Reflections On The Big Wind

The recent wind storm and resulting power outages are behind us but it might be a good time to prepare for the next one. Hopefully the next power outage will not be as protracted. But we will have one. Here are some observations and suggestions.

For certain, Channel 9 did the best job of providing coverage and information from the very outset of the storm. Their coverage was better than any other TV station and all the local radio stations combined. I would have expected that the station that bills itself as “BIG ONE,” WLW radio, would have provided a better service. They were late to the party and as is their custom, they used a lot of air time telling people how great they were. In the days following the storm the time was taken up taking calls from anyone and everyone who had a gripe about the power company.

Unfortunately, since most people don’t have battery operated TVs or radios that have the TV audio feature, Channel 9’s programming was not widely available during the storm and in the days following. This prompts a reminder that after Feb. 17th your battery operated TV and your radio’s TV audio feature will not work. We will discuss some options in future columns.

It sure did not take Cincinnati Bell long to run ads in the newspaper and on TV pointing out that Time Warner’s Digital Phone Service requires you to have electric power while the Cincinnati Bell service does not. Actually Cincinnati Bell provides the needed electrical power. It is true that more Cincinnati Bell phones worked during and after the storm as along as the wires were not damaged. I know that this was the case in my house.

Several people told me that they lost cell phone service. Our service from Verizon stayed on throughout the period. I am not sure why some services failed. Most services, if not all, have back up generators at each tower site. Perhaps some of the interconnecting microwave dishes got out of alignment due to the high winds.

Some had problems charging their cell phone batteries. Don’t forget that you can get inexpensive chargers that work off your car battery. They really do not draw much current so if you have a decent battery you don’t need to run the engine while charging the phone.

As for lighting, many of use found that batteries were in short supply. You might want to invest in some new LED flashlights and lanterns. These new LED models will provide much brighter light, and since they draw only a fraction of the current of their incandescent older cousins, your batteries will last much longer. You can also get mini fluorescent lanterns. These get great battery life and put out light that you can actually read by.

One last suggestion …when there is a power outage it is a good idea to disconnect appliances and systems that have compressors, motors and sensitive electronic controls. Examples are computers, TV and audio gear, heat pumps and air conditioners, refrigerators and freezers, even hot tubs. Often when power is returned it can cycle on and off or have high and low voltages for the first few seconds. Devices like the ones above do not handle these spikes and lows well. They can easily be damaged.

Why Does CET Not Have Backup Power?

With the spate of recent power outages you may have wondered why CET does not have back up power. The main reason is lack of funds. Unlike a radio and analog VHF TV stations, a UHF TV station like CET Channel 48, requires a tremendous amount of electrical power. When we last looked at it, a generator capable of powering our UHF analog transmitter and all the attendant air conditioning and cooling equipment at the Chickasaw Street location would cost in excess of $250,000. Since our transmitter is in Clifton and our studios are in the West End, we would need a generator at the studio as well. Again unlike radio, the equipment at the studio required to stay on the air also consumes significant electrical power … much more than we can afford.
The good news is that once we sign off the analog transmitter in February 2009 and switch to the digital transmitter, backup power may be possible. It seems that the digital transmitter requires only a fraction of the power than is needed for the analog system.
For those missing CET tonight I know this does not really help.
jack

What We Can Learn From Wilmington, NC

At the stroke on noon, Monday, September 8th, the residents on Wilmington, NC, became the first in the nation to see what it is like without TV. Well, not exactly, they were the first city in the nation to officially turn off the over-the-air analog TV broadcasting transmitters. This was part of a test conducted by the FCC to ascertain what might happen when the rest of the nation wakes up on Wednesday, February 18, 2009 to find that their analog over-the-air TV is no more.

The major TV stations in Wilmington ceased broadcasting analog signals after an extensive educational campaign. The campaign, which lasted months, urged over-the-air viewers to get ready for the switch by purchasing DTV converters, replacing old sets with new digital TVs or subscribing to a cable or satellite service. The campaign used TV and radio spots, newspaper articles, in–person presentations at churches, PTAs and other civic gatherings and even paid advertising in newspapers and magazines.

So what happened? The good news is that for most people it was a non event. Of course for those with cable or satellite services (the vast majority of TV viewers) there was no difference. For most of the over-the-air viewers, since they had heeded the warnings and prepared, it was also a non event. Nevertheless some 1500 called the hot line in the hours following the shut off. Many were confused. Others were angry that their inalienable right to watch “Wheel of Fortune” was compromised.

It is this last group that the federal government and the TV broadcasters are concerned about. This group is made up of procrastinators, those who may have trouble understanding what they need to do and a few who think that if they ignore a problem it will go away.

The phone bank reported that the two major issues among those who had purchased a DTV converter was that they waited till the last minute to connect it and for those who did connect it, the antenna that they were using was not appropriate for their location. So, they got none or only a few of the digital channels.

I know I sound like a broken record (for those who don’t know a “broken record “ refers to an old recording device using a plastic platter, that once damaged, would repeat the same section of the song over and over again) but NOW IS THE TIME TO MAKE YOUR SWITCH TO DIGITAL. If you are going to use DVT converters, get your coupons ( www.dtv2009.gov ) and purchase them now. Connect them now. You will not miss any of the programs you now enjoy since they are all being simulcast on the digital channels now. In fact you will have access to several new channels with a digital converter or new digital TV set..

By changing NOW to digital you will have the chance to identify any problems. For example, you may need a different antenna or need to move your existing antenna. Around these parts it is much easier to do that up on the roof in September or October than it is in January of February. Also trying to get professional help or DTV converters on February 18th will be a hassle at best.

Recording Digital TV Programs With Existing Equipment

Over the past few months several people have asked me how they might be able to continue to record TV programs on a VCR or PVR (Personal Video Recorder) after the analog broadcasts are shut off in February. The short answer is that if you are a cable or satellite subscriber nothing will change. You will be able to continue to record and playback just as you do now. If, on the other hand, you receive your TV channels over the air using an antenna, you will need to make some changes.

The simplest solution for over the air households is to get a video recorder that has a built in digital (ATSC) tuner. You can connect it to an antenna and to your analog TV set and record just as you do now using the controls and auto-programming features of the recorder. The least expensive of these recorders uses a DVD disc to record. There are two types of DVD discs. One type can be recorded to only once. The other can be erased just like a VHS tape and reused. Be sure that the DVD recorder you buy can record to both types of discs. I have seen several models that will work just fine with prices beginning at $170.00. Also your analog TV must have input jacks for either S-Video or composite video signals. You should not use the antenna input on your TV for this set up.

For those who choose to use a Set Top DTV Converter, it gets a bit more complicated. You can use your analog VHS VCR or DVD recorder with your DTV converter. Connect the antenna to the DTV converter and connect the DTV converter to the analog TV. You can use either the composite video input or the antenna input on the TV. The composite video input is best.

While this is the least expensive option, there is one big drawback. You can not use the auto-programming features on the VCR. You can set the VCR to record a program in the future by setting the day and time. You cannot auto-program a channel change.

So if you decide to record a program on Channel 48 on Monday evening and you want to set the system to record the program before you go to work on Monday morning you will need to set the video recorder’s timer to the time the program begins. This is the same process that you do now. However, instead of programming the channel on the video recorder to Channel 48 it needs to be set to “line” or “video” input if that is the connection between the DTV Converter and the video recorder or set to Channel #3. Channel 3 is the channel that the video recorder uses to receive the signal from the DTV Converter. Finally, you need to make sure that the DTV Converter is turned on and set to Channel 48. As you can see this is a bit of a hassle and does not allow you to record several programs from different channels without manually changing the channel on the DTV Converter.

As more and more of us get digital sets and analog equipment is phased out, things will get a bit simpler.

Choosing the Right Storage Medium

Last week I reviewed the various portable hard drives that are now widely available. These drives can store the entire contents of your home or office computer. As discussed, these new USB drives are essentially the same as the hard drives you have had in your computer for decades. The big difference is that they have higher capacity and are designed to be portable. They can handle rough treatment and plug easily into the USB port of most any modern PC or Mac computer.

That column prompted some questions about the other types of storage media. How do they differ from hard drives? What applications are suited for the various types?

There are three basic types of data storage devices that you might use at the office, at school or at home. There are those that store data on a disc or platter using magnetism. Another type stores data on a disc using an optical system. Finally there are those that use Flash Memory.

Perhaps the most basic type of storage is the floppy disc, a magnetic media. Once the most ubiquitous of all media, it has almost disappeared from the market. In fact, you must special order a floppy drive in any new computer and most likely in the very near future this will no longer be possible. The floppy uses a plastic disc that is coated with iron oxide (i.e., rust.) Data are stored on the disc using a magnetic read / write head. The 3.5 inch floppy only holds about 1.4 mb. of data. This was plenty of room if you were storing your school book report. If you want to save copies of digital pictures, the floppy doesn’t cut it. You can hardly fit one high quality digital picture on a single floppy.

My suggestion is that if you have a box of floppies sitting on your desk, you may wish to see what is stored on them and save any valuable content to another type of media. For those of you who might still have data stored on a 5.25 inch floppy, you may need to go on eBay to find a drive.

Most of us are familiar with optical discs. First there were CDs, and now DVDs. These media use a laser to read and write to the surface of the disc. There are two types of CD discs. One type, a CD-R, allows you to write the data only once and read many times. This is an excellent choice for archiving files. There are others, dubbed CD-R/W. These can be used like a hard drive allowing you to erase unwanted files.

Most of us are familiar with DVD video discs. There are also DVD data discs that work much like a CD. The big difference is the capacity. A standard CD data disc can store about 700 mb., while a DVD data disc can hold more than 8 gig. Before running out and buying DVD discs for data storage be sure that your computer can handle them. Many will play a DVD video disc, but cannot read or write to a DVD data disc.

Finally, there are Flash Memory based storage options. The most popular is the SD Card. These small cards are commonly found in cameras and some audio players. They can hold a tremendous about of data. Once very expensive, these postage stamp sized cards can hold several gigabytes of information and are very reasonably priced . One negative is that they are so small they are easily misplaced. Akin to these SD cards are the Memory Sticks that seem to be everywhere. They operate much the same as the SD cards but do not require a SD slot or “drive” in your computer. Rather they plug into the USB port of your computer or device. They are great for sharing files between machines. Many in business use them to store meeting presentations. They can fit in your pocket and hold very large files. Since most computers have a USB port, data is easily retrieved.

The good news is that prices for file storage media continue to fall. The bad news is that the media keep changing and just like it is hard to find a player for your Betamax tape, a few years from now we will be searching for a drive that will play a CD.

A Place To Keep All Your Stuff

We Americans seem to have an insatiable appetite for collecting stuff. A casual drive around most any community will reveal a number of different places to keep stuff. Once a sign of luxury, many new homes now have three car garages and perhaps even another unattached out building for keeping stuff. In Harrison alone there are several self storage businesses with room for an RV or just a few boxes of Christmas decorations. How many of your neighbors find it necessary to park their cars in the driveway since their garages are full of stuff?

Well, this proclivity to accumulate stuff has definitely found its way into the digital environment. Not too many years ago most home computer users could keep all the digital stuff on a few floppy disks. Those days are no more.

Even a modest user of a home computer today can accumulate tons of digital “stuff .” Unlike text documents, photographs, audio, music and video files are very large. A single color photograph, when converted to bits and bytes, will not fit on a single floppy disk. That same floppy could have stored a year’s worth of data just ten years ago.

Many of us use several computers in the course of a single day. We may have one at home, use a lap top when traveling and have one or more at the office. With that may “electronic desks” it has become more and more difficult to have access to all the computer files we need…our digital stuff.

There is a new breed of hard drive storage devices on the market which allow very large capacity, portability, security and reliability. Unlike hard drives of the past which failed if you looked at them cross eyed, these drives can be put in your brief case or school bag and be connected to most any computer you choose (PC or Mac) via the USB connection.

There are several manufacturers and a variety of sizes and capacities available. While 500 Gb drive should be more than enough for most of us, if you are a power user or collect lots of videos or movies, a 1 Tb (terabyte) drive might be for you.

A good example of an inexpensive portable drive is one from Iomega. They have a Silver Series 500 Gb drive that retails for about $130. It is about the size of a paperback book and comes loaded with some neat software that will help you use it to back up the data on your desktop computer.

Another leading drive maker, Maxtor, has a drive about the size of a pack of 3” x 5” index cards. It literally can fit in your pocket and it can hold 250 Gb. It is perfect for most home applications. It makes a great back pack accessory for the collegiate set going back to campus this September.

You should see even higher capacity storage devices on the market soon as miniaturization technologies continue to develop. Unlike many sectors of our economy, this one provides better products with more features at decreasing prices.