Injunction to stop digital television

[www]

Not sure just where to post this, but wish me luck. One advantage, perhaps the only advantage, other than not having so far to drive, of having a circuit court in NH is being able to file federal lawsuits, the one I have been mulling over is suing General Motors for, oh say a billion dollars, but this one is just to try to get an injunction against the DTV fiasco on February 17, 2009.

Request for an injunction against the FCC

If the FCC went ahead with the proposed shut down of analog television broadcast, it would result in millions of Americans not being able to receive any television service. When I was growing up, I was allowed to watch only one half hour program of our chosing per week. We usually chose "The Lone Ranger", on a black and white TV with the picture so faint and grainy that you could mostly only hear the sound and barely make out any picture at all. The way analog works, even if you have a fringe signal, you can still watch the program, the picture just gets fainter and fainter. With digital, if you have a strong signal you get a nice razor sharp image, but if you have a weak signal you get a jerky image that keeps cutting out and hesitating. With a fringe signal, you get no picture at all. I am including some photographs taken just outside Concord, New Hampshire. The first two show an analog rabbit ears picture of channel 9 out of Manchester, and channel 11 out of Durham. Both are weak signals, but very much watchable, and better pictures than many city dwellers get. The third is no image, simply "no signal" displayed when attempting to receive those same channels from their digital counterparts. The fourth and fifth images are of channel 2 using a better antenna, showing the mottled digital image and the almost clear analog image.

To prevent disruption of service, we ask that the FCC be prohibited from proceeding with the planned shutdown of analog television, on channel 2-13 only, for a period of 50 years, and on channel 2-6 for a period of 100 years. The reason for the difference is that those are actually two different bands, channel 2-6 and channels 7-13, which are separated by the audio FM band. All old television receivers pick up channel 2-13, and most networks are assigned accordingly, ABC in New Hampshire to channel 9's WMUR, and PBS to channel 11's WUNH. It is anticipated that in 50 years there will be less disruption, to fewer users, if at that time channels 7-13 are switched to digital operation. This will also allow the networks on the upper band, 7-13, to find a home on the lower band, 2-6. This will allow five networks to continue to operate analog channels until 2109, and up to 12 channels to operate analog channels until 2059. There is no request that the remaining analog channels, 14 to 82 and above, not be discontinued on February 17, 2009 and switched to digital. However it would not be practical to not continue channels 2-13 beyond that date.

"Rabbit ear" antenna

The following is a sample of the picture received using a simple "rabbit ear" antenna for the analog channel 9, a strong signal in the area. The picture is not "razor sharp" but is very watchable, and the audio is fluid and understandable.

[insert image 1]

"Rabbit ear" antenna

The following is a sample of the picture received using a simple "rabbit ear" antenna for the analog channel 11, a medium signal in the area. The picture is quite grainy, but is very watchable, and the audio is fluid and understandable.

[insert image 2]

"no signal"

The following is the "picture" received using a simple "rabbit ear" antenna for the digital counterpart for channel 9, a strong local signal, or channel 11, a medium signal in the area. There is no picture, and there is no audio for any channel, simply the notification that there is "no signal".

(picture not included - use your imagination)

Good antenna

The following is a sample of the picture received using a good antenna for the digital counterpart to channel 2, a weak signal in the area. The picture breaks up, freezes, and the audio drops out completely.

[insert image 3]

Good antenna

The following is a sample of the picture received using a good antenna for the analog channel 2, a weak signal in the area. The picture is not "razor sharp" but is very watchable, and the audio is fluid and understandable.

[insert image 4]

[AntonLee]

I wish you luck, but I'm pretty sure the FCC was bought out, like usual.

[John Edward Mercier]

Cable companies?

[Puke]

That's not right.
I can receive a very good digital picture on my rabbit ears of the PBS station.

[K. Darien Freeheart]

The government handed out coupons for converter boxes, don'tcha know! It's not their fault you refuse to get on the dole!

[JonM]

I heard a story on the radio that prisons were in a fix because they use TVs to reduce the number of guards watching prisoners and they had no budget for the converters, don't have cable and can't get the coupons.  In some places employees were donating their coupons to the prisons, but you must love unintended consequences.

[Puke]

Wow, who knew TV was such a necessity of life?

[JonM]

The warden said basically you can manage 175 prisoners with TV using fewer guards than you can otherwise.  Think, if they stop imprisoning non-violent offenders how much they could save and put toward digital converters!

[www]

That's not right.
I can receive a very good digital picture on my rabbit ears of the PBS station.

From where, 10 miles away? And what happens if you want to watch Saturday morning cartoons, or Saturday Night Live? Nada? I do know some families that watch no TV, and some who only watch PBS, but that's a real minority. I could have pointed out that there are 57 channels and nothing on, but hey, some people do watch that garbage, and depend on it, too. I was at the command post for Katrina and they had half a dozen TV sets. You might think they were monitoring all the local stations, but oh no, all of them were tuned to FOX, our fearful leaders only source for the truth.

I love the FUBAR with the prisons.

Anyway, the first step is done. It took three hours studying protocol and filling out all the forms, and six pages turned into 18 pages, with the above becoming "Exhibit A". Now I need to get me some maps of the country showing the range of analog TV and the range of digital TV to show just which areas are affected. And also wait to hear if the case is accepted. They did assign a case number, though, 09-CV-05.

[Puke]

I don't watch TV. I only had the rabbit ears on when I moved here to see what I could get.
I don't see TV as some sort of human need. People have radios that have the news.

[www]

People have radios that have the news.

Granted, but very few see it that way, and besides, do you really want the gov to tell people where they have to get their news and entertainment? Countless people are glued to the boob tube for hours, I think the average is about 8 hours a day now. In 2006 the average was 4 hours 35 minutes. Yup, "The average U.S. household watched TV for 8 hours and 18 minutes a day from September 2007 to September 2008". Yikes.

Here's a quote from someone who likes TV: "There are many sensible information and values that you can get out of watching TV. But the trick is, do not overdo it. As they say, keep everything in moderation. And you sure can get the most out of it." Learning English is evidently not one of those "many sensible information and values".

[www]

As frequency division multiplexing slowly goes away, so too does the need for organizations such as the FCC, whos very existence revolves around the outdated assumption that the spectrum need be frequency divided in the traditional manner.

Right now their idea is to relicense each frequency for use as four digital channels, which can be combined for HD. As to spread spectrum, I believe that no license is required - and it is used for a lot of applications right now, and could certainly be used for digital TV. What I don't like is their brute force effort to make every channel become digital, instead of transitioning in an orderly manner. I see that Hawaii is switching on January 15, but as each island is about 100 miles away, I do not see that switching will affect them as much as it does people that are 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90 miles away from the transmitter. I am sure we will be hearing from them if it does. I am guessing that some on the big island will lose their signal, as it roughly has a radius of a little less than 40 miles.

Here is a website that gives your coverage, and what kind of antenna needed. http://www.antennaweb.org/

The entire city of Laconia (zip 03246) has no television after the dtv switch, losing all six of the channels they now receive. Concord loses all the Boston stations, Manchester and Nashua go from requiring a directional antenna to one with a preamp to get the Boston stations, Keene loses all but the locally broadcast PBS, losing the currently available 9, 31, and 41.

Ray Duckler is writing a story on this which will appear in Saturday's Concord Monitor. On the front page, no less. Cool. Now I just need to get someone to write a wire story for the AP.
http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090110/FRONTPAGE/901100305

Keep those helpful comments coming. I did add a couple of things as a result of them, such as that spread spectrum obviates any need for the [FCC]. Check this out:

http://i.gizmodo.com/5065189/prepping-for-the-digital-conversion-is-harder-when-youre-a-99+year+old-grandmother

or
http://i.gizmodo.com/5128031/fcc-chairman-watches-grandma-parody-the-digital-transition-mouth-agape

You all realize I hope that if I win, all I get is the opportunity to watch Saturday Night Live, etc. as otherwise I lose all the Boston stations on February 17. Plus millions around the country will win the same thing.

Update: I can proceed on my own only if the injunction applies only to myself, in other words just to the Boston stations. To include the rest of the country requires a lawyer, so the case is on hold until I can find one, which will require at least a retainer of $1,000. So I have registered the domain name http://www.stopdtv.org/ with a "chipin" to raise the funds, so if anyone wants to support a local lawyer, feel free to contribute. If I can not raise enough to get a lawyer, all funds received will be returned. Most of the rest of the site has not been completely set up yet.

In Hawaii, a shipment was lost to allow PBS to set up a new antenna so that Hilo would be able to receive their signal. Hawaii is switching to digital on January 15, at noon (5 PM EST). However, the FCC under the "Analog Nightlight" Act:

"Under the program cleared by the Federal Communications Commission, households that are not prepared to receive digital signals will see a notice on their screen in English and Spanish after the switch, providing a phone number for more information.

Viewers will also receive emergency weather and public safety information for 30 days after the transition."

What no Sesame Street?

Update: Wrong court. Has to be filed in appeals court, which in this case is the first circuit court of appeals in Boston - http://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/ - still needs to be argued by a lawyer though, so still on hold until I can find a lawyer.

[error]

Can't you add something in there to just make the FCC cease to exist?

[Peacemaker]

Can't you add something in there to just make the FCC cease to exist?

I hope you do this.  I don't watch much TV but this (one more) encrouchment on freedom bothers me.  Crazier things have happened, I think people are getting more and more fed up with Government on a daily basis and it just could work(!), but if you don't try, certainly nothing will happen.

(plus if you win, we could build the dream campground for PorcFest!)

[tracysaboe]

The warden said basically you can manage 175 prisoners with TV using fewer guards than you can otherwise.  Think, if they stop imprisoning non-violent offenders how much they could save and put toward digital converters!

I don't see why they can't just have both. There's plenty of spectrum space.

Tracy