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THROWBACK THURSDAY: The original G-Mail: Not what you think

In this week’s Throwback Thursday, we look at Gmail. Not Google’s email, which has been with us since about 2003. I’m talking about Garfield mail. According to this 2018 article at Gizmodo, Garfield email started sometime about 1997 and gave you access to not only an exclusive email at “catsrule.garfield.com” but also exclusive content on the garfield.com site. What’s more, the article claims that at least in 2018, there were still people using that e-mail server. Keep in mind that really all you need to keep an email server going is a domain registration and a little bit of skill. Since Garfield is owned by Paramount Global, it would be very easy to have one of their many e-mail servers handle that small amount of traffic. By the...
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Unleashing the Future: Brain-Machine Interface Revolution

Elon Musk’s Brain-Machine interface company, Neuralink, recently announced they are seeking human volunteers to begin trials. If successful, brain-machine interface (BMI) tech promises to revolutionize the way we interact with the digital world completely. Neuralink isn’t the only player in the BMI space, either. Competitors like Blackrock Neurotech, Precision Neuroscience, and Mintneuro all promise to deliver BMI equipment and are keen to show that the tech can meaningfully improve our lives. The recent explosion in BMI research is particularly good news for folks who live with a disability that limits their motor skills. BMIs that are capable of “reading” the brain can turn unarticulated speech into real communication, thus...
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Ken Reid and George Higby the Antique Nomad

November 3-9, 1973 This week Ken welcomes antiques expert, and fellow TV kid, The Antique Noman himself, George Higby to the show. Ken and George discuss George’s YouTube Channel, referencing the stuff on sets, moving around a lot as a kid, living in Cleveland when this TV Guide came out, Washington State, Raytheon TVs, looking for the thing that’s the same, being a car and sports guy, Philco, Cigarettes, concept cars, trying to reverse engineer a color TV for free, shared experience, Emergency!, how weird it was that shows not for kids were merchandised to kids, All in the Family, MAS*H, topical TV, sad TV shows, the odd cultural moment of the early 1970s, Norman Lear, how the 1970s may have been more progressive, niches, The...
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When is it time to retire tech that “still works even if it’s obsolete?”

The other day, I was talking to one of the Signal Pros who answer the phone and we were talking about the SWM-8 multiswitch. In case you’re having trouble picturing one, it’s this: That’s a picture of a SWM-8 that I, myself, took about 12 years ago. The SWM-8 multiswitch was released in 2009 as the first-generation of DIRECTV’s single-wire-multiswitch technology. It supported the four signal types from the DIRECTV dish that was standard at the time. It also supported inputs from two other dishes, because at that time DIRECTV used multiple satellite locations for its international programming. With this multiswitch you could support 8 SWM-capable receivers (or 4 SWM-capable DVRs) plus 3 more receivers that didn’t have SWM support. It...
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How fast does your internet need to be for DIRECTV and DISH’s latest equipment?

Both DIRECTV and DISH have embraced the streaming world. While both companies once relied solely on satellite, they’ve both been using both satellite and internet for over a decade. Originally, both companies used the internet just for on-demand, but they have integrated streaming apps into their products. DIRECTV’s Gemini and DISH’s Hopper Plus with Joey 4 let you use all your favorite streaming apps without changing inputs or remotes. It’s a very popular solution, especially for folks who want great entertainment options in the bedroom or spare room. But of course, streaming doesn’t work without a good internet connection. You’ll need high-speed internet or you’re just not going to get everything that a solution like this has to...
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DIRECTV Genie Remote Replacement from Signal Connect

Do you need a replacement remote control for your DIRECTV satellite installation? DIRECTV’s Genie remote is the latest model. (It actually encompasses three models: The RC73, RC72, and RC71.) Which one is the best for viewers like you? The truth, any one of these DIRECTV Genie remotes would work perfectly for your DIRECTV receiver. We know what this sounds like. It goes against everything you’ve been told about technology, which is “newer is always better.” Keep reading to find out why all of DIRECTV’s IR/RF universal ergonomic remote controls are perfect for you to use. DIRECTV Genie remote controls are loaded with features. These remotes have IR and RF mode and they work with every DIRECTV receiver, including legacy models as...
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What is a polarity locker?

It’s fun being a home theater blogger. I get to work with a level of equipment that most people don’t ever see. I also get the opportunity to work with the folks at Solid Signal in designing and specifying parts for commercial satellite TV systems. This gives me stuff to write about, and also gives me the ability to understand satellite TV at a fairly high level. Here’s one of those cases I’d like to talk about polarity lockers. Polarity lockers are part of commercial systems, but you see them at home as well. They’re often paired with amplifiers to normalize the output from a satellite dish. It’s easy to understand the need for an amplifier. Signal loss happens when cable runs are too long, and an amplifier is often necessary to...
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Podcast #552: The SAG-AFTRA Strike could kill TV and movies as we know it

We’re not saying who’s right and who’s wrong. All we’re saying is that if things don’t improve soon, there might not be an industry to return to. Want more information about great entertainment? Shop solidsignal.com or call us at 888-233-7563. Listen to the podcast your way! Just choose one of the following: Option 1: Click on the image above to stream the podcast in your browser. If you use the YouTube player above, be sure to subscribe to get future videos delivered to you! Option 2: The Solid Signal Podcast is available on several podcast aggregators. Search for us, or tap on the links below on your mobile device. If you want us to add another aggregator leave a comment below. Amazon iTunes Overcast TuneIn Spreaker Player.fm...
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How can an antenna be made of plastic and still work?

Most folks I know think antennas are ugly. In fact, they think the ugliest antennas are the ones that look like big collections of metal sticks. They look at something like this: and their answer will tend to be “not just no, heck no.” And yet, antenna enthusiasts will tell you than an antenna like this, our Xtreme Signal HD8200XL, is going to outperform practically any other TV antenna you’re likely to get. There are plenty of areas of the country where it’s this antenna or nothing, at least if you want to get decent reception. That’s why I think you could be forgiven for being skeptical of an antenna like the Televes Dinova Boss Mix. After all, it doesn’t look like any other antenna you’ve ever seen before. It doesn’t look like an...
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What do cell phone bars mean?

Absolutely nothing. The problem with the bar display on your cell phone is that it just doesn’t tell you enough to figure out if you’re going to be able to make a call or get online. In fact, they do nothing but confuse people. Let me go into detail. They are just flat out meaningless. First of all, if you look around online you will find a bunch of articles that claim to “decode” the bar displays for one phone or another. But it’s already been proven that this varies not only from phone to phone, but from operating system to operating system. Your iPhone may have three bars, your friend’s Galaxy may have four, but does that mean the Galaxy gets better reception? Absolutely not. It’s probably just that at that particular moment...
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Can you use NVMe memory with Blackmagic Cameras?

There’s a lot to like about Blackmagic Design products. They’re compact, powerful, and compared to the prices that professional broadcasters are used to paying, they’re incredibly cheap. I’ll grant you, they cost a little more than your average low-end point-and shoot, but the quality is worth it. With Blackmagic Design cameras, you get ultimate flexibility. You can set virtually any setting you want and create still shots and videos that reflect your own dreams. Smartphone cameras are great but they rely on a lot of “computational photography” to make their images look good. There’s no substitute for a big, high-quality lens and a sensor the size of an airbud case. With the right product, you can record 6K video at 50 frames per...
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NICE AND EASY: Should you put a lightning arrester on a dish?

What you see is a lightning arrester. This particular one is for a high-tension power line. It’s a device designed to keep a lightning strike from traveling down a wire and ruining everything, because let’s face it, one lightning strike can (and will) ruin your entire day. If lightning can hit a power line, it can hit a satellite dish. At least that’s the theory. It seems like a lightning arrester is just the sort of thing that you should have on your satellite dish, and several of our customers have asked whether or not we sell something like this for dishes. The answer: well sort of. The difference between a lightning arrester and what you actually need. Lightning arrestors are used for large, high-tension lines. They are dense...
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What is a CAM (conditional access module)?

It’s the access card in your receiver. Actually it’s the access card and the thing it connects to, they sort of work as a team. Why do they call it that? Conditional Access is a term that was popular about 20 years ago when the world was first getting a look at today’s satellite television. Before DIRECTV and DISH, all satellite TV was unencrypted, or required special hardware decryption on a channel by channel basis. This meant in most cases, all you had to do in order to get free TV is point a satellite dish. See, satellite television was always thought of as a way to get content from place to place. It was thought that it would be used for transfers from a remote location to a network broadcast center, and so there was no need for...
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The BEST radio antenna ever

For most people, it’s “just the radio.” Maybe you listen in the car on the way to work. Maybe it’s something you keep in a drawer in case of emergencies. But, everyone has a passion in life, and for some people it’s radio. There are far worse things in life to be passionate about. Those folks won’t be satisfied with the little wire coming out of a clock radio or the telescoping chrome antenna of a pocket radio. They want something serious. Well, Solid Signal is here to help. Take a look at the image above If you’re serious about radio, you need to get serious about this antenna. Not much to look at, the DX Engineering AM/FM External Outdoor High Definition Radio Antenna is the absolute cream of the crop for people who are desperate...
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