The Next Step

This is just a quick post to take note of the next notable date in the transition - May 21, the date of the FCC's proposed national soft test of all unconverted stations. This story came out on May 5, and while it's important to note that this plan is entirely voluntary, as of two days ago the FCC and broadcasters appear to be working together on this. The plan appears to be for three five minute tests (7:30 AM, 12:30 PM and 6:30 PM). I've had my doubts about five-minute tests in the past, but if every station in town is running them at the same time, that should get some additional attention.

As previously noted, the last notable date was April 16, when 75 stations transitioned. I was only able to find this one story regarding that, in which the Denver Post reports that the FCC hotline got a lot more calls than anticipated (and leads with an example of reception problems). We've seen these kinds of stories before. What we don't see are the follow-up stories that tell us how things are going a month or two later (which would give us a better idea of how things will go on and after June 12).

So, can you fill in the gaps? Have you or anyone you know (friends, family, co-workers) lost your signal (caught by surprise or reception problems) in the ongoing transition? Was that situation resolved, and if so, how long did it take?