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Starting February 19th, 2009 all the TV transmitting towers in the United States will turn off their analog signals and only broadcast in digital … and this has many people very confused. What does this mean? How will it affect you? Do you have to buy new equipment? How much will it cost?

There are three reasons for the transition from analog to digital. The first being, digital signals are much more efficient and use a much smaller radio frequency spectrum per channel. As an example, 3 digital channels can be broadcast using the same amout of spectrum as a single analog signal. The second reason is, it will free up a lot of the radio frequency spectrum for other uses such as wireless broadband, local emergency organizations and public safety communications. The third reason for the transition is a digital signal offers much improved picture and sound quality as compared to an analog signal.

Another misconception is, those who receive their TV stations from a cable company or through a satellite provider such as DirecTV will also have to upgrade their TV or buy a converter box. Subscribers of satellite services such as DirecTV and Dish will be completely unaffected by the transition because these services require you to lease or purchase a digital box that connect your a satellite dish and then your TV (DVR or TiVo are examples). Even though some local cable companies may send an analog signal into your house, they are not required to go digital. Only the TV stations that broadcast their signals from transmission towers over-the-air which are then received by an antenna are required to transition to digital. It’s unlikely these few cable companies that send an analog signal down the cable line will change, for the simple fact they would lose a bunch of customers. However, if you are unsure about your cable company, call their support line and ask if you will be required to upgrade. Chance are, you will not.

The people who are affected by the analog to digital transition are those who receive their local TV stations for free via an over-the-air antenna and do not have a digital tuner in their TV or VCR. So, how do you find out if your TV or VCR has a digital tuner? Look on the back of your television or VCR for one of the following labels:

• Integrated Digital Tuner
• Digital Tuner Built-In
• Digital Receiver
• Digital Tuner
• DTV
• ATSC
• HDTV (High Definition television)

If your television equipment contains any of these labels above, you should be able to view digital over-the-air programming without the need for a digital-to-analog converter box. Remember, you do not need an HDTV to view free over-the-air digital programming. As long as your television equipment contains a digital tuner, you can view over-the-air digital TV broadcasts. An HDTV is only necessary if you want to view High Definition programming in full HD quality.

If your TV is not digital ready and you receive your TV stations using an over-the-air antenna, then the cheapest solution is to purchase an analog-to-digital converter box to continue receiving free local TV stations using your existing TV and antenna. This box will covert the digital signal into an analog signal that can be passed to your television. Fortunately, the government has mandated that every U.S. household be eligible to receive up to two coupons, worth $40 each, toward the purchase of a digital-to-analog converter box. You will be able to request the coupons beginning in January of 2008. The coupons may only be used for eligible converter boxes sold at participating consumer electronics retailers, and the coupons must be used at the time of purchase. Manufacturers estimate that digital-to-analog converter boxes will sell from $40 to $70 each. This is a one-time cost. To inquire about the coupons and eligible boxes call 1-888-388-2009 (voice), 1-877-530-2634 (TTY) or go to http://www.ntia.doc.gov/dtvcoupon/.

Your existing antenna will not need to be replaced unless your current reception of your local TV stations is poor. With a digital signal, you either get the channel or you don’t. When you don’t have good reception of a digital signal, the TV screen will start to break up into small blocks and the sound will cut in and out. This is different than an analog signal that may cause the TV stations to look fuzzy or not come in all the way, yet you can still watch it and get sound.

Most amateur hockey players don’t know what their skate radius or rocker pitch is ground to. Some wouldn’t even know what you are talking about and most wouldn’t care even if you explained it to them. Some would even say it’s a bunch of mumbo-jumbo. But I guarantee, if you were to change it on them, they would most certainly notice a big difference. And I’d bet anything that each pro-skater in the NHL knows exactly what their profile is, or has a trainer that knows exactly what they want. Some NHL’ers even ship their skates back to a trainer on another team once they’ve been traded because the trainer knows exactly how to profile and sharpen their skates.

What do you mean profile?

A hockey skate profile describes a few things. The first of which is, how much of a flat spot your skate blades have. The second thing it describes is where that flat spot (pivot point) is in relation to the overall length of the blade. And third, it describes the hollow or how “sharp” the skate blade is.

First … the flat spot, also called the “radius”. Yes, every skate out there has a flat spot. You can’t easily see it by just looking at your skate, but it is there. It has to be, because this is the “gliding surface” or the area of the blade where one does most of their skating. If you start skating then glide along the ice, you are skating on the flat spot of your skates. The radius determines how tight a circle you can skate in if you were to glide around in a circle at maximum turning capability without picking up your feet or sliding the skate. The bigger the flat spot, the bigger the radius, the larger the circle. The smaller the flat spot, the smaller the radius, thus the smaller the circle. There’s a trade off between a large and small radius. The larger radius means you will skate faster and have more stability, but you won’t be able to turn as sharp and you will be less agile. A smaller radius means you will be more agile and capable of making sharp turns, but you won’t skate as fast and will feel a little less stable. As an example, take a look at a pair of speed skates. The flat spot is almost the entire length of the blade, so they have a very large radius, can skate very fast, but make very wide turns. No hockey player could ever keep up with a speed skater, but they could easily out maneuver them. This is because a hockey skate has a much smaller radius or flat spot, which is in contact with the ice. Finding what’s right for you depends on your skating style. Fast skater, less agile? Slower skater but very agile?

That last thing that describes a hockey skate profile is the hollow, or how “sharp” the blade is. This is what every player has re-adjusted every time they get their skates “sharpened”. If you look down the skate blade, you can see an inner and outer edge. In between these two edges the blade curves upwards (convex) ever so slightly. This is called the hollow. The science behind why a skate glides along this is ice rather interesting. When the edges of the skates put pressure on the ice, they melt a very thin layer of the ice which turns into water. The water gets trapped between the two edges and the skate hydroplanes on the water.

Technically, the hollow is the measure of a radius (as in a circle). For example, if you put a piece of paper flat in your hand then bend your fingers, the paper curves. The more curved it is, the smaller the radius (deeper hollow). The less you bend your fingers, the less of a curve in the paper (less hollow). Therefore, the paper has a larger radius. What does this mean? A deeper hollow (say for example 3/8 of an inch radius) means the skate will have more “bite”. That is to say, when you are skating the blade will dig into the ice which translates into more aggressive traction in turns and more stability, but it will degrade your gliding efficiency by causing more friction. A shallow hollow (for example 5/8 of an inch radius) will provide slightly better speed and glide efficiency with less bite. If you are a very aggressive skater who makes sharp turns and quick starts, you may be more likely to “blow a tire” or lose the ability to “hold an edge” with a more shallow hollow (eg; larger sharpen radius).

Finding the right mix of all three criteria is the tricky part. If you have a large gliding surface (rocker) you probably don’t need to have a deep hollow because enough of the skate is digging into the ice; it’s just spread over a larger area. Where the rocker is depends on the boot. If the boot already leans forward, you may not need an offensive rocker. It just depends on the manufacturer.

What’s my profile at now? Can I tell?

Unless you take them into a shop, it’s kind of difficult to know what your current profile is. Bauer skates right out of the box almost always have a 9 foot radius. CCM’s usually have an 11 foot radius. So if you’ve never done anything with them, it’s probably safe to use this as a starting point. If you set you skate straight up, you may be able to see the rocker position. The skate will tilt forward ever so slightly for a forward pitch (offensive rocker) and backwards for a reverse pitch (defensive rocker).

Do I really need to have my skates profiled?

In my opinion, heck yeah. And most pro sports stores will say the same thing for a couple reasons. The first being, most skate blades for all the major manufactures (Bauer, CCM, Easton, etc) are ground then shipped from overseas. They may come from different batches and may not always have matched radii. This can cause pretty severe degradation in your skating ability, even if you don’t know it. Especially if you buy a pair of skates then just re-learn how to skate on them thinking you “just need to break them in”. The second reason is, profiling can make a HUGE difference in your skating ability. There is no magic profile that works for everyone. Bauer and CCM just start their skates with 9′ and 11′ radii because they are middle of the road for their boots. There is no magic number for what a radius should be. Just because you are 6′ tall and wear a size 11 skate doesn’t mean you should have a 10′ radius, offensive rocker, and a 5/8 hollow. The size of the skate, who makes it, your height and what position you play, and your skating aggressiveness all have a role in the radius you should choose. See the charts at the bottom of this page for some guidelines. These are NOT hard fast rules but would be a good place to start experimenting. Getting your skates profiled is not expensive and usually costs around $25. You can even ship them off, have them profiled, and returned in just a few days. However, each time you have your blades profiled, it takes away a little bit of the blade surface. Do it too many times and you will need to have the steel runners replaced (about $40 or so).

How often should I sharpen my skates?

I like a 5/8″ hollow so there is less bite but more efficient gliding. Once I loose a little bit of that hollow, I lose the bite in the ice. That’s when I find myself loosing an edge in turns, in quick accelerations, and know it’s time to get them sharpened. For me, that’s after about 5 games. I’d probably get it done every two games, but it’s just a hassle since the shop is far away from the rink I play in.

How often should I have my skates profiled?

There is a lot of leeway in this topic. Remember, most don’t know what profiling is and in most cases have never had it done. So those that do have it done, vary from once every few years to every 20 times they sharpen their skates. The blade does loose its contour the more your sharpen it, so I like to do it after about 30 sharpenings or about 2 years. And of course, if things just don’t feel right anymore, it’s a good idea to take them in.