Storm warning over digital TV switchover

You can also run a 12V > 120 V inverter off a car battery (or any charged 12V battery) in order to power the digital converter AND a small 120V TV. Inverters are inexpensive and can be found in many sizes at marine stores and come with alligator clips or cig lighter plugs. Just don't run down your car battery.

Their are also HDTV USB dongles available for suitible laptops (which can run on battery power when needed).

Price varies from 60 to 100$..

There is a cheaper alternative that everybody already has in their home. It's called a battery operated RADIO. My experience is that radio stations do a better job of covering storms than TV stations anyway, especially the news stations like WIOD or WJNO. Save your money and stick with the "old reliable" radio, unless your addicted to the weather bimbos on Channel 7.

My battery powered XM satellite radio got me through Francis Jeanne & Wilma. Almost 200 channels, including CNN, CNBC, Bloomberg, etc.

Satellite Radio is fine if you want storm coverage from people who are in Atlanta or New York, but if you want LOCAL coverage by reporters who are in the storm area, your good ole AM/FM Radio is best !

anyhting to steal our money thats all this is,there is nothing wrong with tv now.

Why people simply must have all typical items during a disaster always puzzled me. My Mother rigged their TV up to a car battery after Wilma. No lights for 60 miles, but they had a freakin TV showing that there were no lights for 60 miles.

Rather than sit around with our fingers up our noses, we left the area. Went up to Central Florida where they had power and car dealerships where I had my car fixed immediately, all rather than staying put and watching people line up for miles for ice and gas and whatever hadn't spoiled at Publix and waiting 3 months to have the windshield and other things replaced at an overworked dealer down South.

When the power came back on at work, we came back home.

Since when is a TV an essential part of hurricane prep?

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thepat wrote:

Since when is a TV an essential part of hurricane prep?

When you are out of power for a week after a hurricane it is nice to get updates on water, power and FEMA help on a portable TV. If you have a generator then you don't need a portable but when you are without power a TV is very helpful to get info on FPL repairs and information. A radio works but a TV is better.

If Nature turns off the electric after a storm, is this really a bad thing? Humans evolved sitting around dim fire and telling stories, really getting to know each other.
Maybe we could forego the $200 digital set, build a nice fire out back, roast some weinies and for once, TALK with our families and neighbors.
You might be surprised what you discover about yourself when you get quiet and listen to others, and TURN OFF THE TV.

SOLUTION: Get a power inverter with alligator clips, take your car battery into the home and connect them, plug in converter box and tv, watch stupid weather idiots pee on themselves as storm approaches.

The forced DTV transition was heavily-lobbied for by the electronics manufacturers.

They certainly enjoy the profit margins they get on all the Chinese TVs, tuners, and converter boxes.

No more $10,$50, or $100 TVs any more.

After all these years post 9-11, there still is not a central system for disaster communication. People should be able to go to one place for all information, pre and post disaster. I would not include a TV as a central source.

Aren't there terrorists behind every tree with nuclear bombs?

How does the government plan to keep us informed, FOX News?

Most high seas weather reports are offered on a time schedule. As an example of a local hurricane disaster, at 5 minutes after the hour, you get the regional weather (location and path of storm), 10 minutes after it is the local weather, 15 minutes later local transportation notices, traffic problems, 20 minutes later food, water, gas notices, so it goes. Every hour the notices are repeated. A small special radio can be locally powered off grid in several ways and can be equipped with a memory chip so broadcasts are recorded continuously and re-played as an itemized pick list.

There can be pre-recorded messages from officials telling everyone not to panic; while they get out of town.

This is better than everyone calling a telephone number with a pick list or logging a single internet site.

There IS a nationwide emergency communication system for radio and TV called the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and all stations are required to carry it when it is triggered. Problem is, nobody in the Federal government seems to think this system is very important, and it was never used on 9-11 or even during Katrina. The system is scheduled for improvement, so maybe we will be hearing it on our new digital receivers in the near future.

This article does not say what percentage of the So. Fla. population even OWNS a battery operated TV. Mr. "Cutting-Edge-Technology- Guy" Vasquez must be assuming it is a high percentage so he dedicates an entire article to digital conversion. I'll bet less than 20% of the local households have a "hurricane TV". The other 80%, especially the lower income families, would be better served to receive information about the storm communications media they CAN receive, like radio. Instead we get a biased headline in today's print edition "Don't Want To Rely On Radios in A Storm?". I have found our local radio stations to be very RELIABLE during storms, and they usually provide more specific & useful information, rather than showing endless shots of TV reporters standing outside in gale force winds, trying to be heroes. Shame on Vasquez and the Tribune Company for dissing radio, especially since your company owns the legendary news station, WGN

Do you have two eyes and ears? Walk or look outside and you get the same info as the idiots on TV. What exactly are you going to do with their info? "The power is out, we don't know when it will be back in your neighborhood", wow that's real hard hitting journalism.
I guess if you are a back of the classroom moron who is addicted to TV you must go out and get ready! If you're so poor you can't buy a $200 generator.....you don't need any of that "info" on what to do from Channel 7, you don't got nothing worth worrying about, including you!!

Sure would have been helpful if this story said whether the Radio Shack digital portable TV was color or B&W.

got radio? you'll be fine. we only ever hear what they want to tell us anyway. after wilma they didn't want to panic us so kept quiet about looting, breakins going on ..so git your gun, breakout the beer and monopoly or a deck of cards and have at it till you hear rustling in the bushes...screw the TV!

I think we have beatin this digital TV horse for long enough