Quote:
Originally posted by Steve D.
I thought these sets had 5 channels including channel 1.
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Steve,
The channel situation before WW2 is rather odd. In 1940 the FCC assigned channels 1 thru 18. Channels 1-7 were from 50 to 108 MHz, and channels 8 to 18 were from 156 to 294 MHz, with spaces in between some of the channels used by other services. Since it was difficult to get the available tubes to oscillate above 100 MHz, most manufacturers' receivers tuned only channels 1 thru 5. A few of the earlier sets tuned only three channels, since the most available in any one area was three (New York).
Before the war, only channels 1 thru 4 were actually used by existing stations. Channel 5 was never used. Channels 8 thru 18 were used by TV broadcasters like microwaves are used today, for relaying remote pickups back to the station, and for studio-transmitter links.
When the war ended, improved tube types developed during the war allowed manufacturers of receivers to build TV tuners that could receive the high band channels. Microwave technology became available immediately to the TV broadcasters, and they moved their auxiliary operations out of the high band VHF channels to microwave frequencies.
Here is a list of the 1940 channel assignments, with the stations that were active before and during the war (call signs left of the slash mark are the experimental calls used prior to July 1941, and those right of the slash are the commercial call letters issued after July 1, 1941:
FM radio stations 42 - 50 MHz
Channel [1] 50 - 56 MHz
W2XBS/WNBT (RCA-NBC) New York - now WNBC channel 4
W6XAO/KTSL (Don Lee) Los Angeles - now KCBS channel 2
W9XZV/WTZR (Zenith Radio) Chicago - R. I. P.
Channel [2] 60 - 66 MHz
W2XAB/WCBW (CBS) New York - now WCBS
Channel [3] 66 - 72 MHz
W3XE/WPTZ (Philco-NBC) Philadelphia - now KYW (CBS)
W2XB/WRGB (GE-NBC) Schenectady - now WRGB channel 6 (CBS)
Channel [4] 78 - 84 MHz
W2XWV/WABD (DuMont) New York - now WNYW channel 5 (FOX)
W9XBK/WBKB (Balaban & Katz) Chicago - now WBBM channel 2 (CBS)
W6XYZ/KTLA (Paramount) Hollywood - now KTLA channel 5
Channel 5 84 - 90 MHz
Channel 6 96-102 MHz
Channel 7 102-108 MHz
Channel 8 162-168 MHz
Channel 9 180-186 MHz
Channel 10 186-192 MHz
Channel 11 204-210 MHz
Channel 12 210-216 MHz
Channel 13 234-240 MHz
Channel 14 240-246 MHz
Channel 15 258-264 MHz
Channel 16 264-270 MHz
Channel 17 282-288 MHz
Channel 18 288-294 MHz