Patent ID: 6856798

Claim:
An apparatus for providing television audio programming to one or more individuals in a mobile vehicle, the audio programming being derived from a television signal that includes an audio signal component and a video signal component, the audio signal component directly corresponding to the video signal component, the apparatus comprising: a transceiver disposed in a first section of the mobile vehicle, the transceiver being adapted to selectively receive one of a plurality of television signals in response to a channel selection signal received at a channel selection input thereof, the transceiver converting the audio signal component of the television signal to a radio signal for reception by a radio receiver that converts the radio signal to an audible audio signal corresponding to the television audio programming; a control module formed as a unit that is physically distinct from the transceiver, said control module being disposed in a second section of said mobile vehicle remote of the transceiver, the control module including a programmable microcontroller; a user interface connected to provide at least channel selection information to the programmable controller; a display connected for control by the programmable microcontroller to indicate at least channel selection information to a user; a channel selection output connected for control by the programmable microcontroller and providing the channel selection signal to the transceiver; the transceiver and control module cooperating to execute an automatic programming mode in which the transceiver scans through a predetermined range of television channels, the automatic programming mode being activated through the user interface of the control module; a relative signal strength indicator circuit adapted to generate a signal strength output signal during the automatic programming mode, the signal strength output signal being indicative of the presence of a television signal on a television channel to which the transceiver is tuned, the relative signal strength indicator operating to detect the presence of a television signal on a channel by detecting the presence of a video horizontal sync signal; electronic memory identifying the channels that have a television signal transmitted thereon as determined by the level of the signal strength output signal of the relative signal strength indicator circuit during the automatic programming mode.