If you’re having trouble with digital-TV reception, maybe you should try a coat hanger.

One thing that came out of the DTV switch is that an antenna is really important for over-the-air reception. This seems reasonable, but it came as a surprise to many viewers, who found that their previous antenna setup no longer was effective. Many people have reported going through several models trying to find the right one for their digital-reception situation. Well, now, an enterprising do-it-yourselfer in Kansas has created a video showing how to create an HDTV antenna out of coat hangers, wood, coaxial cable and other cheap parts. Here’s how:

Does it work? High Def Digest, where I first learned about it, says, “While results are mixed as compared to a store bought antenna, the general response seems to fairly positive.” That, of course, depends on whom you talk to. Comments at YouTube include: “Awesome! Five dollars and two hours later, this antenna has had absolutely NO effect on my reception whatsoever.” As well as, “Just a quick fyi, this video makes this look incredibly simple and quick. I’m an hour and a half into making this thing, and it’s very frustrating.”

Here’s the reality: This setup probably isn’t better than other options. If it works for you, chances are many other store-bought models would, as well. The key here is that this DIY version is cheap. If it works, you run around telling everyone how you got over-the-air HDTV reception using a coat hanger. “It’s amazing!” If it doesn’t, you’re out a few bucks and you wasted a few hours making the thing — and you probably don’t brag about it much.  

So, are you going to raid your closet for your next antenna?

Are you ready for the federally mandated switch to all-digital broadcast TV on June 12? After several delays, it seems anticlimactic now, but procrastinators are still requesting government vouchers to defray the cost of the required converter boxes for viewers who have older TV sets with over-the-air antennas. While average daily requests for the coupons have dropped from 114,105 a day since the program’s inception to 76,297 in the past 30 days, according to federal figures, they climbed to 92,530 a day in the past week. It looks as if people have finally been getting off their couches and taking action. More than 30 million vouchers have been redeemed in total, the government says.

The question now is whether the actual DTV switch will come and go quietly or whether we’re in for a bumpy transition over the next week. What do you think?

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Do you have an unused, unexpired coupon to buy a converter box for the upcoming digital TV transition? If so, a project started by public-interest groups in the Twin Cities — Donate DTV – is asking you to donate it for people in need. For each coupon donated, Blaine-based electronics retailer Mosquito Productions will provide free converter boxes to organizations that help rural communities, Latinos and people with disabilities.

The Minnesota-based charitable organizations that make up Donate DTV include Main Street Project,  Minnesota Media Empowerment Project, People Escaping Poverty Project and Arc Greater Twin Cities.

On June 12, all TV stations will switch to all-digital broadcasts. Viewers with older, analog TV sets who use an over-the-air antenna will lose all programming unless they take action. Getting a converter box is the cheapest option and is helped by a government-backed program that issues $40 vouchers to defray the costs of the devices, which start at $40. More expensive options include subscribing to cable or satellite services, or buying a digital TV. 

There’s no more waiting list for converter-box coupons for the June 12 switch to all-digital television, the federal government has announced. Earlier this month, the U.S. Commerce Department had estimated that 41,051 households in the Twin Cities viewing area — or 1.68 percent — were waiting for the $40 vouchers, which are designed to defray the costs of converter boxes needed to receive digital signals on older analog TV sets with over-the-air antennas.

At one point, nearly 4 million households nationwide were on the waiting list for the vouchers. The backlog came after the federal program run out of funds, a situation that was remedied by the government’s recent economic stimulus program. 

In other positive news for the voucher program, the government announced that people who had previously requested the coupons, but never used them or allowed them to expire, can now request up to two replacement coupons per household by reapplying online or by calling 1-888-DTV-2009. The coupons will now also be sent by first-class mail, which will speed the process. Although the switch to all-digital TV will occur June 12, viewers have until July 31 to request the vouchers — as long as there is still funding for the program.

How many households are still unprepared for the DTV switch? It’s not really clear. The most recent update by Nielsen Research estimated that only 3.6 percent of all TV homes, or about 4.1 million, in the United States were not ready — meaning that they have an older analog TV set with an over-the-air antenna. (Nielsen’s two most recent updates did not include statistics for the Twin Cities viewing area.) That’s down dramatically from a January estimate of 5.7 percent nationwide (and 5.85 percent in the Twin Cities). But the National Association of Broadcasters recently challenged Nielsen’s figures, saying the polling agency was including “households that have purchased converter boxes but not yet hooked them up, and households that have a converter box coupon they have not yet redeemed or have applied for a coupon but are waiting for it to arrive.” In other words, the NAB thinks the numbers are much lower.

The June 12 conversion to all-digital TV can be a complex issue. Want proof? In my recent write-up on Channel 45’s early switch to all-digital broadcasts, I mentioned that KTCI, Channel 17, had stopped broadcasting altogether and moved some of its programming to Channel 2’s digital bands. That was about everything I wrote. Unfortunately, that aside was way too simplistic a way to describe Channel’s 17’s convoluted status.

Fortunately, Stephen M. Usery, Twin Cities Public Television’s vice president for marketing and communications, sent an e-mail to set me straight. Here’s his explanation:

“Analog KTCI, Channel 17, is still on-the-air and (barring unforseen circumstances) will continue to broadcast until the mandatory shutoff date of June 12. The programming on the channel did change in February – we now broadcast coverage of the MN Legislature when it is in session and switch to the new tpt LIFE channel at all other times.

On the digital side, we still broadcast using the KTCI frequency and transmitter, but the two channels on that transmitter show up as channels 2.3 (tpt LIFE) and 2.4 (tpt WX, full time MNDOT weather radar). In the analog world, there was direct correspondence between call letters, frequency, and channel number (KTCI = frequency 17 = channel 17), but in the digital TV world that is not the case (KTCI = frequency 16 = channels 2.3 and 2.4.) To further complicate matters, later this year, we plan to change the frequency on which our digital KTCI channels are broadcast in order to increase their power (so KTCI = frequency xx = channels 2.3 and 2.4.) We’re working with the FCC now to identify what the new frequency will be. Over-the-air viewers will have to rescan their receivers when we do this, but the channels will still show up as 2.3 and 2.4.”

Well, that sounds simple — not. Obviously, my casual mention of Channel 17 deserved its own story. Whichever, I can’t disagree with Usery’s closing comment: ”This is such a radical shift in the way TV works that almost no-one (including us) can keep it all straight!”

“Friends” reruns are going all-digital a few weeks early. KSTC-TV, Channel 45, has announced that it will end analog broadcasts of its programming, which includes the popular sitcom, on May 26. It’s one of 158 TV stations nationwide that will switch to digital-only signals in advance of the federally mandated digital-TV transition on June 12, according to the FCC.

Station manager Susan Wenz said Channel 45 is switching early because it is converting from one digital channel to another, which will take a couple of weeks. “We just want to make sure that we are on our permanent digital channel when everyone else goes on June 12,” she said.

The only other Minnesota TV station switching early is KSMQ in Austin, on May 1, according to the FCC. Other Twin Cities TV stations that have already gone all-digital include the CW (WUCW, Channel 23) and Lakeland Public Television (KAWE/KAWB, Channel 22, in some parts of the metro area). KTCI, Channel 17, ceased broadcasting early this year, and some of its programs moved to the digital bands of sister PBS station KTCA, Channel 2.

Viewers who use an over-the-air antenna with an analog TV set can’t view digital programming without buying a digital-to-analog converter box, subscribing to a cable or satellite service, or getting a newer digital TV set. Without action, those viewers will lose all programming on June 12. More information is available at www.dtv2009.gov and www.dtvanswers.com.