Was WCAX-TV Channel 3 (Burlington) at one-time a part time ABC affiliate?

[pqgeorge]

I recall picking up an audio signal on Channel 3 with with some ABC cartoon programming back in around 1970. The picture was unusable but the audio was not too bad. I recall getting this signal on a Sunday morning while vacationing in East Wakefield, NH (on the Maine border). It was not skip as the signal was somewhat stable. The picture was highly weak and distorted with multi-multipath. I recall hearing the "ABC Color Presentation" bumper and heard the "NEW Casper Cartoon...... Shoooooooooooow!" theme. Obviously it was a delayed broadcast from ABC as "Casper" was generally aired on Saturdays, not Sundays. Was WCAX running some ABC programming at the time? I knew that Channel 22 in Burlington (WEZF/WVNY) was off the air for a couple of years in the early 70's, as an ABC affiliate.

Any thoughts?

 

[mgpt6]

Back in the early 60s In providence Ch.10 WJAR,and Ch.12 WPRO were secondary ABC affilates before Ch.6 WLNE went on the air .

 

[KML0224]

Wikipedia says that they were a secondary FOX affiliate for a time in 1996. They mention nothing about ABC.

 

[BRNout]

For a signal from WCAX to reach your location in East Wakefield, NH, it would have to travel through the southern end of the White Mountains for a long way. Not impossible, but far from a given. And, tropospheric ducting in New England tends to favor stations with transmitters within 50 miles of the coast, sending them inland. Personally, I don't recall WCAX carrying ABC programming in the 1970s; remember that a lot of their current territory was formerly served by WMTW. WTEN/WCDC covered SW Vermont (up to Rutland) and WMUR could be seen in select spots in SE Vermont - and the former WHYN-40 from Springfield snuck in to certain spots there too. That set up the perfect scenario for a local UHF to serve Burlington/St. Albans with ABC programming.

I recall vacationing at the Sugarbush resort back in the mid 1970s and the only clear OTA channel from that spot was WMTW. WCAX was weak (thanks to terrain) and we didn't get much else.

If I had to lay money on this, my guess is that you picked up some random e-skip as there were no stations on channel 3 that I can identify from New York, New England, Quebec or New Brunswick which would have broadcast ABC programming at that time. The only other option may have been that you snagged CBHT-3 from Halifax, NS via tropospheric ducting. That's a big MAYBE, as we don't know that this CBC station would have broadcast the Casper Cartoon show back then. It's theoretically possible though.

 

[pqgeorge]

For a signal from WCAX to reach your location in East Wakefield, NH, it would have to travel through the southern end of the White Mountains for a long way. Not impossible, but far from a given. And, tropospheric ducting in New England tends to favor stations with transmitters within 50 miles of the coast, sending them inland. Personally, I don't recall WCAX carrying ABC programming in the 1970s; remember that a lot of their current territory was formerly served by WMTW. WTEN/WCDC covered SW Vermont (up to Rutland) and WMUR could be seen in select spots in SE Vermont - and the former WHYN-40 from Springfield snuck in to certain spots there too. That set up the perfect scenario for a local UHF to serve Burlington/St. Albans with ABC programming.

I recall vacationing at the Sugarbush resort back in the mid 1970s and the only clear OTA channel from that spot was WMTW. WCAX was weak (thanks to terrain) and we didn't get much else.

If I had to lay money on this, my guess is that you picked up some random e-skip as there were no stations on channel 3 that I can identify from New York, New England, Quebec or New Brunswick which would have broadcast ABC programming at that time. The only other option may have been that you snagged CBHT-3 from Halifax, NS via tropospheric ducting. That's a big MAYBE, as we don't know that this CBC station would have broadcast the Casper Cartoon show back then. It's theoretically possible though.

Thank you for writing back, BRNout. I really appreciate it.

It was probably not CBHT-3 as I doubt that CBC would probably not run the "ABC Color Presentation" bumper before the Casper Cartoon Show begins ("This is an ABC COLOR Presentation"). But you never know! One thing I DID recall was that this particular Channel 3 station was using the ABC circle style with the call-letters in individual circles across the screen for it's ID. Mind you, the picture was very snowy and hard to distinguish. It didn't seem like an e-skip opening to me as there were no signs of Co-Channel Interference from other Channel 3 stations and it was pretty stable, considering. But, then again I have seen e-skips in the past, that seem to be a "one station" duct with no other stations visible. KTVO from Ottumwa, Iowa was a common e-skip catch here in the east during those analog days. But their logo at the time looked like a playing card with a big "3" on it.

Over the years, I have seen WCAX on a semi-regular basis during some trops while vacationing in East Wakefield, NH through the '70's. There was always some semblance of a signal coming from 'CAX even in the distance, even when the conditions were poor (no opening). Admittedly, even though I was a very young lad at the time, I thought it was a little unusual to see an ABC cartoon on Channel 3 as I knew even then that WCAX was a long-time CBS affiliate.

Now, I REALLY wonder what station I was actually getting back then? I'm wondering if other people recall what ABC Channel 3 affiliates were common catches here in the east? Any thoughts?

 

[KML0224]

WSIL-TV channel 3 from Harrisburg, IL? It's the only other ABC 3 I can think of, since KTVO-TV was mentioned. As for your location in New Hampshire, did you ever get WFSB-TV channel 3 from Hartford?

 

[pqgeorge]

WSIL-TV channel 3 from Harrisburg, IL? It's the only other ABC 3 I can think of, since KTVO-TV was mentioned. As for your location in New Hampshire, did you ever get WFSB-TV channel 3 from Hartford?

Oh, yes..... definitely. During trops (mainly during the summer months), WFSB (at that time WTIC-TV) was a regular visitor up at my cottage in East Wakefield. I also got WCBS-TV (Channel 2, New York) during a strong trop opening in '71. As for WSIL-TV, yes I've gotten them too. The one good thing about having a cottage in an area with few locals (except for WCSH-TV, Channel 6 in Portland) was that the VHF-lo channels were prime for e-skip. And boy did I get some great catches back then! On Channel 3 alone, I've gotten KTVO-TV, WSIL-TV, KGLO-TV (Mason City, IA), WSAV-TV (Savannah, GA), WEDU-TV (Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL). During one big e-skip opening in August, 1972, KGLO-TV in Mason, City was a LOCAL for nearly two hours. I was able to watch a full episode of "All In The Family" with full color and practically no fading. I was 12 years old at the time and was really getting into the DX. How I wish the VCR was available at the time. (The first time I saw a "VTR" was a few months later at a HI-FI dealer in Hanover, MA. I believe it used U-Matic tapes!).

I'll betcha that if WCAX was not cherry-picking some ABC shows at the time, it must have been a freak e-skip opening and either KTVO or WSIL were the culprits. It's time for me to do some investigating, almost 40 years later! ;D

Thank you for the reply!

By the way, I found this little bit of video on YouTube. This is basically what I was getting back in '71 on Channel 3.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5YYbsoiNGI

Enjoy!

 

[azumanga]

I'll betcha that if WCAX was not cherry-picking some ABC shows at the time, it must have been a freak e-skip opening and either KTVO or WSIL were the culprits. It's time for me to do some investigating, almost 40 years later! ;D

And there's also WHSV (formerly WSVA), an ABC affiliate from Harrisonville, VA that also broadcasted on channel 3.

In terms of e-skip, maybe we shouldn't discount WEAR from Pensacola or KATC from Lafayette, LA, either.

 

[tvlurker]

One thing I DID recall was that this particular Channel 3 station was using the ABC circle style with the call-letters in individual circles across the screen for it's ID. Mind you, the picture was very snowy and hard to distinguish.

AFAIK, channel 3 never carried any other network programming until the Fox Football in the 90s.
Channel 3's old logo was always the "Caleb" antique shingle in the upper right hand corner of the ID slide.
It was somewhat similar to this WCAX News Bureau logo http://www.geocities.com/hattonandco/75-05__logo_WCAX.jpg - just replace "NEWS Montpelier Bureau with "Channel 3 Burlington".

 

[fortmill]

Could have very likely been WWAY-TV, ABC3 in Wilmington NC (now only on digital). In the 70s, they had about a 1500 ft tower just a few miles from the Atlantic and surely must have paid a visit to coastal NH from time to time. They've always been ABC. OTOH, I would expect WCAX also offered at least a few ABC programs before WVNY took to the air. Interesting.....

 

[tvlurker]

Could have very likely been WWAY-TV, ABC3 in Wilmington NC (now only on digital). In the 70s, they had about a 1500 ft tower just a few miles from the Atlantic and surely must have paid a visit to coastal NH from time to time. They've always been ABC. OTOH, I would expect WCAX also offered at least a few ABC programs before WVNY took to the air. Interesting.....

Not that I recall. WPTZ ch. 5 in Plattsburg had the secondary ABC affiliation for the Burlington/Plattsburg market before WVNY took to the air in 1968. Much of northern Vermont, and even Montreal (via cable headend on Mount Royal) had access to ABC via WMTW which was then at the top of Mt Washington,

 

[BRNout]

WMTW is what we watched near Sugarbush back in the late 1970s - over the air. Cable around Killington and Rutland offered WTEN for ABC (probably still does) and, in the Hanover/WRJ area they had cable and pulled in WMUR (and WCVB back then).