Oh, say can you see?

If your trusty old television relies on an antenna and you haven’t picked up a converter box, your only alternative for watching after Friday may be oh Canada.

Television stations in the United States are required to shut off their analog transmitters and switch entirely over to digital broadcasting by Friday night.

This is the final cutoff date after Congress voted to delay the conversion from the original target date last February. The delay came with fears that not enough people were aware of the changeover or were unready to make the switch.

For over-the-air reception, those old analog televisions will no longer receive signals from American broadcasters without the addition of a converter box.

Those with cable or satellite service will see no change.

Cable and satellite providers are ready for the switch and subscribers should see no interruptions.

All major Seattle television stations, which have been broadcasting both digital and analog signals, will rely on digital. Two stations in Bellingham made the digital switch in February.

Canadian stations

Viewers receiving over-the-air signals from Canadian television stations get a reprieve.

Canadian broadcast authorities have set August 2011 as the final changeover date for the digital television switch north of the border, although a few stations may change early.

In addition, American broadcasters have a little extra time to change their analog rebroadcast translators, but eventually those will switch to DTV as well, including the KIRO-TV translator on Channel 30 in Port Angeles and the KSTW-TV translator on Channel 62 from Blyn Mountain. Timeline for that conversion is at the discretion of the parent station.

Although few analog signals from the Seattle/Tacoma area make it over the hills to Clallam County, many viewers in East Jefferson County have been able to watch stations in the Puget Sound without cable or satellite.

By Saturday morning, those viewers may be staring at a lot of blank channels without a converter box or a set with a built-in DTV tuner.

New televisions purchased after 2004 are required to have built-in digital tuners and do not require the boxes.

Converters, coupons

Converters are available from most electronic stores and many major department stores. The boxes take digital signals from the air and process them into a form that older televisions can decode.

Coupons worth $40 toward the purchase of up to two converter boxes are still available to eligible households. The federal coupon program will accept applications until July 31 or as long as supplies last.

Coupon applications can be found on the Web at www.dtv2009.gov on a first-come, first-served basis and are delivered by first-class mail.

Installing a converter involves unhooking the antenna from the back of the television, plugging the antenna into the box and adding a short cable between the two.

Most boxes will automatically scan for signals and feed them to the screen.

However, adding a box does not automatically mean your favorite station will appear on the screen.

Unlike older analog signals that could bring in a fuzzy picture and sound from marginal reception areas, digital signals typically either bring in a crystal-clear picture or not be received at all.

Antenna location, surrounding terrain or obstructions such as trees, hills or houses can block a DTV broadcast.

The switch to DTV is required under a law passed in 2005 that requires broadcasters to shift their signals to digital, freeing up portions of the broadcast spectrum for public safety communications and other uses of the vacant frequencies.

KING-TV will host a call center for viewers with questions about the switch over. The center’s toll-free number is 877-429-1811.

The Federal Communications Commission also will provide DTV information at 888-225-5322.

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Photojournalist Keith Thorpe can be reached at 360-417-3524 or ketih.thorpe@peninsuladailynews.com.