Call letter origins

[danikayser84]

It seems like with all the talk about call letters, what are some of the origins of call letters? Not counting noncoms, I know a few myself:

- WGY: sequentially assigned (backronymed Wireless General Electric Schenectady)
- WHAZ: sequentially assigned (backronym With Holiness And Zeal)
- WFLY: Frank Lord York, station founder
- WQBK, WROW, WYJB: randomly assigned?
- WKLI: K-Lite, former name (1986-1996?); later reused on 94.5 and returned to 100.9 in 2002
- WGNA: "Good News Albany" (aborted Christian format... hard to believe that the heritage country station almost ended up with a Christian format)
- WGFM (formerly 99.5): General Electric FM? GY-FM?
- WRVE: River (station name, 1994-present)
- WTRY: Troy (original city of license of AM 980, now WOFX)
- WPTR: Patroon Broadcasting (original owner of now-WDCD 1540)
- WABY: Albany (original city license of AM 1400, now WAMC-AM)
- WHRL: anagram of Robert L. Hill (original owner), also early Whirl moniker
- WZMR: Z (original name) Modern Rock?
- WAJZ: Albany Jamz (in fact 96.3 used to have the WCDA calls, formerly on TV channel 10 and then WPTR, long on AM 1540)
- WKBE: Karamatt Broadcasting (original owner)
- WQAR: Star? Not sure what the Q is... not Queensbury (the COL is Stillwater), just randomly assigned?

I've been helping out on Wikipedia's radio station articles for the Albany area, could someone fill in some of these blanks? Thanks

 

[kbradio]

900AM WKAJ Kimberly Ann Jones, owners daughter. Saratoga Springs.

 

[danikayser84]

WVKZ 1240: WV Communications (a former owner) KZ (former branding of 96.7, now WPTR-FM); original calls WSNY (Schenectady, New York), later WWWD (3WD branding)

 

[THE_KNICKMAN]

WWOM original 100.9 call: Wonderful World of Music.
WCSS 1490 Amsterdam: Community service Station.
WAFS 1570 Amsterdam 1961 to about 1970) Amsterdam's Finest Station
WKOL 1570 Amsterdam 1970 to around 1990) KOL means "voice" in Hebrew
WVTL 1570 (Current Call) Valley's Talk Leader

 

[ChuckRoast]

Actually WHAZ's calls originated back in the 1920's when the station started as a experimental broadcast of RPI. The station was named after it's founder, a Dr. HAZelton.

 

[w9wi]

Actually WHAZ's calls originated back in the 1920's when the station started as a experimental broadcast of RPI. The station was named after it's founder, a Dr. HAZelton.

I would tell you with almost complete certainty the WHAZ calls were assigned sequentially. The station appears in a 1923 list between WHAV (Wilmington, Delaware) and WIAB. (Rockford, Ill.) EVERY four-letter callsign had either A or B as the third letter.

"Backroynms" were very common at the time. The call letters would be assigned sequentially, then the station would attempt to develop a slogan to go with the sequential calls. Some stations are said to have held contests -- to have asked their audience to suggest a definition for the calls.

 

[ChuckRoast]

The backroynm cited in the original post for WHAZ, "With Holiness and Zeal", was created many years after the station came into existence by it's present Christian owner. The call letters do not lend themselves to do much with.

I will check my source concerning the call letters origin but you're probably right.

 

[danikayser84]

Yes, I know WHAZ was owned by RPI back until the 1960s, when WRPI-FM pretty much replaced WHAZ for all intents and purposes. When WHAZ was sold and adopted a Christian format, the call letters eventually acquired their current backronym. Here's some others, throwing in rimshots:

- WPYX 106.5: calls just picked for name? before that, 106.5 was WHSH (Wish FM)
- WMYY 97.3: now a WHAZ repeater on FM, calls were for former "My Country" format before WHAZ purchased the station
- WBKK 97.7: "W-Bach" classical format (now WEXT, Exit 97.7)
- WYLR 95.9 (Glens Falls): Your Love Rock (now Adult CHR WCQL, with calls coming from former "Cool Rock" name)
- WXCR 102.3: Classic Rock (former format, now WKKF-FM "Kiss FM")
- WXKW 850: long-defunct, XKW stood for "ten kilowatts"... calls later used on AM 1600 (another defunct station) and in Allentown, PA and in New Jersey
- WFFG 107.1: Froggy moniker (prior to that, WHTR (Hot 107.1, calls kept during oldies format "Wheels"), WMJR (Magic 107), WAYI (Northway 107), WNIQ (107Q))
- WSDE 1190: former owner, Doug E. Stephan
- WFNY 1440: Fulton (County) New York
- WGDJ 1300: to honor mayor of Albany, NY Gerald D. Jennings (formerly WEEV (failed female talk format), WTMM (Team, now on 104.5), WQBK, and WEEE)
- WNYQ 101.7: New York Queensbury (original COL for 105.7, now WQSH in Malta), prior to that WENU (We 'n You, early slogan)

And as for TV stations:
- WRGB 6: Walter R. G. Baker (GE engineer, head of NTSC)
- WTEN 10: Channel "TEN" (formerly WROW then WCDA, calls later appeared on 96.3 FM (now WAJZ))
- WNYT 13: New York Television (originally WTRI?, later WAST)
- WMHT 17: Mohawk-Hudson Television (also on 89.1 FM)
- WCDC 19: (from former WCDA calls on channel 10, also a defunct WCDB (on channel 29), calls later resurfaced on 90.9)
- WXXA 23: XX (easily recognized) Albany... also the only commercial TV station in Albany to have never changed calls (WMHT never changed calls but is noncommercial)
- WCWN 45: CW Network/CW New York (originally WUSV (Union Street Video), later WMHX and WMHQ, then WEWB (Empire State WB? We're WB?))
- WNYA 51: New York Albany (originally unbuilt TV station WUVW)

 

[Reporter]

WMRV...Binghamton, NY MeRV Griffin

 

[Time Traveler]

900AM WKAJ Kimberly Ann Jones, owners daughter. Saratoga Springs.

Originally 900-AM was WSPN...the call letters now used on 91.1-FM in Saratoga Springs....

 

[danikayser84]

With the WCTZ calls being dumped in the New York metro for WKLV-FM, I think WZMR should consider those calls to match "104.9 The Cat" (and the Z could be in reference to its long-defunct Z104.9 format )