[Jeffhs]

Carmine,

I don't mean to challenge you here; I am aware of the fact that, living in the Detroit metropolitan area, you would know infinitely more about Detroit's TV stations than I would. What I meant to say in my last post was, when Detroit's channel 2 (then CBS) changed networks, it got Fox and channel 62 wound up getting the CBS affiliation, as you mentioned. (Twelve cities in total wound up having their channel lineups shuffled the same way when Fox bought TV stations in those areas in the early '90s.)

The same network swap occurred in Cleveland around that time as well, involving the city's CBS channel 8 and Fox channel 19; Fox bought out channel 8's former owners and switched the station to its network, which meant CBS, which had been on channel eight in Cleveland over 40 years by that time, had to settle on either channel 19 or 43. Channel 43 turned down the offer for the CBS affiliation, but 19 took it hook line and sinker, making the latter northeastern Ohio's CBS affiliate. People west of Cleveland have problems receiving the station over the air because channel 19's transmitter is east of town, but the station comes in beautifully on cable everywhere in northeast Ohio, some 50 miles in all directions.

Channel 62 wound up eventually with WWJ, the former call sign of Detroit's NBC affiliate, while channel 2 kept its call sign (WJBK). The NBC station is WDIV, as it has been for some time, having changed from WWJ some time earlier. (That's what I meant to say in my last post.)

How far are you from Detroit's TV stations? The transmitters are in Southfield, Michigan. Is St. Clair Shores a close-in suburb of Detroit, or is it an outlying area? Do you have an outdoor antenna, and if so, is it on a rotor or a tower?

I did not realize that WWJ-TV (CBS 62) is now operated by CBS, nor that the station's transmitter was in such bad shape when CBS acquired it. I remember seeing very good over-air pictures from 62 (then WGPR-TV) in the Cleveland area in the summer when it was an independent station.

In case you're wondering how I know so much about Detroit's TV stations: Before I had cable, I used to spend many hours in the summer DXing the VHF and UHF TV bands; I have seen Detroit's stations (and also Saginaw/Flint channels) many times when the bands were wide open, and one of Cleveland's stations was off the air (notably channels 5 and 25) when they used to sign off late at night. However, my best (and most amazing) TV DX was always on channel 2. I have received stations from as far away as Cheyenne, Wyoming on that channel, and many times I could get two or more stations on the same channel. One time I received WPBT-TV (the PBS station in Miami) on channel 2, five days in a row, just using rabbit ears on my TV set (a Zenith Space Command 300 19" from 1969). Couldn't believe it. One summer, over 25 years ago, I even saw then-NBC channel 2 in Denver coming in as if it were local, using just a set of rabbit ears atop the TV. The reception didn't last very long, but I'll never forget it.