Overlapping Areas of Geekery

You may have noticed that my latest eco-article mentions televisions switch to digital next month. Okay, on the face of it, this technological event is not very environmental at all. I understand that. But again and again I see people tossing their perfectly usable TV because they've upgraded to a fancy flat-screen out of the misguided notion that after February 17, their old sets will be obsolete.

THIS IS NOT TRUE.

If you're like my boyfriend, you may use this digital switchover as an excuse to sneak out to Best Buy and drool over plasma screens as big as a kitchen table. But if you're into ecology like me, you can keep your old TV. Snag a fancy little converter box and marvel at the wide array of public television stations now available to you.

Of course, if you have cable or a dish, all this is moot. All you need do is continue enjoying the 928,928 channels available to you.

At any rate, it looks like the digital switchover might just be postponed until June. Learn more in this NPR story. But that delay doesn't really matter to you, my dedicated reader, because you are now armed with the facts. Find our more of the official line on DTV here.

So, in addition to the nerdy interests I harbor for environmental awareness and public TV and radio, I am also an amateur radio operator. Oh, yes. I'm a ham. Hawaii has already switched to a digital signal and enlisted the help of local amateur radio operators to aid in the transition and below, I've transcribed a few of the lessons learned by John, K1ER, in Honolulu.

Having worked with the FCC during the FIRST conversion to DTV (Hawaii), here are a few background things you SHOULD KNOW since they'll help you answer questions from the other 49 states.

• The conversion was mandated by CONGRESS to free up the present analog TV spectrum for OTHER USERS.
• The conversion was DIRECTED by CONGRESS.
• The $40 coupon program was run by the former Bureau of Standards now NIST, the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
• The FCC was ordered to deal with the public and broadcasters during the conversion.
• For those who can receive it THE DIGITAL PICTURE IS BETTER.
•  There is NO IMPACT on people using Satellite TV or CABLE.
• The $40 coupon is ONLY issued ONE TIME to any address (Becky: In our area, you can have two coupons per address) AND they EXPIRE shortly after issue. MANY!!!!! people ordered the coupon and did not CASH IT! Resulting in the FUNDS for COUPONs being tied up like "outstanding checks" so the NIST STOPPED issuing COUPONS. As the COUPONS expire unused, funds are being applied to NEW COUPONS but the DELAY is over 8 weeks!

The FCC is taking the heat from viewers for problems NOT under their control and NOT caused by the FCC.

I love the expressive way John writes.

If you find yourself intrigued by the idea of amateur radio, you can find our more here. (I know that using Wikipedia isn't the safest bet but I really liked the simple, one-line intro into the world of dorky radio.)