Looking for a cheap demodulator

[ffutures]

One of the things I'd like but really can't justify buying is an AC-3 RF demodulator - a gizmo that sits between a laserdisc player and a home cinema amplifier and converts AC-3 digital sound tracks to surround sound. I narrowly missed getting an amp that had this built-in when I bought my home cinema setup,; Richer Sounds ran out a few days earlier - and never bothered to buy one after that because PAL laserdiscs don't have AC-3 tracks, they're only found on some NTSC discs, and I only had a couple of discs that supported it. But when I bought my current laserdisc player the vendor threw in 30-odd disks with AC-3 tracks, and it would be nice to hear them properly.

It isn't essential because they also have digital stereo tracks, but if I could get hold of one cheaply I'd love to see what it can do. If anyone can point me at a cheap source (MUCH cheaper than the one currently on ebay UK which is £85 including delivery) I'd be grateful.

Comments

[nojay.livejournal.com]

I had a rummage around and it looks like there are cheap AC-3 RF decoders on American Ebay but postage is a killer. The Yamaha DDP-1 seems to be a popular unit, BIN for $35 or thereabouts.

Gumtree? Maybe find an old home theatre amp that has an AC-3 RF connection?

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

I looked at the ones on offer from the US but I really don't want to go that route if possible since most are 110v - a good transformer could add another £10-15 to the cost, a cheap one will probably cause interference.

I've been looking at amps on Gumtree etc. for just that reason, so far no luck.

[nojay.livejournal.com]

Transformers are pretty simple devices, they don't introduced interference by themselves and a demodulator unit like the DDP-1 wouldn't pull more than a few watts.

The trick to get 110V on the cheap is to use a regular mains transformer with a 110v mains-side tap rather than it having a separate 110V winding. In the good old days a junked valve radio or similar would have a useful transformer that would do the job nicely. Not as safe as an isolated winding so it probably wouldn't pass muster in the school lab.

I've seen home theatre amps on Gumtree that have RF AC-3 connections, frex this one in Bracknell:

http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/pioneer-vsa-e06-thx-av-amp/1050550555

At £95 it's more expensive than the demodulators on Ebay but it is a complete amp unit after all.

The other possibility is Chav Converters, they get all sorts of home theatre kit in from time to time.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Thanks - all other things being equal I'd prefer not to go the amp route, the one I have is pretty good and works well for everything else. Realistically I should be looking at a more modern amp with more optical and coax digital inputs, hdmi, etc, not an older one!

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

I've made an offer on one on eBay, £40 plus postage, and it's been accepted.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=151198995459

Looks to be a reasonably good one and the vendor offers returns - and if it works and I don't seem to be using it, it's probably sellable for more than I'm paying!