Will you need an antenna for DTV?

(NEWSCHANNEL 3) - We're just over a month away from the nationwide conversion from analog to digital television, and you've got another chance to test your readiness.

Newschannel 3 will be running another DTV test at 10:40 p.m. Wednesday.

If it turns out you're not ready for the transition, you will need to buy a converter or lose all your stations on February 17^th.

Meanwhile, the commerce department now says there's a waiting list for anyone looking to get coupons for digital converters. There are now more than 100,000 people on that list, and many probably won't get their voucher in time for the February switchover.

The reason is that funding for the government's $1.3 billion voucher program has run out.

Now, a new bill has been introduced to subsidize something else you may need to get that digital signal, an antenna. Lawmakers are concerned about the need for more rooftop antennas with digital only, full power TV, and some want the subsidy.

Congressman Rick Boucher of Virginia and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont are working on the legislation, saying they believe a lot of people who use rabbit ears will need new antennas to get a picture.

Newschannel 3 looked into the antenna issue on Wednesday.

Congressman Boucher says funding a coupon for a converter box really isn't enough, he says there needs to be funding for technical support and installation, and he calls the issue of antennas after the digital switch a "looming problem."

If you drive around a neighborhood, you won't see many old TV antennas, but they're there. The question is whether they will work after the switch to digital in February. It's a question we posed to an expert on installing TV systems.

"Typically the older antennas will work for both analog and digital," said Peter Cook, President of Automation Design and Entertainment, which installs TV systems.

Cook knows television, and the switch to digital, he even has an antenna on his business. He says with an old analog signal, you would often get a fuzzy picture, but you'd get a picture. With the switch away from analog, Cook says "it's either a hundred percent or it's not there at all."

That means it will be important to have an antenna pointing in the right direction to get the new digital signal.

"The hardest thing for people as they're aligning their antennas, as if they got a rotor system is is to be able to lock right on exactly where they need to be to have that pure signal," said Cook.

People who buy the digital converter boxes for old TVs may head home and not get reception. That's where the antenna comes in, although most old antennas will work, if you need a new one, you will need a digital antenna or one that receives both UHF and VHF transmissions.

A good resource is antennaweb.org, sponsored by the Consumer Electronics Association and National Association of Broadcasters. You can type in your address and the site will tell you how far you are from broadcast towers and what kind of antenna you need.

"It will give you a color code and it helps you then as you go to look for an antenna to find the color code that matches the distance you are away from the transmitters," Cook said.

Unfortunately winter isn't the best time to head out on the roof and move your antenna, but if government subsidies come through, you could get some money to have someone do it for you.

It remains to be seen whether the government will create a subsidy program for antennas and installation, as it may have to focus its efforts on coupons for converter boxes.