How will my battery-powered TV get hurricane updates after February 2009?

As Hurricane Ike aimed for South Florida, I checked all my hurricane supplies, including the battery-powered tv I bought last year.  This storm passed us, but it got me thinking:

The portable battery-powered tv is for use during a hurricane and afterwards when the power is out.  Since it’s an antenna analog tv, will it work after the February 2009 switch to digital broadcast signal?

How will we get hurricane updates?

The radio is great, but a picture is worth a thousand words, and the media needs to get information out to people in as many ways as possible, especially after a disaster that cuts the power. The news shows the path of the storm, the location of the feeder bands and when they will hit my neighborhood, and more. The news lists locations of shelters, where to get water and ice after the storm, and other essential recovery information. Will the radio alone really be able to get all this information to us while we wait for the power company to restore electricity and the satellite and cable television companies to replace broken satellite dishes and destroyed cables?  I’m not trying to be melodramatic, but this sounds like it could be a safety problem. My cell phone will not show me the detail I can get on a bigger tv screen. And the phone battery does not last long.  What other options are there?

According to dtvanswers.com, “By law, full-power television stations nationwide must stop using the old method of transmitting TV signals known as analog and begin broadcasting exclusively in a digital format on February 17, 2009.”

“If you use an antenna to watch TV on a set that has an analog tuner – and don’t subscribe to cable, satellite or other pay TV service – you will need to upgrade to digital television by February 17, 2009.”

“Some low-power stations will remain in analog, so you may need specific equipment to watch analog and digital broadcasting after the transition.  “Pass-through” converter boxes allow your TV set to receive both analog and digital signals.”

I looked up Low-power stations in my area (there is a search feature on the dtv site).  The site explains, “Any of the LPTV stations, regardless of type (regular low-power, Class A or translator), may require you to purchase special equipment, such as an analog pass-through converter box or antenna splitter.

A splitter is a wiring device that can send a signal from your antenna into both your converter box and your TV set.”

Apparently the antenna on the tv will not work by itself. I’d have to get this splitter, I think. I looked up the splitter on Radio Shack’s site to see the prices. They’re about $10 to $20 or more, depending on what you buy.

But you have to buy something. While there are coupons on the dtv site, it’s still money out of the pockets of you and me.

How many people know about this and will be ready before next hurricane season?  I did not see the answer to that question in the FAQ list on dtvanswers.com.

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