Swan Hill TV District getting ready for digital

By ALEX STRICKLAND / Bigfork Eagle

With the government mandated switch to digital broadcast coming up for television stations around the country, small, local translator stations like the Swan Hill TV District are hustling to get ready.

Because of the change from analog to digital broadcasts, anyone tuning into the tube for over-the-air channels will either need a newer model television complete with digital receiver or need to buy a converter for their current box.

The government is issuing $40 coupons to help with the cost of the converters.

The district said in a press release that with the new converter box, picture quality should improve, even on older sets.

The transition process gains another layer, however, for areas that rely on translators to bring them a television signal because they are too remote or in terrain that blocks a primary signal.

Such is the case in the upper Swan Valley, which has relied on a translator located at the top of Swan Hill since the 1960's to receive television signals for NBC, ABC, CBS and PBS as well as one FM radio station.

With the continuing spread of other TV options like cable and satellites, it may seem that these translators are an old fashioned relic, but a spokesman for the Swan Hill TV District said that many people who may have 500 channels still enjoy watching the local news.

The TV District is slated to receive a new decoder calibrated for the digital signal in the coming weeks, which means that by Feb. 17, 2009, when the stations switch to digital, the Swan district will be ready to broadcast CBS and NBC in digital. NBC is already broadcasting in digital, so as soon as the district's decoder is installed, residents can tune into channel 9-1 for that digital signal.

ABC and PBS will follow sometime in the future.

The translator tower on Swan Hill essentially re-broadcasts the signals sent by primary towers either in Missoula, on Blacktail Mountain above Lakeside or from Lone Pine above Kalispell. That allows residents blocked by the Mission Mountains from any of those towers to receive a signal.

Upgrading — and upkeeping — the district, however, will cause a bump in costs to those households located inside the Swan Hill TV District.

Since its creation as a Special Improvement District in 1961, each household in the district has been taxed $5 each year for upkeep of the translator station. For this year, to help defray the costs of the upgrades, that rate will jump to $20 per household.

The district is managed by three trustees and while they are compensated for expenses incurred while working for the district, they are not paid for their time.

For more information on the upgrades, stations or the TV District in general, visit http://www.swanhilltv.net, or call the message line at 751-5155.

Information about government coupons for the converter boxes can be fond online at http://www.mydtv2009.gov or by calling 1-888-388-2009.