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If you have a television in the state of Hawaii, and you want to see if your set is ready for digital television, tune into KGMB during its Monday 19 May 2008 newscasts at 5, 6 and 10 pm.

The station will do a 10-second switchover to its DTV signal, simulating what will happen on 17 February 2009 when the analog television channels go dark.

If you have more than one television set, test them all.

It doesn’t matter how you get your TV signal. The test will work with local cable, satellite and antenna systems.

If your TVs show the picture and audio, not static, during the KGMB test, you’re ready.

If not, you’ll need a new set top box from Time Warner Cable or a local electronics store.

See KGMB’s article, FAQ and the Honolulu Advertiser for more information.

Related posts and pages on billso.com

• Digital television
• 25 March 2008: Digital TV is coming
• 5 July 2004: San Diego Padres promote HDTV

A year ago, I wrote about China’s ill-advised space weapons test. When China complained about the US government’s successful takedown of a dead satellite last week, I have to shake my head and wonder. There’s a big difference. A year ago, China conducted an unannounced test of a weapons system that left thousands of debris chunks remain in orbit, as this January 2008 article from Wired shows. DailyWireless has more pictures and additional discussion.

This month, the US government announced its plan well in advance, and it wasn’t a weapons test.

As Jeffrey Lewis pointed out on Wired and ArmsControlWonk, some debris may remain in orbit. The official line, as reported in the New York Times and Honolulu Advertiser, is that the satellite was destroyed.

Writers such as Lewis and Farhad Manjoo don’t live in Hawaii, and may lack the personal stake that I and my fellow residents have in this story. It is much easier to hit a tumbling satellite than an inbound missile. I’m glad the US military can hit both, because Honolulu is a prime target.

But I’d much rather see international efforts to remove space junk from orbit, before an errant bolt or paint chip takes out a communications satellite or a manned mission.