Most Distant Network Off-Air Pickup on a CATV System?

[RobertAnthony]

When Cablevision began, it was carrying two Philly stations on one channel--WTAF-TV 29 and WPHL-TV 17. Half the day was WTAF, the other at night by WPHL. Even into the 90's they carried WVIA in Scranton, PA--but it was microwave--I know, I know no Microwave. Until 1990, WSBK Boston was carried. Since at the time the only stations that would really sign off would be 3 (weekends), 5 (as WNEW), 8, 13, 20, 21, 25, 30, 49 and 61, I wasn't sure about what signals would come in after any of these stations signed off.

But when I was at UCONN/Storrs over the Summer in 1996, Charter Communications of Ashford carried WGBH Boston. One morning before WGBH came on the air, I saw WCBS-TV--decent picture, though a little bit of snow. A few seconds later WGBH came back on. I think that cable system still carries WGBH.

 

[Tim L]

Warner Cable in Canton, Ohio carried the Cleveland stations, 60 miles away, Youngstown 50-55 miles away
and Steubenville, Oh./Wheeling W. Va. 50 or more miles away. As a result there were 3 NBC affiliates, 3 ABC affiliates (including WAKR-23, Akron) and 3 CBS affiliates.

Once or twice I would pull in a signal from WKAR-23 E. Lansing, Michigan after WAKR would go off the air..(Cable Channel 10)

The Former Sandy Valley Cable TV, which served residents of rural Southeast Stark County, Ohio. received all the above stations plus KDKA-2 and WPGH-53 Pittsburgh. (over 100 miles away..) This would be in the 1970's. That system was eventually merged into Time-Warner.

 

[harrisburgpatv]

I actually saw on an old Boston lineup posted on here about 2 years ago, I think the 3 UHF stations from Philadephia were carried, as well as WVIA-44, which was PBS out of Scranton, PA. I wonder why they chose to carry that one.

They probably carried WVIA-44 because at one time (perhaps '70s but definitely '80s) it was what I would call a "tomboy" PBS station - it carried a lot of shows that typically don't air on PBS stations - Betty Boop cartoons, and sitcom reruns. It aired "The Honeymooners", "Dick Van Dyke", "Leave it to Beaver", "I Love Lucy", just to name a few. In the fall of 1989 it carried "The Waltons" at 4:30pm, and "All in the Family" at 6pm. Two years later it replaced reruns of Waltons with "Little House", which still airs on the station to this day. I used to enjoy watching "Star Trek" reruns on it in the early '90s, as they scheduled three episodes on Saturday nights back-to-back-to-back. I even remember them carrying fairly recent episodes of ST:TNG back when it was in first-run.

 

[TexasTom]

I used to enjoy watching "Star Trek" reruns on it in the early '90s, as they scheduled three episodes on Saturday nights back-to-back-to-back. I even remember them carrying fairly recent episodes of ST:TNG back when it was in first-run.

I'm surprised about the latter program, since "ST:TNG" was offered in barter syndication, and I would assume that WVIA, as a public TV station, would not have been allowed to run the barter advertising that came with the show. How did they get around this?

 

[arnoldevns]

This is all third hand information - but this might do the trick..

My father was stationed at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico in the late 50's. They were out in the middle of nowhere and got very limited radio or television. So, one of the creative electronics guys out there set up some kind of monster antenna system to pick up distant signals on both radio and television. The television signals were received via some channel-specific antennas placed on the tallest mountain around. They were then fed into broadcast translators (again, built by the electronics guy) on the base down below. My dad said that they got TV stations from El Paso, Albequerque, Phoenix and Tucson. The Arizona stations would be about 300 miles. My dad said the reception was good, but prone to atmospheric interference.

The radio reception was pretty amazing too. (it was all AM at the time) My dad said the guy put up four telephone poles about 800 feet apart and strung up antenna wire between them. (it was equally well-grounded) He was able to hear Los Angeles AM stations in the daytime with the thing. (and I think at least one of the DFW clear channel stations)

 

[Apollo7979]

You mean that WLFI-DT is on channel 11?

Oops...you're right Kevin. I should clarify. WLFI-TV is on channel 18. WLFI-DT is on channel 11, the same channel as WTTW-TV in Chicago.

 

[Al Johnson]

When I worked in Denver (for an indie and the ABC affil), Denver stations (all or some) were carried on cable through out the Rocky Mountain region. Some smaller markets had one or two local stations, so they filled in with stations relayed from Denver. In a few cases, some cable systems were able to take a local station and Denver stations with the same programs (the rules on this have since changed).

When I worked in New York, Teleprompter Cable carried indie stations from Buffalo and Boston. As more cable channels started up (TBS, CNN, ESPN, etc), they replaced the out of town indies. Too bad. Now the former indies are Fox, CW, My or religion. The local movie, horror movie, talent, quiz and cartoon shows are gone forever. They also carried a lot of classic filmed shows, which the cable channels like Nick and TVLand don't ever show.

 

[genius]

When I worked in Denver (for an indie and the ABC affil), Denver stations (all or some) were carried on cable through out the Rocky Mountain region. Some smaller markets had one or two local stations, so they filled in with stations relayed from Denver. In a few cases, some cable systems were able to take a local station and Denver stations with the same programs (the rules on this have since changed).

What a small world because I worked at a Denver station too...I worked in advertising for KCNC back in the early 90s. Anyways that is true about the Denver stations, especially in Wyoming and Montana. Heck, Wyoming didn't have a good statewide ABC station until KTWO in Casper switched from NBC to ABC in 2003. Instead they had to rely on KUSA/KMGH. Western Nebraska also carries the Denver stations, although yes the rules have changed there are still cable systems in the area that don't blackout when two stations of the same affliation carry the same programming.

 

[fortmill]

Most of western Nebraska and large chunks of Wyoming are within the Denver tv market, therefore, it is obvious that Denver stations would not be blacked out in those areas. You do realize that Denver Tv has been delivered to these outlying cable systems for years by cu-band satelite. The Denver TV market must be more than 500 miles across in some places.

 

[azumanga]

Denver Tv has been delivered to these outlying cable systems for years by cu-band satelite.

You mean "C-Band" satellite. There's no such thing as "Cu" (though there is "Ku").

 

[genius]

Most of western Nebraska and large chunks of Wyoming are within the Denver tv market, therefore, it is obvious that Denver stations would not be blacked out in those areas. You do realize that Denver Tv has been delivered to these outlying cable systems for years by cu-band satelite. The Denver TV market must be more than 500 miles across in some places.

Well of course I realize that; it's just I find it a little funny today that even though the Cheyenne/Scottsbluff, Casper and Rapid City markets are now more developed than they were a decade ago, they're still watching Denver stations. I doubt that Denver will be cedeing those areas anytime soon.

 

[Radio-X]

Probably the best examples I have of DX reception through cable is when I lived in King George, VA as a young teen. When WTVR-TV signed off one summer night in 1993, I picked up WKMG in Orlando. WWBT signed off as well and we got WPEC (I think) in Palm Beach.

The furthest over-the-air cable reception of a station I know of probably goes to WUSA-TV (at the time WDVM) and WRC-TV in Washington. My dad told me about getting channels 4 and 9 on the Lexington cable system back in the early 80's...probably 130 miles to the WSW. I later found out from a guy who worked at WVLI-FM (now WWZW) that the antenna set-up was on the top of the Blue Ridge. The cable people had to install filters to null out the spur from WVLI-FM so the audio of channel 9 would come in.

Radio-X

 

[Kent]

When I went to college in Northwest Arkansas in the mid-90's, KARK from Little Rock was imported onto the cable system in Fayetteville prior to 1997. In 1997, they continued airing KARK news but all network programming came from KFAA, which had no news at the time. However, several times, I can remember getting WWL-TV from New Orleans and WDAF-TV from Kansas City when trying to watch KARK. I spoke with someone at the cable company who told me they got KARK off-air, which is what caused the occasional reception of WWL-TV/WDAF-TV. That was always something I found funny since I could never get KARK off-air but could get KYTV and KOLR from Springfield, MO, neither of which were on cable but both of which were significantly viewed in Washington County (and, I believe, are now on cable there while KARK has since been taken off).

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

The Former Sandy Valley Cable TV, which served residents of rural Southeast Stark County, Ohio. received all the above stations plus KDKA-2 and WPGH-53 Pittsburgh. (over 100 miles away..) This would be in the 1970's. That system was eventually merged into Time-Warner.

Didn't Warner Cable in either Akron, Canton or both used to carry KDKA at one time? At least one cable system did locally, and I don't believe it was the one you mention...

 

[Tim L]

The Former Sandy Valley Cable TV, which served residents of rural Southeast Stark County, Ohio. received all the above stations plus KDKA-2 and WPGH-53 Pittsburgh. (over 100 miles away..) This would be in the 1970's. That system was eventually merged into Time-Warner.

Didn't Warner Cable in either Akron, Canton or both used to carry KDKA at one time? At least one cable system did locally, and I don't believe it was the one you mention...

I am from the "Sandy Valley" area originally..When I was a teenager I lived with my sister in Waynesburg..(The equipment shed for Sandy Valley Cable was right next door) SV Cable also served the Malvern area in Carroll County..I am fairly certain that KDKA was carried there. I do know before this that KDKA-TV was listed in the Canton Repository Newspaper TV listings so it may well have been carried in Canton's Warner Cable system at one time. I believe Minerva and Carrollton systems (Adelphia?) also carried KDKA but they were slightly closer to Steubenville and Pittsburgh.

 

[MACK184]

I would go for Montana. Most of the Treasure State didn't get the Big 3 fulltime until the 80's, so cable companies imported Salt Lake City and/or Denver stations via microwave.

This practice continues today in eastern Montana. Glendive is a 1-station market, so the cable company there brings in ABC7 and Fox 31 from Denver.

Your comment reminded me of my days at Montana State in Bozeman. The only 2 off air stations you could get was a station in Butte that was afflilated with all 3 nets, and a translator of a Missoula station that was located in Butte which was also a 3 network affiliate. They tended to sort of pick & choose what programs they would run, and it wasn't unusual to see somebody's "Wednesday Night Movie" running on Saturday night. It was a pretty comical collection of stuff depending on whatever the PD figured were the best offerings of the week. Of course whenever a moose came in contact with a microwave horn or some hungry creature chewed a wire, everything went off the air. Ahh..the good old days.

 

[vibe]

When at New Mexico State Univ in Las Cruces NM (USA) we got 4 LA Stations (5,9,11,13) and an Albuquerque station which I can't remember. This was in the late 70's and although the LA stations were prob. microwave, they were from about 600-700 mi away. All I remember was that the system was from only ch 2-13 and was considerably less than $10 month.

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

I do know before this that KDKA-TV was listed in the Canton Repository Newspaper TV listings so it may well have been carried in Canton's Warner Cable system at one time.

My swiss cheese memory (tm - "Quantum Leap") is telling me that Warner Cable in Canton did carry KDKA at one time, and I'm pretty sure the Akron system never did. I know first-hand that Warner Cable Akron did carry at very least WKBN/27 and perhaps WFMJ/21 at least on a part-time basis...back in the old "A/B" cable switch box days.

But unlike Dr. Samuel Beckett, I can't blame leaping through time for my memory.

 

[Stitch]

In west central Indiana, my cable system used to be notorious for picking up distant signals once the local OTAs signed off.

WTTV/Channel 4 in Bloomington was the worst example. Once it signed off, you could count on getting a fair-to-decent signal from WCMH-TV out of Columbus, OH.

Unfortunately, a few times you didn't have to wait for WTTV to sign off. Sometimes WCMH's signal would interfer with WTTV, meaning you'd get a nice scrambled mixture of Woody Woodpecker cartoons and local news. Still trying to figure out that time how FOUR channel 4's were fighting for air one day. Aside from WTTV and WCMH, you could clearly see IDs for WBZ-TV/Boston and WNBC-TV/New York.

Since the cable has gone fiber-optic, WTTV has been clear as a bell.

The other affected station was WVUT/Channel 22 out of Vincennes. Sign-offs used to be right at midnight, and during the wee hours of the morning you could view channel 22 out of Dayton, OH; South Bend, IN; and at one point, Cookeville, TN.

 

[gr8oldies]

I DXed channel 35 out of Grand rapids after WLIO's sign off on the Celina, OH system. We'd occasionally get Detroit's Channel 7 fighting it out with Dayton's WHIO-TV, and of course, sporadic E on 2, especially before the switch from WLWD to WDTN and the power increase.