TV Antenna???

Well Del, answer me this if you don't mind. We've had a regular TV antenna for years now. Even before the "digital" transition. When our local stations switched to their digital format, we no longer got reception. They all even said that as the transition took place, unless you had a digital antenna or a digital converter for your antenna, you would no longer receive their signal. They were right. We stopped receiving the signal until I got a converter box. It's just a little thing that mounts outside right under the antenna. I've since gotten a "digital" antenna and it's box is built in, but it is still there. So, what gives?