial connection...but it'll be shared, and with most people using sat or internet, won't know whether the aerial connection is good or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsFocus Posted May 11, 2022 Author Share Posted May 11, 2022 Just realised I can download a few programmes from iPlayer to watch offline in future...that's probably the easiest solution! Also wondering what's the best way to listen to radio on my phone or laptop without internet connection? (Looks like I'll need a couple of hours of distraction...so want a couple of options!). Or is the data use of something like Spotify or KissKube so small I might as well just run them on data? I don't have a data package, so it costs me 1p per MB used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenFord Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 47 minutes ago, TomsFocus said: Also wondering what's the best way to listen to radio on my phone or laptop without internet connection? I'm an avid radio listener, though the various apps I have all work through WiFi. In the olden days, all my phones had a simple FM application which worked by simply plugging in a pair of headphones in which the connecting wire acted as the aerial... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turvey Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 2 hours ago, StephenFord said: In the olden days, all my phones had a simple FM application which worked by simply plugging in a pair of headphones in which the connecting wire acted as the aerial... Which is why I think wireless headphones are a step backwards 🤷 Motorola still make phones with an actual headphone socket 👍 Failing that, download some podcasts. I can thoroughly recommend 'Fairy Meadow' from the BBC, although I must admit I had to stop it a couple of times because I had something in my eye! 😥 https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0bff1xh/episodes/downloads 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsFocus Posted May 12, 2022 Author Share Posted May 12, 2022 Don't have any headphones, though also not sure if smartphones have an FM player? I used to use it on my old Samsung D900i! Looks like Spotify uses around 40MB an hour...a huge amount if using daily, but as a one off that's acceptable. I could take a battery DAB radio, but that's adding extra weight to carry so would rather just sacrifice a quid of phone credit in this instance. Never listened to a podcast...don't see the point really. Either want to see a programme, or listen to music, podcasts seem to be between both of those. Also just checked the plot-line of Fairy Meadow...not for me lol! Needs to be something innocuous as a light distraction from the stress going on around me (in this particular scenario at least) so thinking something like Garden Rescue or Antiques Roadtrip... Just tried to download one of those...and it says it's downloaded a whole programme in under a minute... Can't see that being possible, so I'm not sure if I've got something wrong there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenFord Posted May 12, 2022 Share Posted May 12, 2022 1 hour ago, TomsFocus said: Don't have any headphones, though also not sure if smartphones have an FM player? Tom, I really believe you may be overthinking this whole thing LOL Can't you just go old school, and bring a book? 😅 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsFocus Posted May 12, 2022 Author Share Posted May 12, 2022 1 hour ago, StephenFord said: Tom, I really believe you may be overthinking this whole thing LOL Can't you just go old school, and bring a book? 😅 I wish that was the case. Trying to 'manage' the fight or flight response for 2 hours is going to require something a bit more engaging than a book. However, based on past experiences, I won't be able to manage visual motion/colours/bright light of a TV program or the oral input of music either... Whatever happens, it won't be a pleasant experience! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erictcleric Posted May 12, 2022 Share Posted May 12, 2022 Audio books, maybe? Most smartphones don't have an FM radio these days - they were ditched in favour of music streaming. You should also be able to download tracks for offline listening using Spotify although that might depend on your subscription. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsFocus Posted May 12, 2022 Author Share Posted May 12, 2022 1 minute ago, erictcleric said: Audio books, maybe? Most smartphones don't have an FM radio these days - they were ditched in favour of music streaming. You should also be able to download tracks for offline listening using Spotify although that might depend on your subscription. I've just got the basic Spotify currently, so can't download tracks. I do occasionally go for premium when they offer a few months free but the offer isn't available at the moment. It's not so much that I can't afford it, but I can't justify it for how little I actually want to chose a track. 99% of the time I'm content with the 'Discover Weekly' or daily playlists. And usually I'm at home with Wifi, so no need for offline use. I can put up with an advert every 30 minutes. Must admit, I've never listened to an audio book... I'm not a fan of fiction or fantasy, and I don't want to read autobiographies... Not sure what else is left! I'm more into non-fiction, engineering type stuff, on TV or online...probably doesn't translate well into audiobooks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenFord Posted May 12, 2022 Share Posted May 12, 2022 14 minutes ago, erictcleric said: Most smartphones don't have an FM radio these days ... Mine does, though it is quite cheap, I'm sure all the premium phones turn their nose up at them - shame, when the sirens go off, WiFi will be the 1st thing to disappear for you to get any news!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsFocus Posted May 12, 2022 Author Share Posted May 12, 2022 1 minute ago, StephenFord said: when the sirens go off, WiFi will be the 1st thing to disappear for you to get any news!! And we'll lose 3/4g as soon as the power is cut to the phone masts...signal is patchy enough around here as it is! Can we still access satellite comms through phones for anything other than GPS I wonder? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenFord Posted May 12, 2022 Share Posted May 12, 2022 11 minutes ago, TomsFocus said: And we'll lose 3/4g as soon as the power is cut to the phone masts..I In addition, as you know as I have bitched about it before, we are also due to lose good old reliable analogue landlines in 2 years time in favour of 'digital'. Just as we are currently in an energy crisis mostly entirely of our own making by closing coal fired power stations, nuclear reactors, and prohibiting fracking, in the future when our whole digital network goes belly up, the government will be blamed for ditching old, but reliable analogue comms... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turvey Posted May 12, 2022 Share Posted May 12, 2022 35 minutes ago, erictcleric said: Most smartphones don't have an FM radio these days - Mine does 👍 no headphones attached just now but.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erictcleric Posted May 12, 2022 Share Posted May 12, 2022 I must be buying the wrong phones. These days there are audio books for pretty much anything. Audible has over 1000 in the "engineering" category, including "How to Build an Aircraft Carrier". Sounds like a nice little side project. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tizer Posted May 12, 2022 Share Posted May 12, 2022 4 hours ago, TomsFocus said: And we'll lose 3/4g as soon as the power is cut to the phone masts...signal is patchy enough around here as it is! Can we still access satellite comms through phones for anything other than GPS I wonder? The 3g signal is being dropped by most providers starting from next year, which is a massive problem if your phone can't do 4g calling. I think some of them are keeping 2g active for some time for calls and Texts, goodness knows what the quality will be like on 2g though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenFord Posted May 12, 2022 Share Posted May 12, 2022 4 minutes ago, Tizer said: I think some of them are keeping 2g active for some time for calls and Texts, goodness knows what the quality will be like on 2g though. I know that some emergency workers who execute repairs for Northern Ireland Electricity still use 2G for comms during storm recovery work, as it is very robust, and still has wide coverage... 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsFocus Posted May 12, 2022 Author Share Posted May 12, 2022 1 hour ago, Tizer said: The 3g signal is being dropped by most providers starting from next year, which is a massive problem if your phone can't do 4g calling. I think some of them are keeping 2g active for some time for calls and Texts, goodness knows what the quality will be like on 2g though. I didn't even know 3G was used for calls. Thought it was just internet. Just checked (settings/network & internet/mobile network on Android) and my phone is set to 4G so must be compatible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tizer Posted May 12, 2022 Share Posted May 12, 2022 3 minutes ago, TomsFocus said: I didn't even know 3G was used for calls. Thought it was just internet. Just checked (settings/network & internet/mobile network on Android) and my phone is set to 4G so must be compatible. That does not necessarily mean anything. Some phones say Volte enabled in the phone app settings, some don't. The easiest way of telling is when you make a call if 4g calling is not enabled then the icon on your Status Bar will change from 4g/LTE or whatever your phone calls it to 3g as soon as you start making the call. It is comforting to hear what @StephenFordsaid about 2g still being ok. I get good 4g coverage where I live but at the moment when I go up north often it is just a 3g signal available, so if 2g is still active then at least I will still be able to make calls if necessary when 3g is switched off. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenFord Posted May 12, 2022 Share Posted May 12, 2022 2 minutes ago, Tizer said: It is comforting to hear what @StephenFordsaid about 2g still being ok. You may find this of interest... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-59583783 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tizer Posted May 12, 2022 Share Posted May 12, 2022 6 minutes ago, StephenFord said: You may find this of interest... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-59583783 Thanks, I also had a look on the Vodafone site and they say if there is no 3g then the phone will switch to 2g, which was always my understanding, although they are a bit cagey about when 2g will be switched off and whether that will be before 2033. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsFocus Posted May 13, 2022 Author Share Posted May 13, 2022 Just wanted to say this is sorted, for now at least. The situation escalated very quickly in the end! Done now though, only several days/weeks of consequences to follow now... I did watch one program offline using the iPlayer app. Still don't understand how a whole hour of TV can be downloaded in 90 seconds but apparently it did. Also remembered I'd backed up my Car USB onto this laptop, so had plenty of music to listen to offline as well, used that for about 30 mins. The other 30 mins were spent in the bathroom (the main criteria for the sudden change of circumstances triggering this thread lol). Anyway, it's good to know there is still stuff we can do offline...as long as we've downloaded it first. Only used about half the laptop battery which is good, as I didn't take a charger with me. No idea how old this battery is as the laptop is second hand and around 10 years old. Assume it's not the original battery. (My identical previous one was on it's 4th battery at 9 years old, when the screen failed). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenFord Posted May 13, 2022 Share Posted May 13, 2022 4 minutes ago, TomsFocus said: Still don't understand how a whole hour of TV can be downloaded in 90 seconds ... It's witchcraft Tom, I tell you, all witchcraft!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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