Alphastar and the local channels (1996)

[JosephHolloway1998]

As the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act (SHVIA) didn't take effect until Fall 1999, the only option on Alphastar for the broadcast networks was the PT24 lineup (KPIX 5 San Francisco (CBS-W)/KNBC 4 Los Angeles (NBC-W)/KOMO 4 Seattle/WRAL 5 Raleigh (CBS-E)/WNBC 4 New York City (NBC-E)/WJLA 7 Washington D.C. (ABC-E)/FOX Net etc...) or to buy a TV Antenna (Outdoor Rooftop and Rabbit Ears) for the local channels and have coaxial cable attached to the receiver (RG6/U is popular with TV antennas but RG11/U is for low loss). RF Modular AV could also work as well.

 

[JosephHolloway1998]

But as for the local channels they generally depend on where you live and where your antenna is pointed.
For example: Jacksonville, FL (pointing north towards the Brunswick, GA/Savannah area)
003 WSAV 3 (NBC-Savannah, GA)
004 WJXT 4 (CBS-Jacksonville)
007 WJCT 7 (PBS-Jacksonville)
008 WXGA 8 (PBS/GPB-Valdosta, GA)
009 WVAN 9 (PBS/GPB-Savannah, GA)
011 WTOC 11 (CBS-Savannah, GA)
012 WTLV 12 (NBC-Jacksonville)
017 WJKS 17 (ABC (soon to be WB)-Jacksonville)
021 WBSG 21 (WB (soon to switch to ABC)-Brunswick) though several cable systems in the Jacksonville area carried the superstation feed of WGN-TV which acted as a "de facto" national feed for The WB Television Network especially for areas that don't have an affiliate
022 WJCL 22 (ABC-Savannah, GA)
028 WGTS 28 (Fox-Savannah, GA)
030 WAWS 30 (Fox-Jacksonville)
034 WUBI 34 (WB-Savannah, GA), which later switched to UPN in early 1997 with WJCL ABC22 maintaining a secondary affiliation with The WB in off-net hours
047 WTEV 47 (UPN-Jacksonville)
059 WJEB 59 (TBN-Jacksonville)

 

[Titanium]

What does this have to do with Free To Air satellite?

 

[JosephHolloway1998]

What does this have to do with Free To Air satellite?

Alphastar was FSS, but a TV antenna was needed in order to receive local channels.

 

[Titanium]

FSS is Fixed Satellite Service. FSS does not mean that a service was transmitted unencrypted or FTA - Free To Air. Alphastar was an encrypted KU-band satellite service, which could not be viewed unless the customer used a subscribed receiver provided by Aphastar.

 

[JosephHolloway1998]

FSS is Fixed Satellite Service. FSS does not mean that a service was transmitted unencrypted or FTA - Free To Air. Alphastar was an encrypted KU-band satellite service, which could not be viewed unless the customer used a subscribed receiver provided by Aphastar.

Well, thanks for the correction anyways.

 

[JosephHolloway1998]

Or In my area (Northridge, CA which is part of the Los Angeles area), it would be more like this: Antenna pointing North towards the Central Coast
002 KCBS 2 (CBS - Los Angeles)
003 KEYT 3 (ABC - Santa Barbara)
004 KNBC 4 (NBC - Los Angeles), also appears on FTA Ku-Band, and on C-Band, DirecTV and Dish Network (as "NBC America West" as on-air identity)
005 KTLA 5 (WB - Los Angeles)
006 KSBY 6 (NBC - San Luis Obispo)
007 KABC 7 (ABC - Los Angeles) also the West Coast ABC feed on Primestar (W7-34)
009 KCAL 9 (IND - Los Angeles)
011 KTTV 11 (Fox - Los Angeles)
012 KCOY 12 (CBS - Santa Maria)
013 KCOP 13 (UPN - Los Angeles)
018 KSCI 18 (IND - Los Angeles)
022 KWHY 22 (IND - Los Angeles)
024 KVCR 24 (PBS - San Bernardino)
028 KCET 28 (PBS - Los Angeles)
030 KZKI 30 (InTV - Los Angeles)
034 KMEX 34 (UNI - Los Angeles)
040 KTBN 40 (TBN - Los Angeles)
046 KHSC 46 (HSN - Los Angeles)
050 KOCE 50 (PBS - Huntington Beach)
052 KVEA 52 (TEL - Los Angeles)
056 KDOC 56 (IND - Los Angeles)
057 KSTV 57 (WB - Ventura), also served as a WB affiliate for the Central Coast
058 KLCS 58 (PBS - Los Angeles)
063 KADY 63 (UPN - Oxnard), also the UPN affiliate for the Santa Barbara market
But not that many people in my area had satellite dishes back then.