Appendix 10: A Trail of Bleached Bones

The following is a list of defunct UHF TV stations and construction permits from the authorization of UHF in 1952 until the late 1970's, when this list was originally published. The list also includes a number of UHF stations which vacated the higher UHF channels for lower ones, a common practice in UHF's early days.

The compiler of this list was Mike Dorner, Jr. of Metairie, Louisiana, with whom the author has unfortunately lost contact in the intervening two decades. (The title, A Trail of Bleached Bones, is original with Dorner.) The author does not know which sources Dorner used for his original research, and he does not differentiate between formerly operating stations and unbuilt construction permits.

Updates to this list were made by the author, and also taken from several articles written by Robert B. Cooper, Jr., former editor of the Community Antenna Television Journal (CATJ). The historical notes in Appendix Twelve were written by the author, except where noted. Credit must also be given to the Worldwide TV-FM DX Association (WTFDA), publisher of the VHF-UHF Digest, where this list first appeared in May 1977.

Like the original, this list is arranged by channel number. Educational UHF outlets are indicated with an asterisk (*). Stations which are still operating today, but which have changed channels, are indicated with a pound sign (#) and in the notes. The author has discovered a number of Web pages devoted to some of these UHF stations, and has linked to them below and on Appendix Eleven.

The author is pleased to present this listing as a tribute to the pioneering UHF broadcasters who made television as we know it today possible. Do you remember any of these stations? Send an E-mail to the author with your thoughts and recollections, as well as any additions or corrections to this listing.

The author also would like to note the three known VHF stations which, with the lifting of the FCC "freeze", moved to the UHF band: WIRL-TV, channel 8, Peoria IL (which moved to channel 19), KERO-TV, channel 10, Bakersfield CA (which moved to channel 23), and KFRE-TV, channel 12, Fresno CA (which moved to channel 30). All three stations survived the transition to UHF, and still operate today under different call letters.

Channel 19

WVJS-TV, Owensboro KY
KTIC-TV, St. Cloud MN
WLNS-TV, Jacksonville NC
WTLV, New Brunswick NJ*
KLPR-TV, Oklahoma City OK
KAEC-TV, Nacogdoches TX
KETX, Tyler TX

Channel 22

KNCO, Fort Collins CO
WJNR-TV, Clearwater FL
WIFE, Dayton OH
WENS, Pittsburgh PA
WUHM-TV, Mayaguez PR
KTVW, Wichita Falls TX
KTLF, Seattle WA

Channel 28

KUSC-TV, Los Angeles CA*
WTSS-TV, Tampa FL
WNBH-TV, New Bedford MA
WCTV, Flint MI
WETV, Raleigh NC
WNAO-TV, Raleigh NC

Channel 32

WETX, Washington DC*
WPGT, Clearwater FL
WTLE, Evanston IL
WCNO-TV, New Orleans LA
WRLP, Greenfield MA
KWKC-TV, Abilene TX

Channel 34

WSBT-TV, South Bend IN# (see notes)
KSLN-TV, Salina KS
WILK-TV, Wilkes-Barre PA (see notes)
KMXN-TV, Lubbock TX
KANG-TV, Waco TX
KFIZ-TV, Fond du Lac WI

Channel 37

WGOV-TV, Valdosta GA (see notes)

Channel 38

WSUN-TV, St. Petersburg FL
WGNO-TV, New Orleans LA
WFTV, Duluth MN
KWTT, Tyler TX*
WTLB, La Crosse WI

Channel 39

WTML, Miami FL
KAKS-TV, Omaha NE
WQCY, Allentown PA
WSHA, Sharon PA
KDTV, Dallas TX
KNUZ-TV, Houston TX

Channel 40

KCCC-TV, Sacramento CA
WNFA-TV, Tallahassee FL
KHTV, Baton Rouge LA
WWHO-TV, Jackson MS
WCCT, Fayetteville NC
WQHO, Greensburg PA

Channel 41

WLOU-TV, Louisville KY
WQXL-TV, Louisville KY
WROW-TV, Albany NY (see notes)
KWID-TV, Tulsa OK
KTVR, Galveston TX
KCOR-TV, San Antonio TX

Channel 42

WSGN-TV, Birmingham AL
KCFT-TV, Concord CA
WIL-TV, St. Louis MO
WLEC-TV, Sandusky OH
WNAM-TV, Oshkosh WI

Appendix 10: A Trail of Bleached Bones

Channel 14

Channel 15

Channel 16

Channel 17

Channel 18

Channel 19

Channel 20

Channel 21

Channel 22

Channel 23

Channel 24

Channel 25

Channel 26

Channel 27

Channel 28

Channel 29

Channel 30

Channel 31

Channel 32

Channel 33