Aircheck: KFAY (1030 kHz) Farmington-Fayetteville, AR May 1987

[spiritof67]

When I visited northwest Arkansas in the spring of 1984, I recall seeing an ad for the change of frequency of KHOG Fayetteville from 1440 kHz to 1030 kHz. The change would give the station a better signal (from 1 to 10 kW daytime) and allowed the station to run 24 hours. Most AM stations in the region were daytime only during this time. Along with the frequency change, KHOG went AM Stereo.

On another visit in 1985, KFAY (then on 1250 kHz as a 1 kW daytimer) had begun using the local cable company to operate 24 hours through that system (The University of Arkansas had a similar operation with a student-run station after KUAF became an NPR affiliate).

In 1986 KFAY swapped frequencies with KHOG, where it remains today at 1030 kHz.

From time to time, I could hear KFAY in the St. Louis area just prior to sunset, and in May 1987 I rolled tape. During this time, the station's slogan was "Country-Rockin KFAY." While I cannot pinpoint the exact date, an educated guess would be 18 May 1987 (a Monday, and before a Memorial Day race which took place on the 25'th of that month).

Here is around 27 minutes of KFAY from May 1987, DX'ed from my St. Louis QTH. The files are 192/44.1 and can be found at these links:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DzvKtJMMW0ioRSLn3mfyHJLHlAZ8kx7I/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PnP0pmwBE_IQxtlTCf2DmGUr3658FUr7/view?usp=sharing

 

[cyberdad]

Not quite sure where (or if) this fits in, but for a couple of years in the early 1990s, I would from time to time get into northwest Arkansas to call on a customer near Flippin. At that time, with a good car radio, 1030 in that area would produce a very weak signal from the 50KW 1030 in Memphis. I don't remember the call letters, but the format was religion. Today, it's a Spanish language station with the call letters WGSF.

 

[MarioMania]

Not quite sure where (or if) this fits in, but for a couple of years in the early 1990s, I would from time to time get into northwest Arkansas to call on a customer near Flippin. At that time, with a good car radio, 1030 in that area would produce a very weak signal from the 50KW 1030 in Memphis. I don't remember the call letters, but the format was religion. Today, it's a Spanish language station with the call letters WGSF.

Was it WXSS?

 

[radioman148]

Not quite sure where (or if) this fits in, but for a couple of years in the early 1990s, I would from time to time get into northwest Arkansas to call on a customer near Flippin. At that time, with a good car radio, 1030 in that area would produce a very weak signal from the 50KW 1030 in Memphis. I don't remember the call letters, but the format was religion. Today, it's a Spanish language station with the call letters WGSF.

In the 90s one early summer evening when I was up in the Wisconsin Dells I heard the 1030 in Memphis just before they dropped power and WBZ took over.