Why It Was WMSB On Channel 10

[Ben Zonia]

From 1959 to 1972, what was previously and after WKAR-TV, was WMSB, and shared time with Channel 10 with WILX, which was and is licensed to Onandaga. Since it was a different City of License from East Lansing, it had to have a different set of call letters at that time due to FCC rules, so the choice was WMSB reflecting Michigan State Broadcasting. Similarly, Channel 10 had to be WILX, even though it was originally co owned with WILS 1320 and WILS-FM 101.7.

Channel 10 Analog City Grade, Grade A, and Grade B contours. City Grade contour served both Lansing and Jackson.

https://www.fccdata.org/?lang=en&appid=4189&facid=6863

[Dr. Sandi]

I remember WMSB. Our elementary classes in Lansing included shows from Michigan Classroom Televison. Senora Martha Murray taught us at least two different levels of beginning Spanish in 5th and 6th grade. And I remember a woman who brought us science experiments via the airwaves as well. Heck, I even remember enough Spanish from those classes to order food in Mexican restaurants.

I was even lucky enough to visit their studio in the quonset huts on the MSU campus to meet the 'stars' during an open house. Talk about retro!

WILS and WILX were owned by the WILSon family, hence the origin of the call signs.

[Ben Zonia]

Last time I drove around the remote parts of the campus, there were still a few offices in quonset huts.

There is at least one town, Sturtevant, WI, where quonsets have been converted to homes.

https://patch.com/wisconsin/mountpleasa ... sturtevant

[rugratsonline]

WKAR-TV originally aired on UHF channel 60; but while it was an educational station, it still sought a wider audience so they applied for channel 10, only for that channel to be snapped up by WILX. An agreement would allow both stations to share the same channel and transmitter, though WKAR-TV would broadcast as WMSB. The station would get its own channel again in 1972 under the WKAR-TV callsign, now on channel 23; by then UHF became more viable as a means for TV broadcasting.

More here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WKAR-TV

[edj]

Speaking of educational, I always wondered why Lansing was allotted two stations for such a small market. The other was channel 69 if memory serves, I don’t think it was ever even applied for.

[rugratsonline]

Speaking of educational, I always wondered why Lansing was allotted two stations for such a small market. The other was channel 69 if memory serves, I don’t think it was ever even applied for.

There are very few stations on channel 69, mainly because that channel was as far as you could go on UHF in many areas. Many of these are either indies or religious. One station in Virginia was affiliated with NBC -- it lasted only two years, and was largely ignored by the locals:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WHFV_(Fre ... _Virginia)

[Ben Zonia]

Speaking of educational, I always wondered why Lansing was allotted two stations for such a small market. The other was channel 69 if memory serves, I don’t think it was ever even applied for.

There are very few stations on channel 69, mainly because that channel was as far as you could go on UHF in many areas. Many of these are either indies or religious. One station in Virginia was affiliated with NBC -- it lasted only two years, and was largely ignored by the locals:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WHFV_(Fre ... _Virginia)

Although soon designated just for TV Translators, Channels 70-83 were once used for a handful of TV stations. Some of the closest were CBEFT 78, and CITY-TV 79, and some in Ohio. When 70-83 was reallocated for translators, they moved down to 54 and 57.

There were serious technological limitations for transmitting high ERP on those frequencies, and receiver circuit noise and antenna receiving performance.

[edj]

I get why not many full power 69s were built. My main wonder was why did the FCC designate it as non commercial when 23 was? Lansing is a smaller market, and multiple educationals are only designated in larger markets or if there is more than one major university. Non com religious stations weren't really thought of way back then.
Given how long it took 18 to sign on, it likely would have never been built even if commercial.

[organman95]

Speaking of educational, I always wondered why Lansing was allotted two stations for such a small market. The other was channel 69 if memory serves, I don’t think it was ever even applied for.

There are very few stations on channel 69, mainly because that channel was as far as you could go on UHF in many areas. Many of these are either indies or religious. One station in Virginia was affiliated with NBC -- it lasted only two years, and was largely ignored by the locals:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WHFV_(Fre ... _Virginia)

I *think* most above 55 were largely ignored, even today. The only Channels above 60 that I know of were CMU translator W69AV in Lealand and WGKI/WFQX W61CR in Traverse City and W64CG in Sault Ste. Marie. Which all three were shutdown in 2009.

[rugratsonline]

I *think* most above 55 were largely ignored, even today.

Which was why many of them would relocate to lower channels. A couple of examples included WBGU-TV in Bowling Green, Ohio, which signed on channel 70 in the 1960s, before moving to channel 57, then to 27. Another was ABC affiliate WTVQ in Lexington, Kentucky -- originally on channel 62, they moved to channel 36 in 1980.

Of course, stations such as WWJ-TV 62 in Detroit and WDJT 58 Milwaukee -- both CBS affilates -- are very special exceptions.

[Ben Zonia]

There was also a Channel 69 translator in Lansing which rebroadcast TBN from WAQP 49.

What is now WEYI was originally WKNX-TV 57. Funny that there were two stations operating in Eastern Michigan early on, the other being WTVS 56, and they were on first adjacent channels. Maybe the tuning slugs used early on in receivers covered both channels.

The first Channel 60 Aurora, IL, WLXT, only lasted a year circa 1970. Much later, the present station came on Channel 60 analog. And the first Channel 62 in Detroit, WXON, moved to Channel 20.

[rugratsonline]

What is now WEYI was originally WKNX-TV 57. Funny that there were two stations operating in Eastern Michigan early on, the other being WTVS 56, and they were on first adjacent channels. Maybe the tuning slugs used early on in receivers covered both channels.

Considering the distance between the two stations and their signal strength, being first adjacent to each other was no issue. Channel 57 broadcasted at a lower power from Saginaw, which was farther from WTVS 56 than the 60 miles of space required for first adjacents.

[Ben Zonia]

Both operated at low power at first. My point was that the earlier receivers had tuning slugs with limited frequency ranges, and that would reduce the inventory requirements necessary in the regions. And that is probably why of all the 70 UHF channels, the two were first adjacents. Many early receivers were not all UHF channels.

[Calvert DeForest]

It was 1964 when the FCC mandated newly-built sets to contain built-in UHF tuners. Most sets manufactured prior to then didn't have UHF tuners built-in, although many accommodated external tuners that could be purchased separately. The variable slide-tuning knob design displayed channel increments on the tuning knobs, much like analog radio tuners. If you wanted to watch channel 23 you knew to tune the knob somewhere between 20 and 30.

[Ben Zonia]

I saw my first UHF TV Receiver in the late 1950s in a neighbor's house. I was fascinated by it, and had dreams about tuning in all the UHF Channels. That actually happened during a tropo event 15 or so years later, more or less. There were a few missing channels, but not that many, in the 14-30 range.