Channels 70 - 83

[KeithE4]

The Midwest Program on Airborne Television Instruction ran experimental transmitters on Channels 72 and 76 (KS2XGA and KS2XGD....I think). This was educational programming broadcast from 2 DC9s flying Lazy 8s over Montpelier, Indiana and was seen in schools over a 200 mile radius.

MPATI lasted from 1961 to 1968. It didn't work well, and most schools in their service area didn't kick in a dime to support it. Aviation fuel for DC-6B and DC-7 aircraft (I don't believe the DC-9 was released yet) is expensive! Besides, the ITFS service on 2500 MHz that was first authorized in 1963 made it obsolete.

http://www.uhftelevision.com/articles/mpati.html

 

[Pat3]

Zenith TVs from as recently as the early 1990s tuned up to channel 83. I know because my family and I had a Zenith from 1990 in our living room when I was a kid. It had a green LED channel display below the bottom left corner of the screen.

Nearly all Televisions with digital tuning would only go to channel 69, But I had a b/w portable that still picked up 70-83 into the 2000s shortly before the analog shutdown. They used to sell these small TV sets that also had a radio tuner at discount stores for less than $20. It ran from batteries and I used it during Katrina back in 2005 when the power was out. It wasn't a very old set at that time.

 

[genius]

Can anyone explain why back in the 90’s and at the turn of this century why some OTA signals found themselves airing on cable channels in the channel 70+ range. I remember years ago having the reason why I once wondered why I’d get OTA signals on cable Channels 70, 74, and 92 even though the cable company didn’t have channels that high either.

 

[Mr Tony]

Can anyone explain why back in the 90’s and at the turn of this century why some OTA signals found themselves airing on cable channels in the channel 70+ range. I remember years ago having the reason why I once wondered why I’d get OTA signals on cable Channels 70, 74, and 92 even though the cable company didn’t have channels that high either.

the frequencies match up
I know when I lived in Minneapolis and if you'd scan as cable instead of OTA (and used an antenna) 17 was on 68, 23 was on 74 and 29 was on 80

channel 17 analog was on 488-494 MHZ
cable channel 68 is on 487.25MHZ close enough to show

Here is the list of cable frequencies
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan-American_television_frequencies#Cable_television

and broadcast
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan-American_television_frequencies#Broadcast_television

 

[crainbebo]

So that's why I was getting KONG-cable 6 (ch 16) audio on 87.8mhz for a while as a kid, living near Seattle. Must have been a cable leak.

 

[anotherguyTN]

the frequencies match up
I know when I lived in Minneapolis and if you'd scan as cable instead of OTA (and used an antenna) 17 was on 68, 23 was on 74 and 29 was on 80

channel 17 analog was on 488-494 MHZ
cable channel 68 is on 487.25MHZ close enough to show

Here is the list of cable frequencies
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan-American_television_frequencies#Cable_television

and broadcast
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan-American_television_frequencies#Broadcast_television

I had tried to find the information but hadn't been able to yet, but I knew that in effect beginning at OTA channel 14 up that the closest cable equivalent is the OTA channel plus 51. So beginning at cable channel 65 there is an overlap between cable channels and OTA UHF channels, and there could be some bleed over between the two from either direction.

Before the digital transition I had problems with some cable ready sets on cable channel 67 because of living close enough to the tower for WJKT (Then UPN) 16 in Jackson, TN that I would get bleed over from OTA channel 16 on cable channel 67. After the transition that problem ended.

 

[Route66Fan]

the frequencies match up
I know when I lived in Minneapolis and if you'd scan as cable instead of OTA (and used an antenna) 17 was on 68, 23 was on 74 and 29 was on 80

channel 17 analog was on 488-494 MHZ
cable channel 68 is on 487.25MHZ close enough to show

Here is the list of cable frequencies
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan-American_television_frequencies#Cable_television

and broadcast
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan-American_television_frequencies#Broadcast_television

In the Kansas City, MO area, KTAJ-TV, Ch. 16, was on Ch. 67, KCPT-TV, Ch. 19 was on Ch. 70, KCWE-TV, Ch. 29 was on Ch. 80, KMCI-TV, Ch. 38 was on Ch. 89, KSHB-TV, Ch. 41 was on Ch. 92, KPXE-TV, Ch. 50 was on Ch. 106 & KSMO-TV, Ch. 62 was on Ch. 118.
The LPTV stations were also on different channels.
K26CR (Later K45IO.) Ch. 26 (Later Ch. 45.) was on Ch. 77 (Later Ch. 101.), K35CT (Later KCDN-LD.), Ch. 35 was on Ch. 86 & K48FS (Later KUKC-LD.), Ch. 48 was on Ch. 104.

 

[Dondd]

There was a channel 70 operated by KTTC Rochester (NBC) in Blue Earth MN as late as the DTV transition. Not kidding. K70DR was the calls.
Another channel 70 was operating in Kansas up into the '00s as well. KAKE translator somewhere.

KAKE had more than a translator "somewhere..."
It had a handful of them, even in Manhattan, KS, which was outside the Wichita-Hutchinson market.

Wichita's KAKE-TV was the weakest affiliate, in terms of Kansas statewide coverage, compared to Wichita's KSN (NBC) & KBS (CBS), which each had full-power mostly repeater VHF satellite stations covering the western half of the Sunflower State.
KAKE had a full-power satellite station, as well, but only one (KUPK-TV, Garden City/ Copeland, KS).
So translators were used to fill-in coverage holes in parts of the state.

Here was the breakdown of full-power satellite stations:

Garden City/ Dodge City (southwest KS)
KSN, KBS, KAKE

Goodland/Oberlin (northwest KS)
KSN, KBS.
Later, in the 1980s, a full-power station in Colby, KS, eventually became affiliated with KAKE.

Great Bend/ Hays (central KS)
KSN, KBS

KAKE had translator stations in the UHF 70-75 range in Great Bend, Russell, Hays and Salina.
KAKE's hourly ID, at least during the daytime, was:
"And here are the KAKE-LAND translator stations of CHANNEL 10 !!!"

Those translators were relocated to other UHF signals.

Our home didn't have cable for a time in the late 70s. We used a long, narrow UHF antenna aimed north of Great Bend to bring in ABC. Hutchinson's KWCH (CBS) came in well in Great Bend, while KSNC-TV, channel 2, with its tower north of Great Bend, was very strong. KAYS-TV (now KBSL, CBS), also had coverage in Great Bend.

Central KS still doesn't have an OTA ABC affiliate. KAKE's signal doesn't go more than 60-70 miles out of Wichita, and doesn't make it to the important central KS cities of Great Bend, Hays, etc.

Even KWCH (formerly KTVH-TV), Wichita-Hutchinson, had a translator in Arkansas City, KS, along the Okla. border. It's signal couldn't reach all the way to the KS state line.
The Wichita ABC & NBC affiliates barely made it there, either.
That translator, like the KAKE one in Manhattan, KS, also got shut down years ago.

 

[Dondd]

There was a channel 70 operated by KTTC Rochester (NBC) in Blue Earth MN as late as the DTV transition. Not kidding. K70DR was the calls.
Another channel 70 was operating in Kansas up into the '00s as well. KAKE translator somewhere.

KAKE's many translators, as reported in Radio Discussion's TV listings area:
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/threads/retro-kansas-wed-july-10th-1985.729388/
Channels
2 KSNC Great Bend NBC
3 KSNW Wichita NBC
4 KLBY Colby IND
6 KTVC Ensign CBS
7 KAYS-TV Hays CBS
8 KPTS Wichita PBS
8m KSNK McCook NE-Oberlin NBC
9 KOOD Hays PBS
10 KAKE Wichita ABC
11 KSNG Garden City NBC
12 KWCH Wichita CBS
13 KUPK Garden City ABC
13t WIBW-TV Topeka CBS
27 KSNT Topeka NBC
41 KSHB Kansas City IND
49 KLDH Topeka ABC
WGN 9 Chicago IND


Satellites - For programs on 18 Salina, see 2; on 10 Goodland (KLOE-TV), see 7; on 64 Concordia, 66 Phillipsburg, 69 Hoxie, see 9; on 34 Salina, 70 Hays/Manhattan, 71 Great Bend/Herington, 75 Russell/Junction City, see 10.