[Jeffhs]

I read in a recent Broadcasting & Cable newsletter (I don't want to try to quote it due to copyright issues) that translator and low-power TV stations will be converting to digital some time in 2012, so any of you with older sets connected to analog cable had better enjoy those LPTV analog stations while they last.

I knew it was only a matter of time until even the LPTV stations would face a DTV transition deadline. I don't know, however, if this will also apply to translator channels, but it wouldn't surprise me if it did. I think the FCC wants to and eventually will require every TV station in the country to vacate the VHF and UHF TV bands so they can reallocate the entire spectrum from 54 to 700 MHz; they already had a head start on this when they reallocated channels 70 through 83 to land-mobile in 1970. Both of my analog TVs (one 1995-vintage, the other 1999) have electronic VHF/UHF tuners that only tune channels 14-69, although for some reason most of the all-channel sets I remember from 1970 until perhaps 1990 or so had tuners that went to channel 83.