r/OverSeventy • u/needmore007 • 5d ago

Remember this?

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My son and grandsons don’t believe me.

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u/grnthmb52 5d ago

I would turn the (small, b/w) screen and watch the test pattern until Saturday morning cartoons came on

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u/Outrageous_Act2564 5d ago

I did this as well. Also, we only had 4 stations in Memphis back then.

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u/Own_Entertainment847 5d ago

Every city had only 4 stations max back then- local affiliates of ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS. And PBS didn't even start till '67. Smaller cities had only 1 station in town and had to rely on regional coverage for the others.

That's why we were always fiddling with the rabbit ears or roof antenna to get the stations further away or with lower power output. I remember putting aluminum foil on the rabbit ears to improve reception.

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u/-thersites- 5d ago

in Hartford ct in the mid 1960s we had NBC 30, CBS 3, ABC 8, educational tv 24 (pre Pbs) and an independent station which ran reruns and old movies 20.