Digital TV Converter Box Coupons - GOOD NEWS!

NEWS FLASH: IF you converter box coupons expired without being used, you can reapply for new ones!!!!

Being out in the middle of the woods, in the middle of nowhere, in Tornado Alley, does have a few minor issues. First, we could pay $50 a month to subscribe to satellite television so we could watch tv after the digital conversion, and since Sky Angel went internet so we can no longer use their service (a whole 'nother issue I won't address). OR - we could get a couple of digital converter boxes or new televisions so we can watch the weather warnings that roll through on a regular basis spring and fall.

We decided, as usual, that the practical option suited us just fine. We keep our money and use the free service offered to us by using the government's coupons to purchase converter boxes. So, we applied last year for converter box coupons. Thanks Uncle Sam. We were being slammed with info about how important it was to get our coupons early, and our boxes, and be ready for the change. Oh, yes, that change that keeps being pushed back every few months.

Our coupons came, and with them in my purse I headed to the store to get my boxes. I came home empty handed. For the next 90 days, any time I made the 30 - 60 minute trek out of the wilderness, I had the coupons with me. I checked the electronics stores, KMart, Target, and heaven forbid, even WalMart. Hmmmmm. . . .there was a bit of a glitch in the government's plans. (as usual) I kept coming home empty handed, until one day, at Circuit City, there happened to be converter boxes!!! I bought one - yes, kick me now - just one. I figured they were finally going to be available, and I didn't want to invest in more than one if I made the wrong decision about which one to get. After all, even with the coupon, this cost me $20.

So, with just a week or so left until my coupon expiration date, I bought only one, brought it home, set it up, and was annoyed beyond end! You couldn't leave it plugged in and get the analog and digital stations. You had to keep unplugging and replugging and fiddling with the antenna for each digital station. I decided I really did need one of those analog pass through boxes, so didn't run right out to pick up another.

Digital tv sucks (sorry for the language) big time. I didn't think about it much more as I switched the box off, unplugged it, and went about watching the analog stations, which didn't lose audio every 10 seconds like the digital signals. You know, the picture on our analog stations was just as clear too. :-/ The coupon expired, the switchover started to happen about 9 months after the original coupon application, and we can now only get some channels via digital. The box is plugged back in, and I do no want to pay full price for another for our other television.

A couple of drawbacks with only one box. You can only watch one station, on one television, at a time. Or, you can only record one station, on same television, at a time. No more taping one show while you watch another; not that we did that often, but it used to be an option.

I just reapplied online for our second coupon since I received an e-mail from the FTC about my appeal for a replacement coupon filed many months ago. They denied the appeal, but let me know if a coupon expired unused, I was eligible to receive a replacement. It went through, and my coupon should arrive on the 29th.

This is good news, since I don't want to pay full price for the privilege to still be able to do what I used to be able to do. . .. you know? But, I recently noticed a new problem. Those boxes are gone again.

So, the real question is, when this coupon arrives, will there be digital converter boxes on the shelf for me to use it to purchase?

AAAAAAAhhhhhhh, gotta love change. Either way, we have one, and can watch the weather until the power goes off - since the digital converter boxes aren't dual power though our television is. It is usually when the power goes out that we really need to know what is happening. That sleeper sofa we bought for the storm shelter may see a lot more sleeping this year, so we don't have to worry.

Guess we are in the market for a battery operated digital television for the storm shelter.

Go get your replacement coupons. They ship fast, so make sure there is local stock before you order them.