Article: 4281 of rec.radio.info Xref: news.cs.tut.fi rec.radio.broadcasting:4609 rec.radio.info:4281 Path: news.cs.tut.fi!news.funet.fi!news.tele.fi!sunic!EU.net!howland.reston.ans.net!vixen.cso.uiuc.edu!airwaves!rrb From: tgm@netcom.com (Thomas G. McWilliams) Newsgroups: rec.radio.broadcasting,rec.radio.info Subject: METRO WASHINGTON AM CALL LETTER HISTORY Followup-To: rec.radio.broadcasting Date: 4 Mar 1994 07:06:37 GMT Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest) Lines: 453 Approved: rrb@airwaves.chi.il.us Distribution: world Message-ID: <2l6mlt$4hn@vixen.cso.uiuc.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: deja-vu.aiss.uiuc.edu Originator: rrb@deja-vu.aiss.uiuc.edu METRO WASHINGTON AM CALL LETTER HISTORY Thomas H. White February 22, 1992 This is a review of all the AM stations which have operated in the greater Washington, DC area, from 1921 to 1992. Hopefully I've included every single station -- I would appreciate information about any omissions or mistakes. First off, an overview of broadcasting over the last eighty years, and how it relates to the Washington area: 1912 to 1926 -- Beginning in 1912, radio was regulated by the Bureau of Navigation of the Department of Commerce. In the Washington area a number of government stations, including the Navy's NSF-NOF in Anacostia, D.C. and the Post Office's WWX in Washington, were the first area stations to conduct pioneering experimental broadcasts. In December, 1921 the Commerce Department formally established a broadcast service, with 360 meters (833 kilohertz) set aside for entertainment broadcasts, and 485 meters (619 khz) designated for official government market and weather reports. (In the Washington area only WQAW ever received an authorization for 485 meters). The single entertainment wavelength meant that stations were supposed to negotiate timesharing agreements, to keep from interfering with each other. On at least one occasion this failed. During December, 1922 WDM and WJH started transmitting simultaneously on 360 meters on Sunday evenings, drowning each other out. The stations eventually settled their dispute, after receiving bad publicity nationwide for their lack of civic-mindedness. The first broadcast station authorized in the Washington area was WJH, the White & Boyer Company, on December 8, 1921. WJH tied with four other stations as the nation's 11th to receive a broadcast licence. Both WDM, the Church of the Covenant, and WDW, the Radio Construction and Electric Company, received licences on December 22, 1921, tying for 25th place nationwide. I'm not sure which of these three stations was first to actually go on the air, although it may have been WDM, which began broadcasting church services on January 1, 1922. In late September of 1922 a second entertainment wavelength of 400 meters (750 khz) was assigned for better quality, higher powered stations. Stations on the new wavelength were designated "Class B" outlets, while those on 360 became known as "Class A" stations. About thirty stations nationwide would eventually qualify to use 400 meters, although none was located in the Washington area. On May 15, 1923 the broadcasting service was greatly expanded, with the designation of a band of frequencies, in 10 kilohertz steps, from 550 to 1350 kilohertz. 550 to 1040 were set aside for Class B stations. Under the initial allocation 640 and 690 khz were assigned for use by Washington area Class B stations. Class A stations were assigned to frequencies from 1050 to 1350 khz, although existing stations were permitted to stay at 360 meters, as "Class C" stations. In November, 1924 the upper end of the broadcast band was extended from 1350 to 1500 khz, providing 15 additional Class A frequencies. Although Washington was a major early center for broadcasting, the first stations to go on the air were operated primarily for publicity purposes, and had relatively short lifespans. None of the first ten broadcast stations, licenced in 1921 and 1922, survived past 1925. However, four current Washington area stations can trace their origin back to the 1920s: WWRC-980 (established June, 1923 as WRC), WOL-1450 (December, 1924 as WRHF), WMAL-630 (October, 1925), and WTOP (September, 1926 as WTRC in Brooklyn, New York). Until mid-1922 new broadcast stations received three-letter calls. After that, the Commerce Department generally assigned Eastern stations four-letter calls with first "A" and then "B" as the third letter. Later stations generally received specially requested calls, normally four-letter, although a few, including WRC and WOL, got three-letter ones. 1926 -- Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover knew his authority to regulate broadcasting was shaky under the 1912 Act, but despite his pleas Congress never acted to strengthen his powers. Finally, adverse legal opinions stripped away his regulatory authority. Scores of new stations took to the airwaves or jumped to frequencies of their own choosing. Chaos was reported nationwide -- although not in Washington. In the D.C. area no new stations were started up during this period, and only WMAL appears to have changed its frequency. APRIL 27, 1927 -- The Federal Radio Commission, newly created by Congress to straighten out the broadcasting mess, began a year- and-a-half long process to reassign stations to non-interfering dial positions. During this period the FRC made some frequency changes in the Washington area, but overall this period was fairly calm and no area stations were threatened with deletion, unlike the more congested regions of the country. NOVEMBER 11, 1928 -- The FRC finally implemented a nationwide reassignment of station frequencies, with stations now classified as Local, Regional, and Clear Channel. All five stations in the Washington area, except NAA, were assigned new frequencies. However, none was required to share its frequency, which was the practice in more congested areas. MARCH 29, 1941 - In conjunction with the expansion of the broadcast band to 1600 khz, a major frequency reallocation was implemented nationwide. Four of the six Washington area stations were shifted up in frequency, by 30 and 40 kilohertz. POST-WORLD WAR II -- The Federal Communications Commission greatly reduced interference and economic standards, which resulted in thousands of new stations nationwide, especially in suburban areas. This sparked a major increase in the number of Washington area stations. The Washington Area charts which follow list a total of thirty area AM stations currently in the Washington area, including Annapolis, Maryland and Manassas and Leesburg, Virginia. However, there are now more stations than can be economically supported. Some of these stations are currently silent and unlikely ever to return to the air. Following are the major sources used for compiling the charts: o Radio Service Bulletin. Issued monthly, beginning in January, 1915 by the Bureau of Navigation, Department of Commerce. o Commercial and Government Radio Stations of the United States. Annual list issued as of June 30th for 1920 through 1931 by the Department of Commerce. o Broadcasting Stations of the United States. 2/2/31, 1/1/32, and 1/1/34 editions, issued by the Federal Radio Commission. o Radex magazine. Station lists appearing in the summer 1931 to 1941 issues. o Radio Daily's "Radio Annual". Various issues from 1938 to 1964. o Broadcasting Yearbook. Various issues from 1940 to 1970. o Department of Commerce card files, and station "History Cards" on microfiche, at the Federal Communications Commission, 1919 M Street, NW, Washington, DC o Education's Own Stations, by S.E. Frost, Jr., The University of Chicago Press, 1937. (Bliss Electrical School-WBES, Catholic University-WQAW, and Young Men's Christian Association-WABE) o Personal records and recollections, 1968 - 1992 The format used in this review was originally developed by Bob Harrison, for his "Metro New York Call Letter History". NOTE: Below are notes for the three Metropolitan Washington charts. The charts are generally arranged in frequency order. Stations sharing time on a common frequency are listed with periods separating the columns. CHART #1 ======== Five stations, all located in Washington, spent their entire lives on 360 meters (833 kilohertz): WDW was owned by the Radio Construction and Electric Company. At best it had only a limited career, since its only licence was a 30-day authorization which was never renewed; WPM's owner was Thomas J. Williams, an electrical supplier, who had put WDM on the air, and was located at 1324 New York Avenue, NW; WIL was operated by the Continental Electrical Supply Company, at 808 Ninth Street, NW; WEAS was one of two Washington stations operated by a department store -- in this case the Hecht Company at Seventh and F Streets, NW; WHAQ was owned by the Semmes Motor Company -- its address, unfortunately, was not listed by the Radio Service Bulletin. Other early stations reviewed include WABE, operated by the Young Men's Christian Association in Washington; WMAL, originally owned by the M. A. Leese Optical Company at 712 Eleventh Street, NW; and NAA. NAA was built in 1913 next to Fort Myer in Arlington, VA, and operated by the U.S. Navy. In the mid-twenties NAA started to transmit on the broadcast band. Although its broadcasts occasionally included band concerts and speeches, it was most famous for its nightly time signals. Two Washington stations, WRC, owned by the Radio Corporation of America, and WCAP, owned by Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company, shared time on 640 khz, a Class B frequency. WRC was originally located atop the Riggs Building at 3308 Fourteenth Street, NW. WRC and WCAP represent a struggle for the domination of broadcasting which occurred between RCA and American Telephone and Telegraph. RCA kept finding itself playing catch-up in the first half of the twenties. First rival Westinghouse set up a series of stations which pioneered the broadcasting industry. Then AT&T invented network broadcasting, using its telephone lines to connect a "chain" of stations, including WCAP, carrying programs that originated at AT&T's WEAF in New York. RCA countered with a small chain of its own, including WRC, crudely connected by telegraph wires to RCA's New York station, WJZ. In 1926 RCA bought out all of AT&T's broadcasting interests. As a result the "WEAF Chain" became the "NBC Red Network", the "WJZ Chain" formed the core of the "NBC Blue Network" and WCAP was deleted, allowing WRC to became a fulltime station. In 1984 RCA sold WRC, and the station became WWRC, although it still calls itself "WRC" except for the hourly legal ID. The other stations on this chart, and the source of some of their callsigns, include: WGMS-570 Bethesda, MD ("Good Music Station"); WCPT-730 Alexandria, VA, which for a period of time was WPKX ("Kix Country"), for a few months was WRMR ("Remember Radio"), and for an even briefer period was WCXR ("Classic Rock") simulcasting its FM sister station; WREH-740 is currently under construction in Reston, VA; WABS-780, Arlington, VA (both WARL and WAVA commemorate the station's city of licence), which is claimed to have originated the term "Country Music", growing out of WARL's "Town and Country" program; WYRE-810 Annapolis, MD; WILC-900 Laurel, MD; WCTN-950 Potomac, MD ("Christ To the Nation"); WNTL-1030 Indian Head, MD ("International"), originally was WBZE, honoring WBZ-Boston, which is on the same frequency (WBZE's sign-off message suggested staying tuned to the frequency and listening to WBZ overnight); and WNTR ("News Talk Radio"), which in an earlier incarnation was WQMR ("Quality Music Radio"). This station was originally WGAY, named for its light-music format. It was later bought by a local DJ, Connie Gay, who wanted to own the station that was his namesake. CHART #2 ======== Five Washington stations that began on 360 meters (833 kilohertz) in 1921 and 1922 later moved to Class A frequencies. WJH was owned by the White & Boyer Company at 812 Thirteenth Street, NW; WIAY was operated by the Woodward and Lothrop department store, which presumably was located in the downtown shopping district; WDM was owned by the Church of The Covenant, a Presbyterian church located at 18th and N streets, NW. In the sixties the church was torn down and replaced by an office building. This building's current occupants include the National Association of Broadcasters and the Broadcast Pioneers Library; WMU was owned by the Doubleday-Hill Electric Company at 715 Twelfth Street, NW (Doubleday-Hill also had a store in Pittsburgh, PA, which operated KQV); WQAW belonged to Catholic University in Northeast Washington. Two stations with interesting histories began operating in the mid-twenties: WRHF and WBES. WRHF ("Washington Radio Hospital Fund") initially located at 525 Eleventh Street, NW, was set up to broadcast to hospitalized veterans. It later became WOL. In 1950 WOL swapped calls with WWDC, whose owners had bought out the WOL's facility. WBES ("Bliss Electrical School") was located in Takoma Park, MD, using equipment purchased from Woodward and Lothrop when the department store discontinued operation of WIAY. In the middle of 1928 WBES was sold and moved to Salisbury on Maryland's Eastern Shore, where it became WSMD, expiring the next year. Later stations include: WUST-1120 in Washington, named for its studio on "U Street", which earlier was WBCC in "Bethesda-Chevy Chase"; WMET-1150 Gaithersburg, MD, ("Metro"), whose earlier WMTG call reflects its location in "Montgomery County", while WJOK ("Joke") commemorates an innovative but unsuccessful attempt at an "all comedy" format; WANN-1190 Annapolis, MD; WAGE-1200 Leesburg, VA; WFAX-1220 Falls Church, VA; WDCT-1310 ("D.C. Talk"), Fairfax City, VA (WFCR probably comes from its city of licence); WYCB-1340 Washington ("Your Community Broadcaster") which took over after WFAN lost its licence; WMZQ-1390, Arlington, VA, named after its sister FM station -- "WMZQ" was the closest thing available phonetically for "Music"; WNAV-1430 Annapolis, MD, home of the "Naval Academy"; WRHX-1440 Herndon, VA, which has never used its current call because it has been off the air for the greater part of a decade and no longer has a studio or antenna site. WOHN refers to the "Radio One" slogan it used before going under. CHART #3 ======== All the stations on this chart are recent ones, although not all are currently on the air. WTOP-1500 has an unusual history -- it turns out to be a carpetbagging Northerner. During the breakdown in broadcasting regulation in 1926 the "Twentieth Assembly District Regular Republican Club, Incorporated" put 50-watt WTRC on the air in Brooklyn, New York. Someone may have felt they would have more political clout if the station increased power and was located closer to Washington, for in late 1927 the station moved to Mount Vernon Hills, VA, and was now rated at 10,000 watts. A few years later the station moved to Alexandria, VA and a couple of years after that it made it to Washington. The current call WTOP promotes the station location at the top of the radio dial. The remaining stations have more conventional histories. WOL-1450, Washington originally was WWDC until its owners swapped facilities with WOL; WPRW-1460 Manassas, VA and WPWC-1480 Dumfries, VA both have calls that document their location in "Prince William County" (WQVA comes from WPWC's original city of licence of Quantico, VA); WDAW-1530 hopes to go on the air someday in Haymarket, VA; WMDO-1540 is "Radio Mundo" in Wheaton, MD; WPGC-1580 hails from Morningside, MD in "Prince Georges County", and WINX-1600 closes out the dial in Rockville, MD. METROPOLITAN WASHINGTON CHART #1 ____ 1922 . WDW.----.----.____ ____ . 833. WPM. WIL.WEAS.WHAQ. ----. 833. 833. 833. 833. 1923 . . . . . ----. . . . ____ ____ ---- . . .____. | WRC.WCAP| |WABE| 1924 . .____. | 640. 640| |1060| ---- | . | ---- ---- ---- | . | 1926 |WMAL| NAA| | . | |1410| 690| | <----- | | | | | ---- 1927 |1020| | | | |1310| | | | | 990| | | | 1928 |1240| | | | | | | | | | | | | | 11/11 | 630| 690| | 950| 1928 | | | | | | | | | | 1930 | | | | | | | | | | | |---- | | 1935 | | | | | | | | | | | | 3/29 | 630| | 980| 1941 | | | | ____| |____ ____ ____ | | ____ 1945 |WQQW| |WPIK| |WARL|WASL| | | |WGAY| | 570| | 730| | 780| 810| | | |1050| 1950 |WGMS| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |WABW| | | | | 1960 | | | | |WAVA| |____ ____| | |WQMR| | | | | | |WYRE|WLMD|WXLN| | | | 1970 | | | | | | | 900| 950| | |WGAY| | | | | | | | |WCTN| | | | 1980 | | |WPKX| |WABS| | | | |____| | | | |WRMR| | | |WILC| |WWRC|WBZE|WNTR| 1990 | | |WPKX|____| | | | | |1030| | | | |WCXR|WREH| | | | | |WNTL| | | | 630|WCPT| 740| | | | | 980| | | METROPOLITAN WASHINGTON CHART #2 ____ ____ 1922 . WJH.____. WDM.____ . 833.WIAY. 833. WMU. ____ . . 833. . 833. .WQAW. 1923 . . . . . . 833. |1140| . |1150| |1270| |1100| . | | | | 1924 |____| |1280| | ____|____| |1100| | | |WRHF|____ ----|1110| | |1170|WBES| 1926 ---- ---- | |1350| | | | | | | 1927 | | | | 940|1010| | 930|1130| 1928 | | | | | | | WOL|WSMD| 11/11 |1270|1310| 1928 |1310|____| | | 1930 | | | | | | 1935 | | | | ____ |1230| |WINX| 3/29 |1260| |1310| 1941 | | |1340| ____ | | | | 1945 ---- |WANN| | | | |____ |WBCC| |1190| ____| | | |WEAM|____ 1950 |1120| | | |WFAX|WWDC|____|WOOK|1390|WNAV| |WUST| | |____|1220| |WFCR| | |1430| 1960 | |----| |WAGE| | |WEEL| | | |____ | |WHMC| |1290| | |1310| | | |WHRN| 1970 | |1150| | | | | | | | |1440| | | | | | | | |WFAN| | |WOHN| 1980 | | | | | | | |WYCB| | | | | |WJOK| |1200| | |WDCT| |WMZQ| |WRHX| 1990 | |WMTG| | | | | | | | | | | |WMET| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |1260| | | | | | METROPOLITAN WASHINGTON CHART #3 1922 1923 1924 ---- 1926 |WTRC| |1250| | | 1927 | | |1470| |WTFF| 1928 |1480| | | |WJSV| 11/11 |1460| 1928 | | | | 1930 | | | | | | 1935 | | ____ | | |WWDC| | | 3/29 |1420| |1500| 1941 |1450| | | | | |WTOP| 1945 | | | | ____ | | | | |WOOK| 1950 | WOL| | | ____ ____|1590| | |---- ____| | |WDON|WPGC|WINX| 1960 | |WPRW|WQVA| | |1540|1580|1600| | |1460|1530| | | | | | 1970 | | | | | | | | | | | |WPWC| | | | | | 1980 | | | | | |WMDO| | | | | |1480| | | | | | 1990 | | | | |____| | | | | | | | |WDAW| | | | | | | | |1530| | | | ======================= End of Article ============================