[opendtv] Re: News: DTV Converter Box announcements

Craig Birkmaier wrote

At 10:26 AM -0500 1/25/08, Barry Brown wrote:
With all that has been written about my initial posting about not having any battery operated ATSC converter boxes, my principle concern has been missed - that is when local residents have to spend 4-6 days (or more) without power after a storm has passed through an area. It is this period when OTA is certainly a good friend and source of contact with the outside world. 

Agreed.
But we really can't expect a legacy portable NTSC receiver to work, and it seems grossly impractical to outfit these device with battery operated convertor box.
Several years ago a hurricane caused a power outage here in Southeastern Pennsylvania that lasted 4 days.
This was serious because out here in the country, power is the only utility besides phone and cable which were out as well.
There is no city water or municipal gas system, so I had no water _at all_, because there was no power for the well pump. No way to cook or take a shower. And, no news from radio. All the radio stations I could receive continued to play 'nationally programmed' music but broadcast no 'public service information' about current conditions. Had it not been for a portable 12 volt TV and a couple of camcorder batteries I rigged to run it, I would have been cut off from all news.
Whether you think so or not, a portable TV that can receive current information in an emergency situation is a necessity, not a nicety. Come down out of the clouds and remember that the original intent of a broadcast license was 'to serve the public interest, necessity and convenience'. Now, because so few radio stations are locally programmed, TV is the only good source of 'local 
specific' information in an emergency.

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