In Wilmington, the test market for the Federal Communications Commission, the switch takes place in the middle of hurricane season. People in that coastal city are more attuned to the digital transition because broadcasters there will be turning off their analog signals permanently Sept. “We’ve been hearing a lot of concerns,” said Gary McNair, general manager of WECT-TV in Wilmington, N.C. ![]() Spadoni and others said there’s peace of mind in knowing they can watch TV when the power goes out, particularly in areas such as California, with its wildfires and earthquakes, or the hurricane-prone Southeast. “While some people have battery-powered TV sets - I know I have one - not everyone does.” ![]() “In preparedness kits, we tell people to have a battery-powered radio,” Harrison said. The federal government is offering each household two $40 coupons to buy converter boxes so those sets can pick up the new signals.īut the digital TV transition isn’t a major public safety issue because broadcast radio is still available to deliver important messages, he said. homes will face their own permanent outage.Īlmost all the battery-powered televisions stashed in drawers, closets and garages in case of emergency will be rendered useless when broadcasters switch to digital-only signals.Īnd right now, there aren’t many options for replacing them.Ĭongress has mandated that all broadcast TV stations transmit only in digital beginning Feb. that’s very important if it’s a prolonged outage,” said Spadoni, a Wachovia financial advisor.īut come February, Spadoni’s hand-held TV and the millions of others in U.S. “Having that little TV stuck in the drawer, where you just have to put in batteries. He later upgraded to a color model to stay on top of news during power outages - and follow USC and UCLA football games from high in the stands. ![]() Barry Spadoni first bought a battery-powered TV after the Northridge earthquake in 1994, when his Chatsworth home was without electricity for 10 days.
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