The following table gives the definitions of the numeric cable channels defined in the EIA (Electronic Industries Association) Interim Standards, IS-6 (CP), May 1983 and associated information that has been gathered. Definitions appear at the end. HRC Picture Channel Carrier Cable Band Other Names -------- ------- ----------- -------------------------- 1 72 MHz Low (VAR) A-8, C54, J54, G64, 4+, 5A 2 54 Low 3 60 Low 4 66 Low 5 78 Low A-7, C55, J55, G65 6 84 Low A-6, C56, J56, G66 7 174 High 8 180 High 9 186 High 10 192 High 11 198 High 12 204 High 13 210 High 14 120 Mid A 15 126 Mid (ATC) B 16 132 Mid (ATC) C 17 138 Mid (VAR) D 18 144 Mid (VAR) E 19 150 Mid (VAR) F 20 156 Mid (VAR) G 21 162 Mid (VAR) H 22 168 Mid (VAR) I 23 216 Super (VAR) J 24 222 Super (VAR) K 25 228 Super L 26 234 Super M 27 240 Super N 28 246 Super O 29 252 Super P 30 258 Super Q 31 264 Super R 32 270 Super S 33 276 Super T 34 282 Super U 35 288 Super V 36 294 Super W 37 300 Hyper AA, W+1 38 306 Hyper BB, W+2 39 312 Hyper CC, W+3 40 318 Hyper DD, W+4 41 324 Hyper EE, W+5 42 330 Hyper FF, W+6 43 336 Hyper GG, W+7 44 342 Hyper HH, W+8 45 348 Hyper II, W+9 46 354 Hyper JJ, W+10 47 360 Hyper KK, W+11 48 366 Hyper LL, W+12 49 372 Hyper MM, W+13 50 378 Hyper NN, W+14 51 384 Hyper OO, W+15 52 390 Hyper PP, W+16 53 396 Hyper QQ, W+17 54 402 Hyper RR, W+18, C62 55 408 Hyper SS, W+19, C63 56 414 Hyper TT, W+20, C64 57 420 Hyper (HAM) UU, W+21, C65 58 426 Hyper (HAM) VV, W+22, C66 59 432 Hyper (HAM) WW, W+23, C67 60 438 Hyper (HAM) AAA, W+24, C68 61 444 Hyper (HAM) BBB, W+25, C69 62 450 Hyper (HAM) CCC, W+26, C70 63 456 Hyper DDD, W+27, C71 64 462 Hyper EEE, W+28 65 468 Ultra U14, FFF, W+29 66 474 Ultra U15, GGG, W+30 67 480 Ultra U16, HHH, W+31 68 486 Ultra U17, III, W+32 69 492 Ultra U18, JJJ, W+33 70 498 Ultra U19, KKK, W+34 71 504 Ultra U20, LLL, W+35 72 510 Ultra U21, MMM, W+36 73 516 Ultra U22, NNN, W+37 74 522 Ultra U23, OOO, W+38 75 528 Ultra U24, PPP, W+39 76 534 Ultra U25, QQQ, W+40 77 540 Ultra U26, RRR, W+41 78 546 Ultra U27, SSS, W+42 79 552 Ultra U28, TTT, W+43 80 558 Ultra U29, UUU, W+44 81 564 Ultra U30, VVV, W+45 82 570 Ultra U31, WWW, W+46 83 576 Ultra U32, AAAA, W+47 84 582 Ultra U33, BBBB, W+48 85 588 Ultra U34, CCCC, W+49 86 594 Ultra U35, DDDD, W+50 87 600 Ultra U36, EEEE, W+51 88 606 Ultra (RA) U37, FFFF, W+52 89 612 Ultra U38, GGGG, W+53 90 618 Ultra U39, HHHH, W+54 91 624 Ultra U40, IIII, W+55 92 630 Ultra U41, JJJJ, W+56 93 636 Ultra U42, KKKK, W+57 94 642 Ultra U43, LLLL, W+58 95 90 Low (FM) A-5, C57, J57 96 96 Low (FM) A-4, C58, J58 97 102 Low (FM) A-3, C59, J59 98 108 Low A-2, C60, J60, G60 99 114 Low A-1, C61, J61, G61 100 648 Ultra U44, MMMM, W+59 101 654 Ultra U45, NNNN, W+60 102 660 Ultra U46, OOOO, W+61 103 666 Ultra U47, PPPP, W+62 104 672 Ultra U48, QQQQ, W+63 105 678 Ultra U49, RRRR, W+64 106 684 Ultra U50, SSSS, W+65 107 690 Ultra U51, TTTT, W+66 108 696 Ultra U52, UUUU, W+67 109 702 Ultra U53, VVVV, W+68 110 708 Ultra U54, WWWW, W+69 111 714 Ultra U55, AAAAA, W+70 112 720 Ultra U56, BBBBB, W+71 113 726 Ultra U57, CCCCC, W+72 114 732 Ultra U58, DDDDD, W+73 115 738 Ultra U59, EEEEE, W+74 116 744 Ultra U60, FFFFF, W+75 117 750 Ultra U61, GGGGG, W+76 118 756 Ultra U62, HHHHH, W+77 119 762 Ultra U63, IIIII, W+78 120 768 Ultra U64, JJJJJ, W+79 121 774 Ultra U65, KKKKK, W+80 122 780 Ultra U66, LLLLL, W+81 123 786 Ultra U67, MMMMM, W+82 124 792 Ultra U68, NNNNN, W+83 125 798 Ultra U69, OOOOO, W+84 The following table is the same as the above except it has been ordered by frequency. HRC Picture Channel Carrier Cable Band Other Names -------- ------- ----------- -------------------------- 2 54 MHz Low 3 60 Low 4 66 Low 1 72 Low (VAR) A-8, C54, J54, G64, 4+, 5A 5 78 Low A-7, C55, J55, G65 6 84 Low A-6, C56, J56, G66 95 90 Low (FM) A-5, C57, J57 96 96 Low (FM) A-4, C58, J58 97 102 Low (FM) A-3, C59, J59 98 108 Low A-2, C60, J60, G60 99 114 Low A-1, C61, J61, G61 14 120 Mid A 15 126 Mid (ATC) B 16 132 Mid (ATC) C 17 138 Mid (VAR) D 18 144 Mid (VAR) E 19 150 Mid (VAR) F 20 156 Mid (VAR) G 21 162 Mid (VAR) H 22 168 Mid (VAR) I 7 174 High 8 180 High 9 186 High 10 192 High 11 198 High 12 204 High 13 210 High 23 216 Super (VAR) J 24 222 Super (VAR) K 25 228 Super L 26 234 Super M 27 240 Super N 28 246 Super O 29 252 Super P 30 258 Super Q 31 264 Super R 32 270 Super S 33 276 Super T 34 282 Super U 35 288 Super V 36 294 Super W 37 300 Hyper AA, W+1 38 306 Hyper BB, W+2 39 312 Hyper CC, W+3 40 318 Hyper DD, W+4 41 324 Hyper EE, W+5 42 330 Hyper FF, W+6 43 336 Hyper GG, W+7 44 342 Hyper HH, W+8 45 348 Hyper II, W+9 46 354 Hyper JJ, W+10 47 360 Hyper KK, W+11 48 366 Hyper LL, W+12 49 372 Hyper MM, W+13 50 378 Hyper NN, W+14 51 384 Hyper OO, W+15 52 390 Hyper PP, W+16 53 396 Hyper QQ, W+17 54 402 Hyper RR, W+18, C62 55 408 Hyper SS, W+19, C63 56 414 Hyper TT, W+20, C64 57 420 Hyper (HAM) UU, W+21, C65 58 426 Hyper (HAM) VV, W+22, C66 59 432 Hyper (HAM) WW, W+23, C67 60 438 Hyper (HAM) AAA, W+24, C68 61 444 Hyper (HAM) BBB, W+25, C69 62 450 Hyper (HAM) CCC, W+26, C70 63 456 Hyper DDD, W+27, C71 64 462 Hyper EEE, W+28 65 468 Ultra U14, FFF, W+29 66 474 Ultra U15, GGG, W+30 67 480 Ultra U16, HHH, W+31 68 486 Ultra U17, III, W+32 69 492 Ultra U18, JJJ, W+33 70 498 Ultra U19, KKK, W+34 71 504 Ultra U20, LLL, W+35 72 510 Ultra U21, MMM, W+36 73 516 Ultra U22, NNN, W+37 74 522 Ultra U23, OOO, W+38 75 528 Ultra U24, PPP, W+39 76 534 Ultra U25, QQQ, W+40 77 540 Ultra U26, RRR, W+41 78 546 Ultra U27, SSS, W+42 79 552 Ultra U28, TTT, W+43 80 558 Ultra U29, UUU, W+44 81 564 Ultra U30, VVV, W+45 82 570 Ultra U31, WWW, W+46 83 576 Ultra U32, AAAA, W+47 84 582 Ultra U33, BBBB, W+48 85 588 Ultra U34, CCCC, W+49 86 594 Ultra U35, DDDD, W+50 87 600 Ultra U36, EEEE, W+51 88 606 Ultra (RA) U37, FFFF, W+52 89 612 Ultra U38, GGGG, W+53 90 618 Ultra U39, HHHH, W+54 91 624 Ultra U40, IIII, W+55 92 630 Ultra U41, JJJJ, W+56 93 636 Ultra U42, KKKK, W+57 94 642 Ultra U43, LLLL, W+58 100 648 Ultra U44, MMMM, W+59 101 654 Ultra U45, NNNN, W+60 102 660 Ultra U46, OOOO, W+61 103 666 Ultra U47, PPPP, W+62 104 672 Ultra U48, QQQQ, W+63 105 678 Ultra U49, RRRR, W+64 106 684 Ultra U50, SSSS, W+65 107 690 Ultra U51, TTTT, W+66 108 696 Ultra U52, UUUU, W+67 109 702 Ultra U53, VVVV, W+68 110 708 Ultra U54, WWWW, W+69 111 714 Ultra U55, AAAAA, W+70 112 720 Ultra U56, BBBBB, W+71 113 726 Ultra U57, CCCCC, W+72 114 732 Ultra U58, DDDDD, W+73 115 738 Ultra U59, EEEEE, W+74 116 744 Ultra U60, FFFFF, W+75 117 750 Ultra U61, GGGGG, W+76 118 756 Ultra U62, HHHHH, W+77 119 762 Ultra U63, IIIII, W+78 120 768 Ultra U64, JJJJJ, W+79 121 774 Ultra U65, KKKKK, W+80 122 780 Ultra U66, LLLLL, W+81 123 786 Ultra U67, MMMMM, W+82 124 792 Ultra U68, NNNNN, W+83 125 798 Ultra U69, OOOOO, W+84 The following table gives the definitions of the reverse (return) channels used in two-way cable applications as published by General Instruments (Jerrold) in their CATV equipment catalog. Picture Channel Carrier -------- ------- T7 7 MHz T8 13 T9 19 T10 25 T11 31 T13 37 (note: IF picture carrier is 41.25 MHz) T13 43 RF band: To get the band, subtract 1.25 from picture carrier (low end) and add 4.75 (high end). Color subcarrier: Add 3.58 to picture carrier. Sound carrier: Add 4.5 to picture carrier. HRC: Harmonically Related Carrier. Makes both second- and third-order beats invisible by making them fall directly on the picture carrier of other channels. That is, multiplying the picture carrier by two or three will yield exactly another picture carrier. IRC: Incrementally Related Carrier, add 1.25 to HRC frequency. A General Instruments (Jerrold) catalog said that IRC makes third-order (more important than second-order) beats invisible by making them fall directly on the picture carrier of other channels. But it is not true that multiplying an IRC picture carrier by two or three yields another IRC picture carrier. This contradiction has not been resolved. The reason third-order harmonics are more important is that oscillators and amplifiers tend to generate odd-order harmonics far more than even-order ones. Broadcast frequency: Add 1.25 to HRC frequency except for channels 5 and 6. For them, subtract 0.75. But these are just nominal frequencies. The FCC actually has three channel designations for each number as in 5, 5- and 5+. The minus channels are 10 kHz below the nominal value and the plus channels are 10 kHz above. For example: VHF ASSIGNMENTS IN CALIFORNIA Chico: 12- El Centro: 7+ 9+ Eureka: 3- 6- 13- Fort Bragg: 8- Los Angeles: 2 4 5 7 9 11 13 Redding: 7 9 Sacramento: 3 6 10 Salinas-Monterey: 8+ San Diago: 8 10 San Francisco: 2+ 4- 5+ 7- 9+ San Jose: 11+ San Luis Obispo: 6+ Santa Barbara: 3- Santa Maria: 12+ Stockton: 13+ C54-C71: Numeric channels used by Channel Plus's 1030 demodulator. C2- C53 are standard and not shown. In UHF mode, it tunes channels up to U83. G60, G61, G64-G66: Numeric channels used by General Electric's 19PM4756 and similar TVs made by them. G2-G59 are standard and not shown. G62 and G63 are absent. G5 and G6 will tune HRC 5 and 6 unreliably. Use G65 and G66 to be sure. J54-J61: Numeric channels used by Jerrold's (General Instrument's) DRX-105 and similar cable decoders made by them. J2-J53 are standard and not shown. Jerrold calls channels, 1, 5-6, 95-99 (J54-J61), the "extended band". In their terms, channels 5-6 are both in the low band, designated 5-6, and the extended band, designated 55-56. They may have some dual IRC-broadcast tuners where channels J5 and J6 tune to 77.25 and 83.25 MHz while channels J55 and J56 tune to 79.25 and 85.25 MHz. It has been noticed that models starting with DPBB seem to have the ability to make arbitrary channel-frequency assignments. RCA'S VR695HF VCR (and similar VCRs made by them): This has channels 0-94. Channels 1-89, 92-94 are standard. Channels 0, 90, 91 don't refer to frequencies to tune but, rather, to the input switcher. Channel 91 selects external audio/video. Channel 90 selects external audio, leaving the video unchanged. Channel 0 (optional) selects the external cable decoder. Channels 65-89, 92-94, in addition to tuning the standard UHF corresponding channels, U14-U38, U41-U44, select the UHF RF input. Channels 1-64 select the VHF RF. U14-U69: UHF channels which are close enough, often, to tune properly by ultra-band cable tuners. The actual picture carrier frequency for the UHF channels is 3.25 higher than the corresponding HRC cable frequency. U70-U83 have been decommissioned for use by cellular phones. ATC: Channels 15-16 contain frequencies used for air traffic control. Special FCC rules apply concerning cable leakage of these frequencies. As a result, some cable companies choose not to use these two channels. VAR: Tuned by the little colored cube Quasar TV (WP2145BH, and such) even though cable tuning is not an advertised feature. These TVs have the little tuning wheels, one for each channel position, often called the "varactor tuning system". Channel 24 will only tune with AFT on. This entirely experimental information may well apply to other varactor tuners. The ability to tune just below UHF and just above channel 6 was not tested. Standard channels, 2-13, U14-U69, are not shown as in the "VAR-band" since this is obvious. HAM: Amateur radio operators broadcast TV on a 420-450 MHz band, usually at 439.25 or 434.00. FM: Many receivers utilize FM traps to reduce interference. This will leave a hole, channels 95-97, in the channels provided. RA: Channel U37 is reserved for radio astronomy. Pagers: Channels 18-21 are used for paging services. Commercial use: Channels 16-18 are used by taxi cabs and delivery trucks. Vincent KRUSKAL at IBM Watson