RF only

[MarioMania]

Remember back in the day's of the VCS..you could only play game on TV using RF switch or a Box, Now it's HDMI or Component..

I remember playing my NES on my TV..witch was RF only, on Channel 3 in California, our local station was on Ch. 4

I know in the UK playing the NES, SNES, MD & SMS2 on Channel 34..

How about in NZ or even Australia, I'm just a geek at these....

[NintendoKing]

I wish I could help but honestly do not know.

[MarioMania]

I know in the US the Famicom is on Cable Ch. 95 or 96...How about on Air TV??

[133MHz]

The Famicom's RF signal can't be received on US Air TV frequencies. It's a mere coincidence that it can be received on US Cable channels 95 and 96, since the American and Japanese frequency spectrum assignments are completely different.

FM Radio in the US goes from 88 to 108 MHz
FM Radio in Japan goes from 76 to 90 MHz

The direct consequence of this is the complete skew of the TV spectrum (and other stuff). Also Japan's got TV Channel 1 which we don't have (our TV starts at channel 2 because CH1 is reserved in the US for police radio communications). Nowadays with the US DTV switch this is all meaningless.

I think Australia used Channel 36 as the video channel but I'm not sure, some other places did too.

I remember having a Sega Genesis 2 shaped Famiclone which transmitted its picture in Channel 12 only. It had a big sticker on the box which read THIS UNIT ONLY BROADCASTS ON CHANNEL 12, possibly to avoid hordes of people from returning it to the store because they didn't get it to work.

Atari 8-bit computers can broadcast their video signal in channels 2 or 3, unlike the common 3 or 4 arrangement seen everywhere else.

One of my childhood pastimes was hooking up my SNES console directly to a rooftop TV antenna and broadcast my gaming live for everyone to see on Channel 3. Cable TV wasn't as common back then so my friends (and everyone else around me for that matter) could see me playing if their tuned their TVs to Ch. 3. This is technically illegal (broadcasting TV without a license) but I was a mischievous kid and I didn't care.

[nintendodork]

I remember playing my NES on my TV..witch was RF only

Not if you had a toaster...composite wasn't very common on TVs then, so it may have been that your TV was RF only.

[Jollie]

One of my childhood pastimes was hooking up my SNES console directly to a rooftop TV antenna and broadcast my gaming live for everyone to see on Channel 3. Cable TV wasn't as common back then so my friends (and everyone else around me for that matter) could see me playing if their tuned their TVs to Ch. 3. This is technically illegal (broadcasting TV without a license) but I was a mischievous kid and I didn't care.

can you tell me how to do that?

[MarioMania]

Well I had my Mom's old TV that was RF Only.So the only way I could get AV out from the NES is the VCR & that was running though RF also..it wasn't true AV

One of my childhood pastimes was hooking up my SNES console directly to a rooftop TV antenna and broadcast my gaming live for everyone to see on Channel 3. Cable TV wasn't as common back then so my friends (and everyone else around me for that matter) could see me playing if their tuned their TVs to Ch. 3. This is technically illegal (broadcasting TV without a license) but I was a mischievous kid and I didn't care

How long did it reach??

[MS-DOS4]

I can't imagine very far...

[MarioMania]

I'm justing waiting for 133Mhz to tell us how are it went from his house

[133MHz]

Well guys keep in mind that this was over 10 years ago so the details are kinda fuzzy... but I remember a friend being able to watch my SNES a few houses away. We never did any extended distance testing because we didn't have portable TVs.

I used an old rooftop TV antenna because it gave the best results. A standard "rabbit ears" indoor TV antenna also worked but not as good. The higher you can mount the antenna, the better. Putting a common TV antenna on a stick and rising it up as high as you can would give good performance. Another good way to make an antenna is using a really long piece of wire and stretching it out horizontally or vertically.

The output power of the RF modulator also played an important role on transmission coverage. The SNES has a particularly strong RF modulator (or at least mine does - the picture is very clear). The stronger the modulator, the better. A great way to crank up the broadcasting power is by using a $10 TV signal amplifier/booster. I remember borrowing one from my uncle, hooking it up between the SNES and the antenna and the difference in signal power was like night and day.

In conclusion, the larger and higher your antenna is mounted and the stronger the modulator, the farther your signal will get. A common TV signal booster available at your favorite hardware store might significantly improve your results, but they can be satisfactory even without one.

I have included a MSPaint diagram for the curious ones. It's as simple as that.



DISCLAIMER: The information provided above is for educational purposes only. I assume no responsibility if the FCC comes knocking at your door because you're running an illegal TV station, no matter how good you play Super Mario World.

[MarioMania]

I tried that with my Indoor Antanna with my NES (Side Loader) Well it didn't go to far

[133MHz]

Did you get it working inside your house?

[MarioMania]

Only in my room with those $20 Radio Shack Antanna's

[namakubi]

One of my childhood pastimes was hooking up my SNES console directly to a rooftop TV antenna and broadcast my gaming live for everyone to see on Channel 3. Cable TV wasn't as common back then so my friends (and everyone else around me for that matter) could see me playing if their tuned their TVs to Ch. 3. This is technically illegal (broadcasting TV without a license) but I was a mischievous kid and I didn't care.

Wow, that's actually really cool! That would've been a hoot to see, flipping to channel 3 and seeing an Atari, NES, or SNES game just playing itself. The bygone years of analog RF signals...

[petik1]

Wait, so what you need is an antenna, and an amp? I really want to try this! I want to just try it out, i don't want the FCC at my door though... Can rabbit ears be used? and how far will it go? And will I need another pair of rabbit ears to recieve the signal?