Phew...switching back to Time Warner

[cliftonparksufan]

God I remember when you tried to steal HBO on that box you would press down channels 14 and 16 at the same time (because 15 was HBO) and then tried to tune it in.

Damn...memories.

I'm sure you remember that you could sort of watch the porn channels on a snowy TV. Adolescents nowadays really have it made.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

Ha, I can remember when we had 2 stations in Syracuse.

Then there was a big hoo-rah when a new station was being added to the lineup, channel 9 WNYS in lo-def.

Then public TV gave us our 4th channel on the UHF dial WCNY.

On a good night we could pull in a snowy piture from Utica on channel 2. Every once in a while another UHF channel would drift in.

When we moved to higher ground, we could get Channel 13 in Kingston, Ontario. Hockey night in Canada was my favorite show. That's when the NHL had six teams and I could name all the players. We were so starved for sports broadcasts back then that curling soon became a favorite to watch.

Down the road Sunday morning's were reserved for Roller Derby with Joannie Weston, the Blond Bombshell.

Back then there was such a dearth of live sports that we turned to PBA bowling and midget wrestling to satisfy our lust for sports when there was nothing else.

Sorry Nirvanna for digressing but when you said 13 channels it struck a funny bone with me.

At work the other day we were discussing Bowling for Dollars and Dialing for Dollars. Now that was real TV.

 

[Toga]

Oh no, I remember Gorgeous George he used to give the ladies Golden Bobby Pins for souviners. How about Bobo Brazil with the famous Coco-butt or Killer Kowalski, Dick The Bruiser, Abdullah the Butcher and the Sheik. Lady wrestler's were interesting too.

I used to live for the Friday Night Fights especially when Carman Basillio was fighting.

Once in awhile, in an appropos situatiion, I will say Coco-Butt and people look at me weird.

 

[Cheriehoop]

Going to college in Oswego in the early 70's - was shocked that they had cable and when I went home in Syracuse we didn't.

 

[Orangeyes]

If you pushed the buttons halfway, you could see premium channels at times

 

[Orangeyes]

God I remember when you tried to steal HBO on that box you would press down channels 14 and 16 at the same time (because 15 was HBO) and then tried to tune it in.

Damn...memories.

Ha, ha yeah that was more like it

 

[Orangeyes]

At work the other day we were discussing Bowling for Dollars and Dialing for Dollars. Now that was real TV.

My wife bowled with her family. One night we took my son and he asked her if this was "Bowling For Dollars?"

Dialing for $$$ was Denny Sullivan wasn't it?

 

[Cuseregular]

Ha, I can remember when we had 2 stations in Syracuse.

Then there was a big hoo-rah when a new station was being added to the lineup, channel 9 WNYS in lo-def.

Then public TV gave us our 4th channel on the UHF dial WCNY.

On a good night we could pull in a snowy piture from Utica on channel 2. Every once in a while another UHF channel would drift in.

When we moved to higher ground, we could get Channel 13 in Kingston, Ontario. Hockey night in Canada was my favorite show. That's when the NHL had six teams and I could name all the players. We were so starved for sports broadcasts back then that curling soon became a favorite to watch.

Down the road Sunday morning's were reserved for Roller Derby with Joannie Weston, the Blond Bombshell.

Back then there was such a dearth of live sports that we turned to PBA bowling and midget wrestling to satisfy our lust for sports when there was nothing else.

Sorry Nirvanna for digressing but when you said 13 channels it struck a funny bone with me.

hockey night in Canada was your favorite Canuck show? Personally I enjoyed the Kingston channel that after 10 pm on Saturday nights would show naked women in various movies, etc. Then maybe I'd rank Hockey night...

BTW thanks for the call, all set on that stuff.

 

[1040su]

I grew up in the north country in the 60's & early 70's. We got just 1 station - channel 7 Carthage-Watertown. Later came channel 24 & on clear nights we could get 2 Canadian stations - 13 which was Kingston (I think) & 11 which was Ottawa (again, I think). Sometimes the picture was pretty snowy. My dad was a huge hockey fan so Hockey Night in Canada was big in our house. I used to watch Kenny Rogers & the 1st Edition's show on one of the Canadian stations. We had to use pliers to change the station... wow! memories!

 

[SBU72]

I grew up in the north country in the 60's & early 70's. We got just 1 station - channel 7 Carthage-Watertown. Later came channel 24 & on clear nights we could get 2 Canadian stations - 13 which was Kingston (I think) & 11 which was Ottawa (again, I think). Sometimes the picture was pretty snowy. My dad was a huge hockey fan so Hockey Night in Canada was big in our house. I used to watch Kenny Rogers & the 1st Edition's show on one of the Canadian stations. We had to use pliers to change the station... wow! memories!

And to think how people now argue about which company can give them the most of the hundreds of channels now available. This is how this thread started! I do know some people who have dropped all cable/dish devices and just go with broadcast stations. They aren't even the ones who use their computer to stream either.

 

[cpatrocks]

We must have had the fancy cable box, 13 buttons but had a switch to move between the top, middle and bottom giving you 39 channels.

I totally forgot about that switch -- and until I saw the pic posted above, I didn't realize it was only 12 channels (x3)

 

[JD]

I totally forgot about that switch -- and until I saw the pic posted above, I didn't realize it was only 12 channels (x3)

I want to say ours went 2-14 with 2 being HBO then 15-27 and 28-40, but I could be completely wrong. It was enlightening to be a teenager when passing the porn channels because they showed a couple of seconds then fuzzed out. Of course you then spent time looking at the screen going "Is that a boob".

 

[LennX6]

Ha, I can remember when we had 2 stations in Syracuse.

Then there was a big hoo-rah when a new station was being added to the lineup, channel 9 WNYS in lo-def.

Then public TV gave us our 4th channel on the UHF dial WCNY.

On a good night we could pull in a snowy piture from Utica on channel 2. Every once in a while another UHF channel would drift in.

When we moved to higher ground, we could get Channel 13 in Kingston, Ontario. Hockey night in Canada was my favorite show. That's when the NHL had six teams and I could name all the players. We were so starved for sports broadcasts back then that curling soon became a favorite to watch.

Down the road Sunday morning's were reserved for Roller Derby with Joannie Weston, the Blond Bombshell.

Back then there was such a dearth of live sports that we turned to PBA bowling and midget wrestling to satisfy our lust for sports when there was nothing else.

Sorry Nirvanna for digressing but when you said 13 channels it struck a funny bone with me.

Hell, we were reduced to watch Notre Dame replays on Sunday AM. Now we get Mad Men at 6am Sundays. Life is good.
I was a Dark Shadows fanatic as a kid. It was on, through a haze of snow mind you, at 3:30 pm on Ch 9. I could time it perfect, off the school bus, get a snack and camp in front of the TV. Then......they had a lineup ship. Dark Shadows was now on at 12:30 pm . Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. I tried for weeks to get my antenna to pick up Ch13 in Rochester to limited avail.
I blame CKWS in Kinsgton for my overuse of "eh". Curses to you Foster Hewitt and Howie Meeker. We could even get CJOH for Wednesdays HNIC. In the summer we got Expos and Blue Jays.
Psst I remember when channel 5 was channel 8.

 

[ImperialOrange]

And to think how people now argue about which company can give them the most of the hundreds of channels now available. This is how this thread started! I do know some people who have dropped all cable/dish devices and just go with broadcast stations. They aren't even the ones who use their computer to stream either.

I get 3 channels on the $3 antenna that my wife and son bought at big lots. I'm curious what I could get with a real one set up on the roof of my house.

 

[CuseFan]

I used to have one of the switcher boxes too.
I remember spending a lot of time after school in the 70's watching NYC's WPIX, which I think was channel 11 in Syracuse, and yelling PIX with kids playing a version of pong on the TV.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

I used to have one of the switcher boxes too.
I remember spending a lot of time after school in the 70's watching NYC's WPIX, which I think was channel 11 in Syracuse, and yelling PIX with kids playing a version of pong on the TV.

Abbott & Costello movies every Sunday at 11:30 AM, followed by Yankees Baseball.

The Mets were on WOR, as well as the wrestling every Saturday at Midnight.

 

[SkanSU]

Wow...I am so glad that I could initiate a walk down memory lane (and I have quite a few including the first "color" TV. Running across the street to our neighbors when they put that colored plastic sheet on their TV... way to go OE) by asking a legitimate question re: FIOS (I really hate those guys now) and Time Warner (Better of 2 evils... cost wise). Thanks everyone for the input and the memories (I also remember having to sit and watch Liberache, Mitch Miller, and Lawrence Welk. Loved Spike Jones tho. Don''t forget Howdy Doody).

 

[realorange]

Wow...I am so glad that I could initiate a walk down memory lane (and I have quite a few including the first "color" TV. Running across the street to our neighbors when they put that colored plastic sheet on their TV... way to go OE) by asking a legitimate question re: FIOS (I really hate those guys now) and Time Warner (Better of 2 evils... cost wise). Thanks everyone for the input and the memories (I also remember having to sit and watch Liberache, Mitch Miller, and Lawrence Welk. Loved Spike Jones tho. Don''t forget Howdy Doody).

Sky King for us kids durin g the week and Saturday night Milton Berle and Show of Shows with Sid Caeser and crew.

 

[SkanSU]

Yeah ... Sky King. Don't forget Jack Benny ... Sid Caesar w/Imogene Coca. Sargeant Preston of the Yukon ... Cisco Kid, too

 

[PoppyHart]

God I remember when you tried to steal HBO on that box you would press down channels 14 and 16 at the same time (because 15 was HBO) and then tried to tune it in.

Damn...memories.

There were similar combos for Showtime and Cinemax, and as an added bonus Showtime would show nudity during their ubiquitous daytime promos! I also recall The Paper Chase being huge back then for Showtime.

Also, this machine paired nicely with the early VCRs which had remotes that you had to plug into the box, kinda like the video game controllers but more annoying.