I am – Hercules!!




The analog TV signals Americans have been watching for more than 80 years have only hours to live!

Millions of TV sets stop working at midnight tonight.

By government mandate, vanishing for good are the VHF video signals your grandparents’ old Philcos and Trinitrons were able to get without benefit of cable or satellite dishes. The UHF signals introduced in the 1950s are gone too.

Of course, most of us have cable or satellite, and we’ll scarcely notice the change. (Are Megan Fox and the others born later than 1975 even aware TV is available without cable or satellite?)

For the few without cable or satellite? New, digital over-the-air signals at new, different frequencies are already delivering local and network programming in HD. If in the last decade you bought a digital TV and a good, well-located antenna you can probably already watch an eyeful of over-the-air channels.

If not, $40 or $50 can buy you a box that will convert your old analog TV into an old digital TV. The U.S. government will even help you pay for two such boxes if you ask for the right coupons before July 31.

The FCC, gods love it, is providing free in-home help with converter installations for those with a box and an antenna but little know-how. For more information, call 888-CALL-FCC (888-225-5322) or go to www.dtv.gov).

I’m not sure there’s anything you can do about your old Sony Watchman or shower radio if they use the old TV frequencies.

(I wonder if the crappy picture I get via cable on channels 2, 4 and 5 will finally clear up at midnight.)

And remember, if an earthquake or hurricane cuts off your cable and you never upgraded to digital, you can still get your news of fires and floods and aftershocks and escaped zoo animals with a car radio if it’s not buried under concrete. The government has not yet announced any plans to take away FM.

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