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Originally Posted by Alex KL-1
FM stations have also this issue here I live (Brazilian triple border with Argentina and Paraguay; Foz do Iguaçu). Besides some pirate station playing havoc with my 70's-80's-90's preferred station, some legal stations are crowded one adjacent or almost to each other (bad planning and communications between countries). Well, for poor stations, it's favorite sport is to change frequency from time to time. And, the radio comms cannot use VHF band due to harmonic interference from poor stations; where I work, the private radio comm network needed to be UHF.
Also from TV analogue era, was common to have some TV channels adjacent being used (4-5, 8-9, 12-13 for example). For this, the solution of rotating the antenna applies, due to different country station location.
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True, that is a big problem in border area, radio signal travel across the border no problem and sometimes there can be interference with both or all nations if they do not share the same or similar band plans. I know if I past Mercer County, PA ( Mercer County, on Mom's side, my ancestors was among the first settlers there after fighting the American Revolution) and north, as an amateur I can to be careful since I would be above "Line A" and prohibited from transmitting on 420 - 430 Mc because in Canada that is used for different purposes than amateur radio. I was also above Line A when I was eclipse chasing in April and ended in Ashtabula County, Ohio.
BTW, WTAE-TV, channel 4 in the analogue days was one of those Class B (IIRC) low power VHF stations in Pittsburgh. VHF-Lo TV stations from channels 2 to 6 can transmit up to 100 kW but WTAE-TV was restricted to 50 kW because there was a Channel 4 in Washington DC (When WTAE-TV went off the air, many a night, I could get the Washington, DC station, WRC) O the other side, there was a channel 4 in Columbus, Ohio so Pittsburgh was in between. I lived in the West Hills of Pittsburgh and WTAE-TV had their transmitter East of Pittsburgh so there were times it was hard to get over the air, it was a true challenge plus I also lived near the airport, a busy flight pattern. There was an adjacent Channel 5 too, WDTV to the south in Bridgeport, West Virginia.
WTAE-TV went on the air in 1958, until then, except for a brief time with a weak UHF station, Pittsburgh only had KDKA-TV which was WDTV (until the West Virginian TV station took those call letter later on, but Pittsburgh was on the Dumont Network and was said to be the belt buckle. There were people who tried to pull in TV stations from adjacent TV markets such as Steubenville, Ohio, Wheeling, West Virginia and Johnstown, PA too.
One of WTAE-TV first shows, a huge part of Pittsburgh history, was called Top Banana, Second Banana and the Musician that was al ocal variety show. The musician was named Joe Negri who was also the first musical director on WTAE-TV. He is a jazz guitarist and a local legend, he played the Handyman in Mr. Roger's neighborhood. He turns 98 in two days, he got his first start in radio at the age of 3 (been performing on radio since 1929), still performs, still teaches music. Married to the same wife for 70 years too.
Another Pittsburgh TV oddity was we had two NET/PBS stations, WQED on channel 13 and WQEX of channel 16. Joe Negri performed on them too. Pittsburgh was the last US city to still have an all black and white TV station and WQEX was it. It was low budget, using al old 1953 vintage UHF TV transmitter up till it died in 1986. A lot of them ore far our programs ended up there plus a lot of British TV shows too. I was like Brit Box before Brit Box, albeit in black and white. I remember watching Dr. Who and Black Adder on it.In 1986 when they got s new transmitter, they went to color.
Sorry I went long but I love history and Pittsburgh does have a vivid TV/radio history like most places in the world. I also like to go to Youtube to see what TV is like in other nations too, it is fascinating.