Urgent: Help with ATSC antenna receiver

So, here’s the situation... tomorrow marks the day we finally shut down the old ATSC receiver and make the jump over to the new standard,
well, my family went ahead and picked up a Walmart Vivax DVB-T2 181 at the store, and so far, everything seems fine, but there’s this one little snag: the antenna cable coming out of the wall just won't fit into the port on the device, and I’ve attached a photo of the antenna setup we're working with... The trouble is that while one side of the connector fits perfectly into the unit, the other side just won't go in. Or rather, if the connector were shaped differently, both sides would slide right in, but we don't have that specific type of connector lying around... so, what do you all suggest I do? Should I head out and grab a different coaxial cable, or is there some other fix? Setting up the software and menus looks like it'll be a breeze, but if the physical connection isn't going to plug into the device, none of that matters much...

It’s the exact same setup as your TV—basically, you just unplug the antenna from the television and plug it straight into the Sony DVB-T2 receiver (it’s that first port on the left if you're looking at the back).
The image didn't actually post 😢
..since I can't see what you're looking at, I'm guessing you're dealing with an F-type connector that screws on, unlike the standard TV plug that just slides right in. Maybe there was some kind of adapter (F-to-TV) sitting in the TV's antenna jack that you needed to pull out along with the cable itself?
Also, I'm a bit confused—what kind of wall outlet are we talking about if you're just using a small indoor antenna?
Try uploading your screenshots to https://imgbb.com/upload
then just copy and paste the link you get from there.
You definitely still need an antenna, though; the one you've been using should work fine.

Question
Is it possible to cancel my PBS subscription now if I don't own an ATSC receiver?

No

William Palmer7 said:Question
Is it possible to cancel my PBS subscription now if I don't own an ATSC receiver?

If you ask PBS directly, they'll probably say no. But if you want to stop paying the fee, just cancel it. You don't need to justify your life to anyone. My amateur advice? When you cancel, just claim you don't own any device for receiving audiovisual signals—no TV, no radio. Don't explain yourself to them for the life of you; just say you don't have anything. There's a PDF out there about the legalities of paying the fee, go read it.

Check out this thread on .

People have been asking about this stuff forever...

wearymason4 said:It’s the exact same setup as your TV—basically, you just unplug the antenna from the television and plug it straight into the Sony DVB-T2 receiver (it’s that first port on the left if you're looking at the back).
The image didn't actually post 😢
..since I can't see what you're looking at, I'm guessing you're dealing with an F-type connector that screws on, unlike the standard TV plug that just slides right in. Maybe there was some kind of adapter (F-to-TV) sitting in the TV's antenna jack that you needed to pull out along with the cable itself?
Also, I'm a bit confused—what kind of wall outlet are we talking about if you're just using a small indoor antenna?
Try uploading your screenshots to https://imgbb.com/upload
then just copy and paste the link you get from there.
You definitely still need an antenna, though; the one you've been using should work fine.

🙏🙏🙏 Thank you so much

Christian Torres3 said:If you ask PBS directly, they'll probably say no. But if you want to stop paying the fee, just cancel it. You don't need to justify your life to anyone. My amateur advice? When you cancel, just claim you don't own any device for receiving audiovisual signals—no TV, no radio. Don't explain yourself to them for the life of you; just say you don't have anything. There's a PDF out there about the legalities of paying the fee, go read it.

😁

Well, I suspect it isn't quite that simple. Because, if one technically owns even a smartphone, they might still be liable for the fee—since a phone can pick up an FM signal, or, you know, stream content via the Internet of Things...

Best,

Wait, I didn't realize streaming counted toward the bill?
Well, if you've got a computer and an internet connection, you're going to have to pay for it too.

William Palmer7 said:Wait, I didn't realize streaming counted toward the bill?
Well, if you've got a computer and an internet connection, you're going to have to pay for it too.

From what I understand—and I could be wrong here—it's a yes. If you own any device capable of picking up a signal—whether it's terrestrial, satellite, or via streaming—you're essentially required to pay the subscription...

Regarding the policy on decommissioning receivers:
3.2 If a receiver is completely unusable due to a permanent malfunction, it can be permanently decommissioned upon presenting an official certificate from an authorized service center confirming that the device is beyond repair.

What if I just disable the receiver, take it to an authorized service center, and get that confirmation?

You don't even need to go through all that trouble. Just cancel your PBS subscription and stop letting those collectors through your door. Here, check out this thread:

fadedorca66 said:You don't even need to go through all that trouble. Just cancel your PBS subscription and stop letting those collectors through your door. Here, check out this thread:

Exactly. So what, you don't have a TV, a radio, or a computer? Move into a cave without electricity (hyperbole intended) and then just decide to stop paying the fee? And then when you finally buy something new, you'll just "report it" like some model citizen? Is that how it works? 😉

William Palmer7 said:Wait, I didn't realize streaming counted toward the bill?
Well, if you've got a computer and an internet connection, you're going to have to pay for it too.

Yep.

Honestly, when you actually read the law, it’s a total mess. It makes zero sense.

If a household has:
- a TV set
- a radio
- a computer with an internet connection
- a smartphone

They have to pay one "fee." Just one per household, no matter how many devices they own.

But companies/legal entities? They have to pay for EVERY SINGLE DEVICE.

Man, just picture this: every employee at a company usually has a laptop, a phone, a car with a radio, and then there's always that presentation PC hooked up to a big screen in the conference room. That means every single worker would technically owe about 3 or 4 TV "fees." Now imagine a company with 100 people. They'd be paying roughly 400 fees. So, 400 x $80 equals $11 a month. 🤣

I mean, let's look at what companies actually pay. Where is the massive bill for someone like Walmart? Or even say Berkshire Hathaway and all those other businesses owned by New York City, which employ around 24,000 people?

And don't even get me started on how modern fridges and irons are all connected via the Internet of Things. Technically, that means you should be paying a TV fee for your fridge and your iron.

Back when they tried to tax blank CDs and USB sticks because of the "possibility" of recording audio or video, we all just laughed it off—until Sony Music started thriving off a bunch of useless parasites. Now? It isn't funny anymore.

fadedorca66 said:You don't even need to go through all that trouble. Just cancel your PBS subscription and stop letting those collectors through your door. Here, check out this thread:

Well, that's great. Half of them ended up getting cited for violations on that thread.

Jack Cook7 said:Yep.

Honestly, when you actually read the law, it’s a total mess. It makes zero sense.

If a household has:
- a TV set
- a radio
- a computer with an internet connection
- a smartphone

They have to pay one "fee." Just one per household, no matter how many devices they own.

But companies/legal entities? They have to pay for EVERY SINGLE DEVICE.

Man, just picture this: every employee at a company usually has a laptop, a phone, a car with a radio, and then there's always that presentation PC hooked up to a big screen in the conference room. That means every single worker would technically owe about 3 or 4 TV "fees." Now imagine a company with 100 people. They'd be paying roughly 400 fees. So, 400 x $80 equals $11 a month. 🤣

I mean, let's look at what companies actually pay. Where is the massive bill for someone like Walmart? Or even say Berkshire Hathaway and all those other businesses owned by New York City, which employ around 24,000 people?

And don't even get me started on how modern fridges and irons are all connected via the Internet of Things. Technically, that means you should be paying a TV fee for your fridge and your iron.

Back when they tried to tax blank CDs and USB sticks because of the "possibility" of recording audio or video, we all just laughed it off—until Sony Music started thriving off a bunch of useless parasites. Now? It isn't funny anymore.

I have a computer connected to the internet (obviously), so there's no escaping the bill for me.
Thanks All.

William Palmer7 said:I have a computer connected to the internet (obviously), so there's no escaping the bill for me.
Thanks All.

Well, yes and no.

Basically, this whole law was drafted by some greedy morons. And you know what greedy morons have in common? They’re just greedy morons. Period. 🤣

(For those who know exactly what I'm talking about)

The point is, the actual facts don't matter—only what's on paper. Like, if you have a TV registered to your household that you never even touch, just grab a hammer, smash it, take it to a repair shop to get a "broken" receipt, and use that to cancel your "TV tax." Boom. Done.

It doesn't matter if you actually have a massive server farm in your basement streaming a reality show about three goldfish in a bowl. Totally irrelevant.

Bottom line? This law is a total joke. It was written by greedy idiots, just like everything else in this country.