Channel 73


Channel 73 was formerly used by a handful of television stations in North America which broadcast on 824-830 MHz. It was removed from television use in 1983 and the frequencies reassigned to analog mobile telephony.
As higher frequencies were less able to diffract around terrestrial obstacles, very few stations originated on channel 73. The channel was available when the UHF TV band opened in 1953, but the few who did use UHF 73 initially soon moved to lower frequencies or went dark:
For much of the history of UHF TV broadcasting in the United States, channel 70–83 served primarily as a "translator band" for repeater transmitters filling gaps in coverage for existing stations:
In Auburn, Indiana, 3ABN affiliate W26DH-D formerly numbered its digital subchannels in a 73.x virtual channel pattern; the station had no ties to the historical UHF channel 73. W26DH-D is now using 26 as its virtual channel.