Thursday, January 29, 2009

Pete Hein uses a portable television when severe weather hits Kansas and knocks out his power.

After the digital switch, most of those little TVs will be useless. Are there portable digital TVs available? Good question.

Severe weather season isn't far away. There are many Kansans who rely on small, battery powered televisions to keep track of thunderstorms and tornadoes when the power goes out.

But after February 17th, those portable analog TVs won't work, unless it is connected to a digital-to-analog converter box and a separate broadcast antenna.

Only portable TVs with an "antenna in" port, however, will be able to connect to the converter box.

But what about power?

There are battery-powered converter boxes which sell for around $65. The rechargable battery pack is an additional $15.

If you don't want to mess with converter boxes and battery packs, there are portable digital TVs that sell for anywhere from $200 to $400.

Send your good questions to news@kake.com.