• The Associated Press, Wednesday, February 18, 2009 9:45 AM

About a quarter of the nation's TV stations cut off their analog signals yesterday, causing sets to go dark in households that were not prepared for digital television despite two years of warnings about the transition. Stations and call centers reported a steady stream of questions from frustrated callers.

Originally, all U.S. stations were required to cut their analog signals Tuesday, but Congress voted this month to give broadcasters more time. The FCC cleared 421 stations to go all-digital this week and another 220 stations have already made the switch. The most populous places where most major-network stations cut analog this week include San Diego, Santa Barbara, Madison, Wis.; Sioux City, Iowa; Rhode Island; and Vermont.

Many stations are also changing to new digital frequencies, so that viewers who were previously watching the digital signal through a converter box or a digital TV set, are losing the channel until they force the device to "rescan" the airwaves. Many households also need new antennas. Digital signals generally come in better than analog ones, but they are not received well by some older antennas. PBS reports a rising number of calls to member stations from people who are getting digital signals but not all the ones they want.

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