Not only were episodes of "The Honeymooners" lost, but Los Angeles also has lost television channels. Starting with number 1 and ending at 83.
TV Channel 1, KARO Riverside CaliforniaTV Channel 16, Cop Shop
TV Channel 37, Out of this world
Hollywood and the wireless mic
TV Channel 14 and 20, Private Land Mobile Radio Service
TV Channel 70 through 83, Cellular phones.
TV Channel 52 through 69, Financing for the Federal government.
TV Networks on Wireless, Broadcasting on Broadband
In 1947 when the FCC was gearing up the very first table of allocations for commercial television channel assignments, it started with channel 1 and worked its way up to channel 13. But unless you bought a 'grey market' TV meant to be sold overseas, you have never seen a "channel 1" on the dial. But this was before cable, and from no location would you actually recieve TV on all the 13 channels over the air.
For technical reasons, the allocations for a given region must skip or alternate channels to preclude serious interference in reception. The only exceptions being the pairs 1/2, 4/5 and 6/7 which could be assigned together in a market because these have additional frequency spacing. From the beginning it was obvious that Los Angeles would need the maximum number of posssible channels, so the sequence:
1/2/4/5/7/9/11/13
was used. 8 total channels. The 5 interleave channels:
3/6/8/10/12
could then be used for areas on the fringe of the Los Angeles market. 3 for Santa Barbara; 6, 8 and 10 for San Diego. The semi-fringe Riverside station KARO was assigned to position 1, figuring its distance would help reduce possible interference. Ownership was Broadcasting Corp of America, same operation as AM radio station KPRO. Not the same as the KPRO of today, but on 1440 kc, licensed in November 1941.
Outside of Los Angeles, Chicago and New York City there was scant demand for building expensive independent TV stations that could offer no guarantee of revenue. At the time there were only 2 real advertising supported commercial networks (CBS/NBC) that evolved from radio broadcasting. The FCC subsequently decided that 13 channels would be excessive to provide national coverage needs for just 2 networks. Channel 1 TV stations were not being built anywhere because, among other things, assignees had to wait for the old FM broadcast band radio stations to relocate into their present band of 88-108Mhz. The next year (1948) channel 1 was dropped by the FCC, but because a large number of channel 2 stations (and other channels) were already on-air, it decided not to renumber the system (and rewrite the entire book of TV regulations). The frequencies originally slated for TV channel 1 are now used for amateur radio, wireless telephones and baby monitors.
Riverside's channel 1 at least in theory could have been reassigned to channel 12, but with the large number of VHF stations powering up nationwide in 1948, it became painfully obvious that these original allocations were all too closely spaced and unexpected interference was coming up everywhere. The FCC put a 5 year freeze on all new or unbuilt facilities so its engineers could figure out a plan to acommodate the stations that were already broadcasting. In reality then full power broadcasting on either channel 1 or 12 would never have worked satisfactorily. Riverside, and the rest of the inland region would have to wait for UHF band allocations. September 11, 1962, KVCR on channel 24 was the first of these, broadcasting from the campus of Valley College in San Bernardino.
It was not until the mid-60s that TV sets were even required to have a UHF tuner, so many early attempts at commercial UHF stations just could not succeed if any VHF stations served the region. "Equal access" tuners on TV's and more importantly, the arrival of cable TV finally gave UHF stations half a chance. But the new UHF band still suffered from the same problem as the original VHF band. Too many available channels, too few broadcasters. [back to top]
TV Channel 16, Cop Shop [1960]
When I was a kid, you could listen in on Los Angeles police radio traffic on the shortwave bands. Shortwave meaning they started with the frequencies directly above the regular AM broadcast band (at 1730 KHz). A number of future 2-way radio technicians started their careers by using a screwdriver and twisting on various items on the insides of a radio until those police calls could be tuned in at the top of the dial. This was especially dangerous in the days before transistors as those old tube sets often ran hot off the AC mains. Electrocution was lurking everywhere; the screwdriver had a plastic handle for a good reason.
The coverage was especially good for a large county, it got out much like any regular AM broadcast station. After all, 2-way communication was still Dick Tracy stuff; the radio was mostly for 1-way dispatch calls to "radio equipped" cars. Deputies in non-equipped cars could tweek the old motorola AM radio and still get dispatches. And so could crooks, for that matter. Personal concerns and return messages were handled by old fashioned telephone. It worked fine in the 30s and 40s. (a link to LAPD radio dispatch history)
By the 50s the value of generallized communication, such as "calling all cars" and sig-alert bulletins was waning. Dispatchers needed to handle dozens of simultaneous situations, requiring immediate 2-way communications without choking off all radio traffic. Ad hoc teams of policemen outside of cars needed dedicated channels for each tactical situation that developed without going through central dispatchers. And by now, tiny pocket-sized transistor radios could be easily tuned to the high power central dispatchers by crooks to keep ahead of police movements in fluid situations. The answer was low power transmissions that could occur anywhere on a large number of channels.
The backbone of the new Los Angeles County public safety communication was to be found in UHF television channels!!
Just as VHF assignments required alternating channels, UHF has a similar set of limitations. For a specific community, channels were on every 6th position starting from an FCC selected foundation. Thus for San Bernardino, the sequence was started at 18, then continued up to 24, then 30 as stations were added. For Los Angeles proper, the base was 16, then 22, 28, 34, 40, 46, 52, 58 followed. But in the fifties, it looked like there would never be any takers for all this territory, so in a bold move, channel 16 was converted to public safety use. After all, frequencies just below channel 14 were already in use for the 2-way radio UHF band, so it was not that much of a stretch converting standard equipment already used for business communication. [back to top]
Besides having lost TV channels, it looks like Jenna has lost her clothes. Visit Club Jenna and help her find her clothes again (or not).
Ok, so channel 37 never really was suitable for use in or near Los Angeles because of spacing/protection requirements. The FCC prohibited the use of channel 37 nationwide after January 1, 1974. The cover story is that it was being reserved for radio astronomy purposes, but most everyone knows that it is the CIA surveilence and espionage channel. Most TVs have a channel 37 position, so if you see pictures there, they are from Mars or someplace else in inter-stellar space. [back to top]
When wireless telephones came into vogue in the mid-seventies, (when it became legal for a person to actually own a phone) they caused a mess of interference on the previously quiet TV channel 1 frequencies at 49 MHz. Hollywood had been using this band for their wireless mics. Imagine shooting a movie, when all of a sudden you get the back end of a phone conversation with a bookie instead of the leading lady. Not good. So in 1977, Hollywood and TV producers were allowed to migrate into the "unused" VHF and UHF TV spectrum. Unused means no TV assignments within 70 miles, which for Hollywood includes all the Los Angeles DMA stations and also Santa Barbara, Ventura and Bakersfield.
While some VHF interleave frequencies could be used, (but not channel 3) they also appear on local cable TV systems which are notorious for "leakage". Current pro gear is built to work mostly on high UHF channels even though the FCC has recently repurposed UHF channels 52 through 69. Actually these are not lost channels because wireless mic use is secondary to broadcasting. With DTV, channel interleave is no longer necessary, or desirable considering the need to double the number of broadcast outlets; every TV broadcaster now gets a second channel for DTV, at least until 2006.
What that means is every possible UHF channel is spoken for with these 2 exceptions which are still available for wireless mics locally ~
15/19
A chart of assigned UHF channels indicates that as DTV rolls out, movie producers will be scrambling for clear wireless mic frequencies again. [back to top]
The demand in urban areas for both private sector business radio communications and public service channels exceeded all possible VHF and UHF available frequencies in the late 60's, so channels were cut in half by reducing modulation bandwidth. But demand only increased, so that the UHF TV channels were put to use again. Designated as T-band, the Private Land Mobile Radio Service was established in 1978. Channel 16 continues to be strictly for public safety (ie police and fire) use only. But now in the Los Angeles region channels 14 and 20 could also be used for public service such as tree trimmers, highway repair, garbage trucks, event coordination, or what have you. [back to top]
Actually, TV sets are no longer made with these channels, but many people, including me still have "older" sets. This did not disrupt broadcasting in urban areas as the FCC did not assign full power TV stations in this band. It was reserved instead for exclusive use of low power translator stations to service rural areas. When cellular phones came in 1982, these translators had to migrate down and find space between big stations. Now with digital TV, a large number of translators are being displaced again. Could it be that rural America has fewer votes in Congress?? Anyway the FCC made some big bucks selling cellular phone franchises, which has set the stage for even more "Channels for Dollars" deals yet to come.
While congress can eliminate the channels used for TV, Larry Flynt and his Hustler girls have fought hard to preserve the rights of free expression. Freedom is not free, join today!
TV Channels 52-69 [1998 - 2006]
By now it should be appearant that Public Service and other mobile radio users have an absolutely insatiable appetite for frequency spectrum. A fact that has not gone unnoticed by budget balancers in Washington DC. Any unassigned TV channel from 60 to 69 is now gone. Channels 60, 61, 68 and 69 are reserved for future Public Safety communication needs as of January 6, 1998. The rest of this bloc will be placed up for auction to the highest and best bidder. Unfortunately for the Federal accountants, these have all been assigned locally as either digital or fullpower analog TV channels with the exception of channel 67 which is the last gasp of low power KNLA. If KNLA (67) can achieve "Class A" low power certification under the "Community Broadcasting Protection Act of 1999", it could hold out here until the DTV transition period is completed (about 6 to 10 years), same as KRCA (62) and KHIZ (64) full power analog television broadcasters.
At the close of the analog TV broadcasting era, the FCC will reclaim all of the channels from 52 to 69 for resale. How is this possible considering virtually every possible TV channel is currently spoken for here abouts? Well, first of all, the analog broadcasts from KVEA (52), KIDN (54), KDOC (56), KJLA (57), KLCS (58), KRCA (62), KADY (63) KHIZ (64) and possibly KNLA (67) will just be shut off. All of these, with the exception of KRCA, KIDN and KNLA will already be relocated to their new permanent DTV channel. Then the DTV signals from KABC (53), KCET (59), KCBS (60) KSCI (61), KTTV (65), and KCOP (66) will migrate back to the familiar analog channels as DTV. There is still some political wrangling to be done before the VHF television channels are similarly reclaimed. However it is done, the permanenent channel assignment for each stations DTV broadcasting will be selected prior to January 1, 2004, and must meet with FCC approval.
One broadcaster is chompin' at the bit to have his channels auctioned off and eliminated. Paxson Communications owns a lot of sub-performing high channel UHF stations nationwide. With the close of the analog TV era, these licenses will become useless, exept to the new users of these frequencies might want to pay Paxson to stop broadcasting so they can get their new services up and running. (Actually quite a few people would pay to have Paxson stop broadcasting, but he wants more than 2 cents) Among the new users are Qualcomm on channel 55 for its 20 program cell phone video service, and Aloha Partners putting 40 video programs on channels 54 and 59. The Pax TV 55 in Albany NY will be the first station to give up its analog channel and broacast digital only (on channel 50). The FCC felt that was ok seeing that nobody really watches Ion Media. [back to top]
Broadcasting on Wireless Broadband [2009]
When the broadcasters terminate their analog signals in February 2009, a new class of wireless non-licensed networking will spring up. Yep your connection to the internet might just be on a TV channel previously used for broadcasting Jerry Springer and Oprah Winfrey to the great un-washed mass media. However with the major TV networks opting for 'netcasting of thier programs, you may have the option of watching TV re-runs on you laptop.