NOTES:
Transmitter Channel is the channel number the station presently transmits on.
Virtual Channel is the channel to which the signal is aliased. A signal transmitted by the station causes this number to be used on viewers' sets. Stations
are required by the FCC to use their former analog channel number as their Virtual Channel since viewers are familiar with that numbering system and station identification.
Repack Channel is the channel number that the station will transmit on after the channel changes are made in the Spring of 2020. (0 = Station has chosen to end broadcasting and go off the air; ? = Future channel assignment not known for this low power station.)
Station sub-channels:
Several programming sub-channels can be transmitted on each digital television channel. To distinguish a station's sub-channels, decimals or dashes are added after the channel number - for example 7.1, 7.2 and 7.3, or 7-1, 7-2 and 7-3. Most tuners will not show any digital signals at all until you've had the tuner do a "scan", and if a station has made changes in its lineup, many tuners will not show those changes until you scan again.
Tuners:
Some tuners show stations with the actual transmitter channels but most tuners only show stations on their virtual channels.
All tuners will show all of a station's sub-channels. If you receive the station well enough to receive any one of its sub-channels, you'll see all of the sub-channels. For the transmitter channel, some tuners may not show sub-channels on the same sub-channel numbers that appear on the virtual channel. Some stations do not begin their sub-channels with .1 on their transmitter channel, so you may find nothing on .1 or .2 and find sub-channels on .3 and above.
General notes:
Knowing transmitter channels is important when you select antennas, coax, and preamplifiers, since virtual channels are meaningless when you design your antenna and signal distribution systems.
Clicking on the call letters of a station in the list above will take you to that station's records on the Federal Communications Commission site.
The television band now consists of channels 2 through 36.
Channels 2 through 6 are Low VHF.
Channels 7 through 13 are High VHF.
Channels 14 through 36 are UHF.
VHF signals propagate more readily than UHF signals, so VHF stations need to transmit with less power to cover the same area.
The actual frequencies of the various channels can be seen on the CSG Network Television Frequency Table.
Abbreviations in headers:
ERP = Effective Radiated Power
HAAT = Height Above Average Terrain
H - Transmits in High Definition
L - Low Power or Translator Station
M - Transmits mobile DTV
R - Re-pack channel change completed
T - KTSF 26 shares with KDTV with 26.2 and 26.3 being shared on one of the OMI stations
V - KAXT has FCC approval to use channel 1 for its virtual channel
X - Station has gone off the air
Major San Francisco sites are in red.
Major Sacramento site is in green.
Data on this page was compiled by:
Larry Kenney, WB9LOZ, Retired engineer, KGO/ABC
Paul Brown, N6RME, Engineer, KCSO/KMUM
Keith Trinity, WE6R
There are very active HDTV forums on line for the Bay Area and the nation.
Visit our Broadcasting Page for links to them - https://larrykenney.com/broadcast.html
These charts will be updated as required.
Last updated on June 7, 2021.
Accuracy is not guaranteed but is correct to the best of my knowledge.
Larry Kenney
Corrections are welcome
San Francisco Bay Area-Sacramento-Monterey Digital Channel Lists:
Larry's Broadcasting Page
Larry's Home Page