The free coupon program offered by the Federal Government has reached its limit, so if you haven't applied -- you'll now be put on a waiting list.

If you have your coupon and don't use it within 90-days, it’ll expire.

Hanne and John Torres of Kent are two of the many thousands of Northwest television viewers who'll have to do something to continue watching TV after the digital conversion on February 17 [update: the transition will occur on June 12, 2009].

All of their analog televisions use antennas. They said cable TV hasn't really been an option because of a long driveway that would make installment very costly.

"Our options would be converter box or satellite," John said.

"Satellite really isn't an option for us with one income," Hanne said.

Hanne said she started to plan for the DTV conversion a year in advance.

When the government first started issuing coupons she applied for two and said she received them in April. That’s when she went to buy two boxes recommended online, but they weren't on store shelves yet.

"I was waiting for that to come out and they said it would be out in June. And then I waited until June and then it wasn't in stores," Hanne said.

Her coupons expired in early July without her using them.

Hanne and her husband will have to absorb the entire cost of the converter boxes because once two coupons have been issued to an address, no more can be.

"I didn't know that they would expire. I thought they didn't have a time limit on it," John said.

During the KIRO-DTV phone banks over the past few weeks, many callers have asked why the coupons expire.

We called the Department of Commerce and they said the coupons expire because of federal law.

It's all because of supply and demand. Since the converter box is a new device, manufacturers need to know how many to build, so they won't be left with surplus boxes.

The coupon system not only helps consumers with the expense of the transition, but also helps manufacturers know how many to build.