TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: Re: What Happened to Channel 1?

Re: What Happened to Channel 1?

Neal McLain (nmclain@annsgarden.com)
Wed, 03 Nov 2004 19:46:14 -0600

PAT wrote:

> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: But this area did not have cable
> TV (nor, for the most part) any over the air TV in 1954-55.
> Coffeyville had that *one* station (channel 4) over the air in
> that time period, Independence had nothing ...

Pat, did you contact the College to see if they publish a program schedule
for W04EJ? And were you able to get your TV set hooked up to a better
antenna to try to receive W04EJ?

> Coffeyville of course still gets channel 4 with its weather
> dials, etc ...

Is the College *still* using "weather dials"?

It reminds me of a device that cable companies used to use back in the
1950s. It consisted of a monochrome vidicon camera clamped to a
vertical shaft that rotated back-and-forth through an angle of about
180 degrees. There were six or seven dials, each about 6 inches in
diameter, arranged in a semicircle around the camera; these dials
displayed time, temperature, wind direction, wind speed, and I forget
what else. Between the dials there were little slots where the cable
operator could insert 3x5 cards for announcements or advertisements.

It was a pretty primitive device, but in the days before electronic
character generators, it was all we had. Besides, it filled a channel
-- in those days, cable companies often didn't have enough video
programming to fill even the 12 channels on the VHF dial.

It's possible that the College could have used such a device back in
the 1960s. But they certainly must be using something more up-to-date
by now!

Neal McLain

[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I did not get a chance to call them or
ask anything. I will try tomorrow (Thursday). PAT]

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