Friday, October 28, 2011

One of the benefits to marrying an engineer

Matt & I chose not to have cable at our apartment. First, we don't watch that much TV to begin with. Two, it's ridiculously over-priced. Instead, we have this nice little box called a Roku, which streams things like Netflix and Amazon Instant View. 


We ended up purchasing an antenna so we can get the main channels like ABC, CBS, and Fox. Gotta watch football and the World Series, right? 


Source


Anyway, in order to receive signal, this futuristic-looking device can be tricky to position. We have had it on top of the desk, on top of books, on top of dressers, etc. We live relatively close to a large airport, so I'm sure that doesn't help matters. Our last solution worked pretty well though, and I am quite proud of my engineer for what he devised. 



Yes, that is aluminum foil on the back of our kitchen chairs


He managed to angle everything just so in order to get the perfect picture and sound. Before the aluminum foil, Matt had to either be standing behind that chair the receiver is sitting on or not in the room for it to work. The foil blocks and reflects (AKA Magic Physics Things) the signals so that it works. 


What's funny is that it worked perfectly on Monday for the World Series. We turn it on Tuesday, and it didn't work at all. Nothing. The same set up, same positioning, nada. It is apparently a very finicky little receiver. 


Anyway, that is one of the many reasons why you should marry an engineer. They understand Magic Physics Things. That can get you quite far in life, my friend, such as TV signal!

4 comments:

  1. How ingenious! My husband made ME stand next to the TV holding the digital antenna BUT NOT WATCHING the Saints in the Super Bowl because I am a jinx!! Paula

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  2. This is great! I'm so ditzy with things like this...I would never be able to work it out!

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