Two questions that I've long wondered about.....

[poltr1]

1. Whatever happened to....TV Channel 1?

In elementary school, I made the curious observation that the numbering of TV channels begin at "2" and not "1". And so I asked, "Why don't the TV channels start at 1?" No one I knew at the time could answer that question, and so I forgot about it, writing it off as "Because that's the way it is."

(No, I am not referring to the "Channel One" service now playing at your local elementary school classroom.)


It wasn't until after I got out of college that I remembered the age-old question, and found someone who could answer it. One of my co-workers at my first job was an electrical engineer who specialized in radio broadcast technology. On one wall of his office was a frequency spectrum chart. He showed me where on the chart TV channel 2 was -- 54-60 MHz -- and right before it was a band marked "mobile radio". In short, the frequencies originally allocated to Channel 1 were reallocated to other purposes. Frequencies between 48-50 MHz are now reserved for public land mobile radio service (PLMRS) and cordless telephones; frequencies between 50-54 MHz are now reserved for amateur radio (6 meter band).

So why were the frequencies reallocated? Back when TV was still in the experimental stage, there were a few TV stations that broadcast on channel 1. The most notable was W2XBS in New York City, which was operated by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA). Its transmitter was at the top of the Empire State Building. This station was to evolve into the modern-day WNBC-TV (Channel 4). RCA, headed by David Sarnoff, was agressive in delivering television, showcasing it at the 1939 World's Fair. Meanhile, FCC chairman James Fly, peeved by Sarnoff's arrogance, retaliated by reassigning Channel 1's frequencies to FM radio, which was also experimental at the time. In the next several years, the frequency bands for TV channels changed a few times. In 1947, members of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) were concerned that the frequency band occupied by channel 1 would interfere with amateur radio, since it was in the range of the second harmonic of the signal for many amateur radio stations operating in the 25-30 MHz band. And in 1948, Channel 1 ceased to exist, except on TV sets manufactured between 1937 and 1947.

Channel 1 is not the only one to go missing. There are no TV stations that broadcast on channel 37 (608-614 MHz), as that band is reserved for radio astronomy. This is also the proposed band for wireless medical telemetry systems. Several years ago, the frequencies currently occupied by channels 60-69 (746-806 MHz) were designated several years ago by the FCC for public safety use. However, the nearly 100 TV stations currently operating at these channels may do so until the transition until digital TV is complete; at which time they will need to relocate. I don't believe there were any TV stations in the US that were assigned to broadcast on channels 70-83 (or as I called it, "the ozone layer"). Those frequencies (806-890 MHz) were reallocated to land mobile use, and possibly cellular phone transmissions. So if you have an old TV set that can still tune in these channels, be prepared for a surprise when you tune them in.

Reference material (courtesy of several searches on Google):

What Became of TV Channel 1?
http://members.aol.com/jeff560/tvch1.html

The Skinny On....Why There's No Channel 1 on a TV
http://www.discovery.com/area/skinnyon/skinnyon971031/skinnyon.html

Why don't US TV Sets have a Channel 1?
http://anarc.org/wtfda/channel1.htm

Whatever Happened to Channel 1
http://www.tech-notes.tv/History&Trivia/Channel%20One/Channel_1.htm

NTIA - US Frequency Allocation Chart
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/osmhome/allochrt.html

Cable TV Channel Frequencies
http://www.jneuhaus.com/fccindex/cablech.html

Cable TV/Broadcast TV Frequency Allocations
http://www.qsl.net/atn/library/Broadcast_freqs.htm


Several TV and FM stations in New York City have their transmission antennae atop the Empire State Building. (Some TV stations moved their equipment to WTC Tower 1, and had to move it back to ESB after 9/11 and months off the air.) The uppermost 6 floors -- floors 80-85 -- are occupied by transmission equipment. Which leads to my next question:

2. There are observation decks on the 86th and 102nd floor atop the Empire State Building. (The 102nd floor is now closed to the general public.) What is on floors 87 thru 101 (also known as "the mooring mast")? Anything?

Here's a close-up picture of the mooring mast looking *up* from the 86th floor. I know that at one point in history, the building was to be used as a landing point for blimps. But high winds prevented that idea from becoming a reality. And my acrophobia will prevent me from ever finding out the answers firsthand.

Here's an interesting article reprinted from the August 1967 issue of Broadcast Engineering magazine, detailing the position of each antenna for the TV and FM stations broadcasting from the top of the Empire State Building.

[I really should send these in to David Feldman, author of the wonderful Imponderables series of books.]

Comments

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

Fascinating post.

Channels 70-83 were in fact reallocated for cellular phone use. However, it's illegal to tune those frequencies. Scanners sold in the US have to be sold with the cellular frequencies disabled.

[poltr1]

I thought I heard something about radio scanners (police/fire/etc.) losing the ability to tune in to those bands for that purpose. Thanks for confirming that.

Now I'm curious if equipment sold before the date the FCC made its decree is grandfathered in, or will need to be retrofitted with notch filters.