A/V to RF.

[Aswald]

How do the two actually differ, and how does an RF modulator (so A/V can be used on regular television) work? I'd like to build one of my own, but info seems difficult to come by.

I've noticed that when you plug in the video cable into an ordinary switch box, you "almost" get the picture- as if the tuner is off- but you cannot get any closer.

Thanks.

[Oldskool]

Not really sure what you mean by an RF modulator. You might need to be a bit more specific.

A/V means audio/video. So basically any connector that outputs audio and video is an A/V jack. Even RF. Some people call composite (yellow,white,red) A/V - for some reason. Kind of like how people say that their NES top loader is A/V modded. What they mean is that it has Composite audio and video. Not sure when or why they ever got mixed up.

[Compute]

You want to build an rf modulator to convert your a/v to RF? Unless you're real handy and/or have the parts already, it's going to cost you more than buying one off the shelf.

If you're dead-set on having a fancy case, you might just re-case an existing RF modulator. Otherwise an older VCR with a bunch of different circuit boards and through-hole parts would be a good source for a board with an RF modulator circuit.

RF is pretty much A/V, but the signals are combined and modulated for radio frequency (RF) as if for radio broadcast. The difference here is that the signal is not going to be broadcast, so it is weak enough that a cable is necessary to carry to signal to your television. Because of the amount of conversion and un-conversion involved, this signal ends up being less clear than the other ways of sending a signal from device to TV (i.e. composite AV, S-video, component, etc).

[Greg2600]

Not sure what you're getting at? But if you're looking to go from Composite/RCA connection to RF/Coax, there are cheap RF Modulators for that. I have one of those, if you need one. If you're trying to go from an RF connection (2600 for instance) and hook up to the TV's Composite/RCA jacks, then you need a de-modulator. Those have never been made cheaply, costing hundreds of dollars for some reason. However, most people use an old VCR to get that to work.

[alec006]

How do the two actually differ, and how does an RF modulator (so A/V can be used on regular television) work? I'd like to build one of my own, but info seems difficult to come by.

I've noticed that when you plug in the video cable into an ordinary switch box, you "almost" get the picture- as if the tuner is off- but you cannot get any closer.

Thanks.

Radio frequency (RF) is a rate of oscillation in the range of about 30 kHz to 300 GHz, which corresponds to the frequency of electrical signals normally used to produce and detect radio waves.

Composite video is the format of an analog television (picture only) signal before it is combined with a sound signal and modulated onto an RF carrier. Composite video is often designated by the CVBS initialism, meaning "Composite Video, Blanking, and Sync. It is usually in standard formats such as NTSC, PAL, and SECAM. It is a composite of three source signals called Y, U and V (together referred to as YUV) with sync pulses.

So in simple terms, composite video combines the video signal ONLY,where RF combines video & audio into one signal.

An RF modulator (or radio frequency modulator) is a device that takes a baseband input signal (Composite) and outputs a radio frequency-modulated signal (RF).

[kedawa]

Unless you have a really old television that you just can't bear to part with, there's no reason at all to ever use RF.

[Greg2600]

Unless you have a really old television that you just can't bear to part with, there's no reason at all to ever use RF.
All systems prior to NES only had RF.

[Compute]

Commodore 64, TI99, and a host of others output composite natively. Some also output pins for chroma and luma, so you can get svideo fairly easily. :2gunfire:

[c0ldb33r]

To convert AV to RF, do not build one, it's easier to just plug the AV into a VCR's AV input and for output use coax.

[/thread]

[dreamcaster]

To convert AV to RF, do not build one, it's easier to just plug the AV into a VCR's AV input and for output use coax.

[/thread]

Yeah this is pretty much what I used to use when I had an RF-only TV. VCR's also handily double as a clock and they can even play video tapes!

[Aswald]

I just want to build one that would use battery power- like from a Jakks handheld. That way, I won't need an outlet.

Maybe I should try to salvage that component from an old piece of junk, and try it that way- unless someone can direct me to a schematic?

Thanks.