www. dcadvocate.net Thursday March 5, 2009 Local. Redneck Te( by Eli Loy Digital Televisi( Well, President Obama signed the documents to off the big switchover to DTV until June. Howev mnay stations, like WCJB (Channel 20) went ahead with the original schedule. According to WCJB'; website (www.wcjb.com). they did this in order to itate local emergency management's taking contr the bandwidth before hurricane season. So, if yo don't have your digital television set, or a conver box, you won't be seeing Channel 20, as they've al ready gone digital. Prerequisites If you're one of those who still hasn't gotten yoi converter, get on over to www.dtv2009.gov and get coupon, it's worth the effort. If you have the conv or a digital capable television set, and you still ar getting you channels, try going over, to wwwante] naweb.org and make sure you've got the right ant for the job. The site isn't very intuitive, though. V you click the "Choose an antenna" button, I'd rec comend just entering your structure type (1 story story, etc), obstruction information, street name a S zip code,.not any of the other info the.site request map showing your approximate location will.shoN just click continue. Next, you should see a list ofI stations you can get. More than you used to, right These station's information will include the ante. type that you need by color code, click on the colo code to get a description of the actual antenna th, you'll have to get. Also included in the station inf mation will be the approximate compass heading the station, this is some of the most useful inform tion you'll find. If your antenna already meets thi quirements for the station that you want to receive but you're still not getting a picture, try aiming y( antenna at the compass heading listed. If that doe not work, check you'ie connections and-wires, es] cially the ends of the coaxial cables. If you are cei that everything is hooked up correctly, and that y( wires are in good condition, you may need to pur an antenna booster. Connecting the Converter Your setup should look something like the diagrE below: ; Antenna DTV Converter Box VCR -TV RF Connections Here's what you should have: 1 Television 1 Digital Converter Box , 2 or 3 Coaxial Cables 1 VCR (optional) Electricity (not optional) O.K. You should have one long coaxial cable running .push from your antenna to your TV or VCR. This will be er, the cable that is connected to the port labelled "Anten- ad na In". If you have a VCR,' it will likely be connected s to it. If you have no VCR, then it will be the wire con- facil- nected directly to the back of the TV (unless you have rol of a DVD player hooked up through an RF Modulator. If )u you know what an RF Modulator is, you probably ter don't need to be reading this, otherwise just pretend 1- the RF Modulator is a VCR). So, you take this wire that is running from your antenna and hook it into the port on the Digital Converter Box labelled, 'Anten- na In", "Cable In", or "DTV In". Now, if you have a VCR, you hook a coaxial cable from the port on the ur converter box labelled "Cable Out", "RF Out", "TV ta Out", or "Line Out", to the port on your VCR labelled, 'erter, "Antenna In". You'll now need to hook another coaxial e not cable from the "Out to TV" port on the VCR to your n- television. If you have no VCR, just hook the wire you enhna would have hooked into the VCR from the converter Then box directly into your TV Now, assuming that every- -. thing is connected properly, and plugged into the elec- ,:2 trical outlets, you should be all set to continue view- md ing television. ts. A w up; The joys of digital the t? Now that youve gotten your TV back in order, and nna you're kicking back on the couch with a glass of iced )r tea, you may notice, once the initial channel scan is at complete, that you've gotten quite a few new channels. or- I know at my house we've got more TV channels than of we've ever had. So far we haven't had any luck bring- ua- ing in Fox through the converter, but I'm still working e re- on it. From my house we're getting two CBS stations, Ie,. two NBC stations, ABC, and two PBS stations. Now, our due to the ability of digital television to support mul- s ticasting (broadcasting multiple TV shows from the pe- same station) some of these are actually different rtain channels of the same station. WUFT now seems to be our sending out two distinct program line-ups, and the chase clarity on all of the stations is phenomenal. In all, DTV is clearly better than the old Analog broadcasts. Nqw, I wonder what they're going to do with all that old bandwidth? Real Estate Auction TA G Suwannee Plantation 9+/- Acres we.re it! March 13th @ 2:00pm Sells Buyers Choice: Opening Bid $20,000 Open House February 22nd, March 1st and 8th from 1-4pm Parcel 1. 2. acres Excellent nwy tronlage and river Ironlage 1700) sqfi lcorimercal building with 900 sq, Hf ol finished office space. well seplic. poo and r olub Parcel 2: 2. acres Deeded canal Ironlage on hwoo sides. County roaa frontage Tennis court and storage shed Parcel 3: 2,1. arres Deeaea canal Ironlage on two tides Co'unly road Ir.Iniage Adloins county park For- merly lurncionea as a RV park Block building with rest rooms ana laundry are Waler well and seipic system Parcel 4: 2.1- acres Deedea canal Ironlage lhal an- elops Ine county park A unique properly naTl s well 6uiid tor a waler dependent business (canoe rernlals elc i Directions: The property is located across the river from the Fanning Springs State park on Highway 19/98 The Auction Group LLC, PO BOX 548, Sand Springs, OK 74063, Stacy Lee: (918)906-0016, Web: theaucdiongroupllc.co FL Broker# 553422 nere we are in me urst rew uays o iviarcn and me cool gusting winds just keep on coming. I decided to do a little survey about the weather in the month of March and herein lie the results: The PESSEMISTS say: "I am tired of this freezing cold stuff. It has never been this cold in March. My heating bills have never been so high. When will this stop?" The OPTIMISTS -say: "It is cool enough not to have to run the AC. Besides, freezing temperatures in March only happen once a year and I can handle that."(how profound is that statement!) The REALISTS say: "The March weather forecast for Northern Florida will always include gusty winds, patches of frost and some mid-twenty degree temps with a few days of variable sunshine." The shear reality of whether it will be either likd a LION or LAMB: March will be blustery and chilly at the least. Gardeners need to understand what that means and just deal with it. "To fertilize or not to fer- tilize'! is not a quote from Shakespeare! If you want to plant above ground veggies, you are going to take a chance of a late frost each March. If it happens, re- plant those seeds and go forward. I encourage all of us to lean toward the OPTIMIST's response; your elec- tric bill should be cheaper (despite some local compa- ny's rate increase), your health should improve as you exercise more out of doors, you will save on your grocery bills eating what you grew and if you catch Spring fever while planting,the remedies do not in- volve buying expensive meds or a trip to the clinic. Think of how.you view this March as you read this poem: Virtues of a Spring Stroll" by Art Wyckoff Let's take a walk in your garden while the sun's shining bright, to discover the remnants Ole Man Winter has left in full sight. We were dealt long hard frosts, "more than normal" some have said, but let's put the cold behind and focus on what's up ahead. March ushers in Spring, a special time of the year, for buds, blossoms and flowers, cows, birds and even deer. As trees change their clothes from the dusty greys and the browns, to bright green$ and pink blossoms transforming smiles from frowns. Nature teaches many lessons that we can learn each day, if we'd only make the time to listen to what it has to say. These thoughts I share as we continue our walk, take a break from the recession and all that Wall Street talk. Just one stroll in the sunshine will open your eyes, to the beauty around us from the ground to the skies. Sow a seed and give it water sprinkled with some TLC, it'll put a smile on your face for all the world to see. Give a plant, sow a friendship! Happy gardening! by Art Wyckoff A & K Nursery, Cross City, Fl. Smith & Associats, '"G|AC 27888 US Hwy 19 934 E. Wade Street, Old Town 352-542-1111 Trenton 352-463-7770 Page 8 9 mew"m