DTV Emergency Recievers... Nope.

[Bill O'Neill]

Scott Fybush, in his venerable 15th Anniversary NERW issue writes on the 
DTV coverage issue: /"From a technical standpoint, that premise is 
laughable: even analog television has massive coverage challenges in 
remote areas such as northern New England, the Adirondacks and 
Appalachia, and digital television - which will be the nation's sole TV 
standard soon enough, even if politics delays the scheduled shutoff date 
next month - brings with it even more issues, including the near-absence 
of battery-operated receivers."/


About five months ago, I went to RadioShack to buy a new emergency radio 
(AM/FM/TV/WX).  I asked the clerk what the plan was for Tandy to put out 
a radio that would receive the digital TV audio signals, reminding him 
that the TV band on this radio would become useless by 2/09.  The poor 
guy scratched his head and said that he had "absolutely zero idea about 
that" and then wandered off, muttering aloud to self with his hand on 
his chin, shaking his head. 


Here in the Champlain Valley, power outages in storms are relatively 
common (compared to my days in greater Boston.)  With the dearth of 
local radio to tell you anything even on sunny days, the only audio 
source worth anything is that of the local TV affiliates who have a 
weather department on duty.  Many a time the WPTZ TV (5) and WCAX TV (3) 
audio was the only relevant (live) local weather and emergency source 
with the rare exception of WDEV radio.  After February, that becomes one 
less link in the air chain. 


The good news is that the world is becoming a safer, peaceful, more 
predictable place in which to live; access to local (non-web-based) 
media will be more and more unnecessary.  That's a relief.


Bill O'Neill