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Houston TV Stations


Ashikaga

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If I were to move to Houston, I would naturally bring my television with me. But I wouldn't be able to afford to buy a satellite dish or to pay for Cable TV. I'm just curious as to about how many regular network (VHF/UHF) TV stations I would be able to receive and see clearly with the regular antenna that is already built on to my television?

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depends on where you live. over the air is never that great, before i had cable NBC came in pretty fuzzy, but everything else was tolerable (15 miles SE of downtown).

if you're going to be in a newer apartment or house, you'll probably be able to just connect to the cable (coax) without paying for it and get public channels with pretty good reception. not as good as cable of course.

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depends on where you live. over the air is never that great, before i had cable NBC came in pretty fuzzy, but everything else was tolerable (15 miles SE of downtown).

if you're going to be in a newer apartment or house, you'll probably be able to just connect to the cable (coax) without paying for it and get public channels with pretty good reception. not as good as cable of course.

Thanks. Like I said, I was just curious. I don't know if I'll relocate to Houston in the near future or not.

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i don't have cable at the moment, and with an antenna, i get about 7-10 stations in well...this includes 2 (NBC), 8 (PBS), 11 (CBS), 13 (ABC), 20 (UPN), 26 (FOX), 39 (WB), and a few other (shopping, religious, etc.)

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For some reason, no matter where I've lived in Houston, I cannot get Channel 2 clearly. From the University of Houston to Pearland to Pasadena to SW Houston (Fondren/Bissonnet) to South Union, no Channel 2.

Not that I watched them much anyways. Before I got satellite I was sure thankful for PBS! Not much on regular TV worth watching besides PBS.

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Most of the TV stations, except the lptvs, are on the antennas east of Missouri City, off FM 1092 at Senior Road. The closer you live to that, the more likely you're going to get good reception with rabbit ears. But a set that gets good reception over the air on every channel -- I don't think that exists. It depends some on the tuners built into the set - some are better than others. Many of the FMs are down there too, if that matters to you.

My parents lived at Lake Jackson, about 45 miles from MoCity, and had to have a rooftop antenna. When it got zapped by lightning, they couldn't find anyone to repair it or install another one, so they had to sign up for the local cable. They were able to get a very basic deal - 10 channels of their choice (except premium) for $6.50 a month, I think. They only took 6 channels, the over the air ones they were used to watching. I tried to get 'em to sign up for FoodTV or HGTV or the local sports channel but they were happy with what they had and it wasn't a bad deal for the price. I think cable companies may be required to offer that option for low income subscribers, but they don't publicize it very much, they want you to sign up for as many channels as possible.

I don't have cable or satellite and haven't for 20 years. I don't watch much TV and sure don't need 120 channels.

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Approximately 10 miles southwest of downtown, channel 2 (NBC) comes in tolerably well.  Channels 8 (PBS), 11 (CBS), and 13 (ABC) are crystal-clear.  Channels 20 (UPN), 26 (FOX), and 39 (WB) are pretty clear--better than 2 but not quite as good as 8, 11, and 13.  Channel 51 (independent) barely comes in at all, and I just plain don't get channel 49 (PAX).  Then there are the shopping, Spanish, and Jesus channels, none of which I'm interested in watching anyway.

That's with rabbit ears.  A rooftop antenna would probably work better.

That's what I meant. I wouldn't have an outside/rooftop antenna, just the one that is built into my TV set.

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  • 10 months later...
i don't have cable at the moment, and with an antenna, i get about 7-10 stations in well...this includes 2 (NBC), 8 (PBS), 11 (CBS), 13 (ABC), 20 (UPN), 26 (FOX), 39 (WB), and a few other (shopping, religious, etc.)

To me, that's a good amount of channels you can watch and not have to pay for.

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For some reason, no matter where I've lived in Houston, I cannot get Channel 2 clearly. From the University of Houston to Pearland to Pasadena to SW Houston (Fondren/Bissonnet) to South Union, no Channel 2.

Not that I watched them much anyways. Before I got satellite I was sure thankful for PBS! Not much on regular TV worth watching besides PBS.

Yea, ch 2 has always had trouble. It's mainly the frequency being used.

Ch 2 is the lowest TV freq in use. Appx 54-56 mhz I think..??

On the other hand, ch 11 and ch 13 are both a good bit higher in freq,

and the higher frequencies seem to handle urban areas better for a given

power level.

I'd have to get out a book to see what freq ch 13 is, and I'm too lazy,

but I think it's in the 215+ ?? mhz range.. Of course, UHF is over 300 mhz,

and higher as you go up. Again, the shift in freq's cause a change in

the propogation. I think most UHF stations need to run quite a bit of power

unless they don't mind snow reports.. Many of the off brand stations don't,

and thats why they are usually pretty snowy unless you are close to the

antennas. BTW, most Houston TV station antennas are south of town near

Dewalt.. So it's the people up north that will probably have the most trouble

on the big three VHF stations.

MK

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For some reason, no matter where I've lived in Houston, I cannot get Channel 2 clearly. From the University of Houston to Pearland to Pasadena to SW Houston (Fondren/Bissonnet) to South Union, no Channel 2.

2's in pretty much every city suck. It's because of the frequency range it uses. I remember when I lived in New Jersey I was only 20 miles or so away from New York City's WCBS-TV, but my little black-and-white TV would regularly (couple of times a week) get some station out of Iowa on channel 2 instead.

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2's in pretty much every city suck. It's because of the frequency range it uses. I remember when I lived in New Jersey I was only 20 miles or so away from New York City's WCBS-TV, but my little black-and-white TV would regularly (couple of times a week) get some station out of Iowa on channel 2 instead.

Throughout the 1960s, black & white TVs were all that we had. It wasn't until 1971 when my parent's bought their first color TV. I remember the brand name was Curtis Mathis. I don't know if that brand is even made anymore.

If we had bad reception with the black & white, my dad had to buy an antenna called "rabbit ears." I remember watching some fairly good shows in Houston back then. I was watching the Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964 when The Beatles made their first American appearance. When all of the girls started screaming, I heard my dad say: "That's silly! That's stupid!"

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Throughout the 1960s, black & white TVs were all that we had. It wasn't until 1971 when my parent's bought their first color TV. I remember the brand name was Curtis Mathis. I don't know if that brand is even made anymore.

If we had bad reception with the black & white, my dad had to buy an antenna called "rabbit ears." I remember watching some fairly good shows in Houston back then. I was watching the Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964 when The Beatles made their first American appearance. When all of the girls started screaming, I heard my dad say: "That's silly! That's stupid!"

I had black-and-white televisions until I went to college in 1989. I'm not sure why; that's just how it was in my house -- my parents had a big Panasonic color TV, and the kids each had a black-and-white TV in their rooms. Imagine my shock in the mid-90's when I saw The African Queen, and re-runs of Gilligan's Island and discovered they were in COLOR! To this day, I still set my TV to black-and-white when I watch The African Queen.

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I had black-and-white televisions until I went to college in 1989. I'm not sure why; that's just how it was in my house -- my parents had a big Panasonic color TV, and the kids each had a black-and-white TV in their rooms. Imagine my shock in the mid-90's when I saw The African Queen, and re-runs of Gilligan's Island and discovered they were in COLOR! To this day, I still set my TV to black-and-white when I watch The African Queen.

Today, you'll find only those 5-inch battery-operated black & white TVs that are part of a CD player. All are now color. And they are so cheap, it's better to go out and buy a new one when the break. Because of that, I don't think that there are any TV repair shops around anymore. And since garbage truck refuse to pick them up, that's why you see so many broken TV sets thrown in ditches along side the road.

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  • 3 weeks later...
Throughout the 1960s, black & white TVs were all that we had. It wasn't until 1971 when my parent's bought their first color TV. I remember the brand name was Curtis Mathis. I don't know if that brand is even made anymore.

If we had bad reception with the black & white, my dad had to buy an antenna called "rabbit ears." I remember watching some fairly good shows in Houston back then. I was watching the Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964 when The Beatles made their first American appearance. When all of the girls started screaming, I heard my dad say: "That's silly! That's stupid!"

That's about the time we finally got a color TV. All the other neighbors already had one. My Mom had to wait until ours quit working before she would consider buying another one. Our cat "Pepe" would sit on top of the TV and mess up the rabbit ears and reception - funny. We used to get in trouble when we dialed the channels too fast to change the channel. My son has never even seen a TV with a manual channel dial.

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My son has never even seen a TV with a manual channel dial.

I tell my parents that the kids were the "remote control." We usually sat on the floor in front of the TV and my dad would say, "Turn it up, turn it down, or change the channel."

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I tell my parents that the kids were the "remote control." We usually sat on the floor in front of the TV and my dad would say, "Turn it up, turn it down, or change the channel."

I hear that! I hadn't thought of it that way, but your right! I was the dishwasher too!

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  • 8 months later...
I had black-and-white televisions until I went to college in 1989. I'm not sure why; that's just how it was in my house -- my parents had a big Panasonic color TV, and the kids each had a black-and-white TV in their rooms. Imagine my shock in the mid-90's when I saw The African Queen, and re-runs of Gilligan's Island and discovered they were in COLOR! To this day, I still set my TV to black-and-white when I watch The African Queen.

I'm currently working as a substitute teacher. Even the oldest students (seniors) find it hard to believe when I tell them that there was a time when most people had black & white televisions, but that they had no remote control and that you had to get up and walk over to the TV and flip a dial to change channels.

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I'm currently working as a substitute teacher. Even the oldest students (seniors) find it hard to believe when I tell them that there was a time when most people had black & white televisions, but that they had no remote control and that you had to get up and walk over to the TV and flip a dial to change channels.

We had a big Black/white for quite a while (while I was a child) and I recall late at night my dad watching Perry Mason. I never unstood what it was about (boring) but what stood out was that frightening theme music! Tadda da da..Tadda da da...da ra .......Scary! Used to keep me peeking out from under the sheets. The shadow of the flickering screen against the cieling of my bedroom stays in my memory.

We must have been fascinated when color was new!

I recall NBC always saying "brought to you in Living Color" with the colorful peacock spreading her wings...nice!

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I recall NBC always saying "brought to you in Living Color" with the colorful peacock spreading her wings...nice!

You should like this:

http://www.retrojunk.com/list_commercials....p;sort=remember

Scroll down after the ad and click on the picture Im sure you'll recognize.

My personal favorite is the one right below it for the ABC Movie of the Week trailer. I loved that as a kid.

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You should like this:

http://www.retrojunk.com/list_commercials....p;sort=remember

Scroll down after the ad and click on the picture Im sure you'll recognize.

My personal favorite is the one right below it for the ABC Movie of the Week trailer. I loved that as a kid.

Talk about a blast from the past!

Reminds me how we actually "timed" our day to be able to sit in front of the TV just at the right time. We used to "run" to get the best seat in the living room which wasn't even a seat it was on the floor looking up as your elbows held you up to watch the show. That was BEST seat! and prbably why I wear glasses now! :lol:

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Talk about a blast from the past!

Unfortunately, that site seems to be biased toward the Northeast in its local TV station promos. I'd have loved to have seen the old afternoon Million Dollar Movie from Channel 13 complete with the theme from Ice Station Zebra.

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Unfortunately, that site seems to be biased toward the Northeast in its local TV station promos. I'd have loved to have seen the old afternoon Million Dollar Movie from Channel 13 complete with the theme from Ice Station Zebra.

Then this will blow you away...so far out, it's in!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABC_Movie_of_the_Week

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We had a big Black/white for quite a while (while I was a child) and I recall late at night my dad watching Perry Mason. I never unstood what it was about (boring) but what stood out was that frightening theme music! Tadda da da..Tadda da da...da ra .......Scary! Used to keep me peeking out from under the sheets. The shadow of the flickering screen against the cieling of my bedroom stays in my memory.

We must have been fascinated when color was new!

I recall NBC always saying "brought to you in Living Color" with the colorful peacock spreading her wings...nice!

Oh yes, I understand the scary things on TV for a little kid. Back in the early 1960s when I was about 4 or 5 years old, I was scared to death of a TV show called "The Verdict is Yours." When the camera zoomed in on that judge's gavel being hammered, it made me scream!

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Then this will blow you away...so far out, it's in!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABC_Movie_of_the_Week

Yeah, I've seen that, although the list of movies is new, and quite interesting. That wasn't on there three or so years ago when I first came across it. The series actually ended in 1974, not 1976 as it states. That's not say ABC didn't show made for TV movies, but the ABC Tuesday and Wednesday movie of the week with the light tunnel and Burt Bacharach theme ended in 1974.

I remember quite a few of those (I've seen alot of them, but these are the ones I remember having watched on ABC):

Earth II (1971)

Short Walk to Daylight (1972) (scared the beejezus out of me)

The Night Stalker (1972) (another scary one for a 7 year old)

Satan's School for Girls (1973)

The Man Without a Country (1973)

The Night Strangler (1973)

The Six Million Dollar Man (1973) - series pilot

Toma (1973)

Get Christie Love! (1974)

Houston, We've Got a Problem (1974)

Hurricane (1974)

Planet Earth (1974)

Pray for the Wildcats (1974)

The Day the Earth Moved (1974)

Where Have All the People Gone? (1974) (I'd love to see this one again! A great end of the worlder)

Wonder Woman (1974) - series pilot (saw this one again over the internet last week)

There were probably others, but I'm unsure of their titles after all this time.

An interesting note on the opening sequence: If you think this resembles the light show from 2001, you are right. Douglas Trumbull, who did that effect for Stanley Kubrick did this one for ABC using the same type of equipment, substituting the ABC logo for the outer space effects.

An interesting note on the theme song: Burt Bacharach wrote the song, "Nikki" for his then newborn daughter in 1966. ABC had it rerecorded with a much lusher arrangement for the Movie of the Week. Bacharach reissued his original, simpler version on his boxed CD set he released in 1998. It's not as good as the ABC version. Bacharach's daughter Nikki was in the news earlier this year after she tragically committed suicide at the age of 41. She suffered from an incurable disease and there was no real hope for her, although I don't remember the disease as being fatal, it was something I can't say I'd want to live with.

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Yeah, I've seen that, although the list of movies is new, and quite interesting. That wasn't on there three or so years ago when I first came across it. The series actually ended in 1974, not 1976 as it states. That's not say ABC didn't show made for TV movies, but the ABC Tuesday and Wednesday movie of the week with the light tunnel and Burt Bacharach theme ended in 1974.

I remember quite a few of those (I've seen alot of them, but these are the ones I remember having watched on ABC):

Earth II (1971)

Short Walk to Daylight (1972) (scared the beejezus out of me)

The Night Stalker (1972) (another scary one for a 7 year old)

Satan's School for Girls (1973)

The Man Without a Country (1973)

The Night Strangler (1973)

The Six Million Dollar Man (1973) - series pilot

Toma (1973)

Get Christie Love! (1974)

Houston, We've Got a Problem (1974)

Hurricane (1974)

Planet Earth (1974)

Pray for the Wildcats (1974)

The Day the Earth Moved (1974)

Where Have All the People Gone? (1974) (I'd love to see this one again! A great end of the worlder)

Wonder Woman (1974) - series pilot (saw this one again over the internet last week)

There were probably others, but I'm unsure of their titles after all this time.

An interesting note on the opening sequence: If you think this resembles the light show from 2001, you are right. Douglas Trumbull, who did that effect for Stanley Kubrick did this one for ABC using the same type of equipment, substituting the ABC logo for the outer space effects.

An interesting note on the theme song: Burt Bacharach wrote the song, "Nikki" for his then newborn daughter in 1966. ABC had it rerecorded with a much lusher arrangement for the Movie of the Week. Bacharach reissued his original, simpler version on his boxed CD set he released in 1998. It's not as good as the ABC version. Bacharach's daughter Nikki was in the news earlier this year after she tragically committed suicide at the age of 41. She suffered from an incurable disease and there was no real hope for her, although I don't remember the disease as being fatal, it was something I can't say I'd want to live with.

I don't remember ABC, but I do remember the CBS Thursday Night Movie. I also remember The Man From U.N.C.L.E. coming on Friday night and The F.B.I. coming on Sunday night.

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Oh yes, I understand the scary things on TV for a little kid. Back in the early 1960s when I was about 4 or 5 years old, I was scared to death of a TV show called "The Verdict is Yours." When the camera zoomed in on that judge's gavel being hammered, it made me scream!

I remember that! I was creeped out through high school by the "Wanted by the FBI" thing that would come on about 2 in the morning. I would stay up late to watch a movie or "In Concert" and would almost always doze off, but hearing that "WANTED BY THE FBI!" woke me up fast.

I also remember seeing in the late 60's or early 70's a drunk driving PSA that I only saw once, but I swear I didn't dream it. It had a guy dressed like the Grim Reaper in a series of still B&W pictures - I think some were beside wrecked cars - with a man reading a morbid poem in which every stanza began with "I'm Death". The only line I recall any of was "I'm Death - I live on (can't remember), and I pick my teeth with people's bones...." I could understand something like this getting complaints, so maybe that's why I never saw it again. :unsure:

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I remember that! I was creeped out through high school by the "Wanted by the FBI" thing that would come on about 2 in the morning. I would stay up late to watch a movie or "In Concert" and would almost always doze off, but hearing that "WANTED BY THE FBI!" woke me up fast.

I also remember seeing in the late 60's or early 70's a drunk driving PSA that I only saw once, but I swear I didn't dream it. It had a guy dressed like the Grim Reaper in a series of still B&W pictures - I think some were beside wrecked cars - with a man reading a morbid poem in which every stanza began with "I'm Death". The only line I recall any of was "I'm Death - I live on (can't remember), and I pick my teeth with people's bones...." I could understand something like this getting complaints, so maybe that's why I never saw it again. :unsure:

On the old black & white TV I also remember watching The Twilight Zone ("You are entering a new dimension") and The Outer Limits ("There is nothing wrong with your television") back in the early 1960s.

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  • 2 months later...
On the old black & white TV I also remember watching The Twilight Zone ("You are entering a new dimension") and The Outer Limits ("There is nothing wrong with your television") back in the early 1960s.

Two words: Night Gallery (NBC). This show scared the CRAP outta me when I was little...but I never missed it.

Duel and Killdozer rocked my world. I now have Duel on DVD. I hope they release Killdozer someday...

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Two words: Night Gallery (NBC). This show scared the CRAP outta me when I was little...but I never missed it.

Duel and Killdozer rocked my world. I now have Duel on DVD. I hope they release Killdozer someday...

Yes, I also remember Night Gallery. Are you talking about Steven Spielburg's first movie called "Dual" which starred Dennis Weaver? I've never heard of Killdozer?

I remember many shows from back in the early/mid 1960s on an old black & white TV set. I liked The Patty Duke Show. Do any of you remember that show?

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Two words: Night Gallery (NBC). This show scared the CRAP outta me when I was little...but I never missed it.

Oooh... Night Gallery was one scary show. I remember watching one (A Fear of Spiders) where spiders kept coming out of a guy's sink. Some real nightmares there.

I used to watch it as a kid whenever my parents would let me. Then around 1980 or so, Channel 39 would show reruns late at night and my mom would always be coming into the living room asking when I was going to bed. Unfortunately, no one shows it anymore.

My favorite is one from 1971 called A Big Surprise. A bunch of kids playing hooky from school happen across this eccentric old man who promises them "a big surprise" if they dig for it under a old tree in a field. The kids, all thinking he is talking about buried treasure rush for the tree and start digging away. Eventually they all give up, save one, who keeps digging as daylight turns to dusk. Finally he hits something. He uncovers a large box and when he opens it... there's the old man inside, laughing away. "I told you you'd get a surprise!" he cackles. LOL!

My other favorite Night Gallery episodes, in no particular order:

Since Aunt Ada Came to Stay

A Fear of Spiders

The Devil Is Not Mocked

Hell's Bells

Cool Air (a excellent episode)

Green Fingers

Lindemann's Catch

The Catepillar (another excellent episode)

Man, I sure wish they'd show Night Gallery again.

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