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call letters
- Thread starter NIGHT21
- Start date
H
HomerJay
Guest
> all radio station's on the east coast the call letters start
> with w and on the west coast they start with k so why is kyw
> not have a w in it is it wkyw and they just say kyw or what
> is going on here
>
They're grandfathered, the same way, among others, KDKA in Pittsburgh is.
> with w and on the west coast they start with k so why is kyw
> not have a w in it is it wkyw and they just say kyw or what
> is going on here
>
They're grandfathered, the same way, among others, KDKA in Pittsburgh is.
J
Jim_Hicks
Guest
And to all of this, KYW started as a Chicago station (Chicago is also a "W" city however). Various moves, sales, etc. Then 1060 was WRCV for years. A decision was made to move KYW back to Philly. The Philly Broadcast Pioneers web site has the full story on 1060, including the last 15 minutes of Bill Weber's show as KYW switched to "All News-All The Time".
> Add to that KQV Pittsburgh and WKY Oklahoma City...
>
>
> Dave Gardiner
>
> WVCH 740
>
> Chester/Philadelphia
>
> Add to that KQV Pittsburgh and WKY Oklahoma City...
>
>
> Dave Gardiner
>
> WVCH 740
>
> Chester/Philadelphia
>
T
travis
Guest
> > Add to that KQV Pittsburgh and WKY Oklahoma City...
> >
>
> WIL, WEW St. Louis
>
> WHO Des Moines
>
> WOI Ames, IA
>
> WOAI San Antonio
>
> WRR Dallas
>
> WFAA Dallas
>
> WBAP Fort Worth
>
> These are others that come to mind...
>
> Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA
>
WDAY Fargo, ND
> >
>
> WIL, WEW St. Louis
>
> WHO Des Moines
>
> WOI Ames, IA
>
> WOAI San Antonio
>
> WRR Dallas
>
> WFAA Dallas
>
> WBAP Fort Worth
>
> These are others that come to mind...
>
> Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA
>
WDAY Fargo, ND
> all radio station's on the east coast the call letters start
> with w and on the west coast they start with k so why is kyw
> not have a w in it is it wkyw and they just say kyw or what
> is going on here
>
The dividing line is the Mississippi (but, as the posts below explain, some exceptions were grandfathered when the law was passed). Anyway, it's real interesting to be in markets that border/straddle the river (like New Orleans and St. Louis) where there are a bunch of both W and K stations.
> with w and on the west coast they start with k so why is kyw
> not have a w in it is it wkyw and they just say kyw or what
> is going on here
>
The dividing line is the Mississippi (but, as the posts below explain, some exceptions were grandfathered when the law was passed). Anyway, it's real interesting to be in markets that border/straddle the river (like New Orleans and St. Louis) where there are a bunch of both W and K stations.
> all radio station's on the east coast the call letters start
> with w and on the west coast they start with k so why is kyw
> not have a w in it is it wkyw and they just say kyw or what
> is going on here
>
Well, to complicate matters a little, there happens to be a WKYW in Frankfort, KY per http://www.ontheradio.net/RadioStations/WKYWFM.aspx and http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/finder?call=wkyw&is_unl=Y&is_lic=Y&is_cp=Y&sr=Y&s=C&sid=&x=12&y=4 . Depending on whose website you believe, WKYW is either C&W or news.
ixnay
> with w and on the west coast they start with k so why is kyw
> not have a w in it is it wkyw and they just say kyw or what
> is going on here
>
Well, to complicate matters a little, there happens to be a WKYW in Frankfort, KY per http://www.ontheradio.net/RadioStations/WKYWFM.aspx and http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/finder?call=wkyw&is_unl=Y&is_lic=Y&is_cp=Y&sr=Y&s=C&sid=&x=12&y=4 . Depending on whose website you believe, WKYW is either C&W or news.
ixnay
> > Add to that KQV Pittsburgh and WKY Oklahoma City...
> >
>
> WIL, WEW St. Louis
>
> WHO Des Moines
>
> WOI Ames, IA
>
> WOAI San Antonio
>
> WRR Dallas
>
> WFAA Dallas
>
> WBAP Fort Worth
>
> These are others that come to mind...
Still more:
WHB Kansas City MO, WDAY, Fargo ND, WCCO Minneapolis (west of the Mississippi), KSTP St Paul (east of the Mississippi) and many, many others in the Twin Cities, WACO Waco TX (no longer on AM but now an FM), I think WNAD Norman OK is gone but was replaced by WWLS. There are more W calls west of the Mississippi than K's east. The only three K's east of the Mississippi that I can think of have already been mentioned in this thread--KYW, KDKA, and KQV.
About 10 years ago, a station in Hew Hampshire, which was legally WKOS (930 in Rochester, I believe--now WGIN), identified as KOST--except at the TOH legal ID, when they also gave their CoL. At all other times, they referred to themselves as The Coast: K-O-S-T. Meanwhile, the REAL KOST was on FM in Los Angeles. Using another station's calls (at least those of a station on a different band) outside of the legal ID apparently doesn't violate FCC rules--and it got A LOT of attention for a short time. The station flipped format and calls in less than a year, however.
> >
>
> WIL, WEW St. Louis
>
> WHO Des Moines
>
> WOI Ames, IA
>
> WOAI San Antonio
>
> WRR Dallas
>
> WFAA Dallas
>
> WBAP Fort Worth
>
> These are others that come to mind...
Still more:
WHB Kansas City MO, WDAY, Fargo ND, WCCO Minneapolis (west of the Mississippi), KSTP St Paul (east of the Mississippi) and many, many others in the Twin Cities, WACO Waco TX (no longer on AM but now an FM), I think WNAD Norman OK is gone but was replaced by WWLS. There are more W calls west of the Mississippi than K's east. The only three K's east of the Mississippi that I can think of have already been mentioned in this thread--KYW, KDKA, and KQV.
About 10 years ago, a station in Hew Hampshire, which was legally WKOS (930 in Rochester, I believe--now WGIN), identified as KOST--except at the TOH legal ID, when they also gave their CoL. At all other times, they referred to themselves as The Coast: K-O-S-T. Meanwhile, the REAL KOST was on FM in Los Angeles. Using another station's calls (at least those of a station on a different band) outside of the legal ID apparently doesn't violate FCC rules--and it got A LOT of attention for a short time. The station flipped format and calls in less than a year, however.
W
wxctintern
Guest
There is/was a WACO in Waco, Texas.
The best market is Duluth where a station can choose W or K because it is north of the headwaters of the MS. (Except stations in Superior, WS that must use W).
>
> The dividing line is the Mississippi (but, as the posts
> below explain, some exceptions were grandfathered when the
> law was passed). Anyway, it's real interesting to be in
> markets that border/straddle the river (like New Orleans and
> St. Louis) where there are a bunch of both W and K stations.
>
<P ID="signature">______________
[email protected]</P>
>
> The dividing line is the Mississippi (but, as the posts
> below explain, some exceptions were grandfathered when the
> law was passed). Anyway, it's real interesting to be in
> markets that border/straddle the river (like New Orleans and
> St. Louis) where there are a bunch of both W and K stations.
>
<P ID="signature">______________
[email protected]</P>
Re: call letters-Everything Answered
http://www.oldradio.com/archives/general/kwtrivia.htm
This will answer every question and show every exception that there ever was and places the exceptions in catagories.
After reading this websites, you will have no more questions.
http://www.oldradio.com/archives/general/kwtrivia.htm
> all radio station's on the east coast the call letters start
> with w and on the west coast they start with k so why is kyw
> not have a w in it is it wkyw and they just say kyw or what
> is going on here
>
<P ID="signature">______________
[email protected]</P>
http://www.oldradio.com/archives/general/kwtrivia.htm
This will answer every question and show every exception that there ever was and places the exceptions in catagories.
After reading this websites, you will have no more questions.
http://www.oldradio.com/archives/general/kwtrivia.htm
> all radio station's on the east coast the call letters start
> with w and on the west coast they start with k so why is kyw
> not have a w in it is it wkyw and they just say kyw or what
> is going on here
>
<P ID="signature">______________
[email protected]</P>
K
KML0224
Guest
Why hasn't WBZ-AM 1030 of Boston been mentioned? It started out in Springfield, MA in the 1920s (about 90 miles west of Boston).
Because we are talking about W/K calls that are displaced. Boston is firmly within the territory of the W and WBZ is a W station.
Would you like to start a new subject on stations that moved? Or call letters that moved to different cities?
> Why hasn't WBZ-AM 1030 of Boston been mentioned? It started
> out in Springfield, MA in the 1920s (about 90 miles west of
> Boston).
>
<P ID="signature">______________
[email protected]</P>
Would you like to start a new subject on stations that moved? Or call letters that moved to different cities?
> Why hasn't WBZ-AM 1030 of Boston been mentioned? It started
> out in Springfield, MA in the 1920s (about 90 miles west of
> Boston).
>
<P ID="signature">______________
[email protected]</P>
Re: call letters-Everything Answered
> http://www.oldradio.com/archives/general/kwtrivia.htm
>
> This will answer every question and show every exception
> that there ever was and places the exceptions in catagories.
>
>
However, it doesn't answer why hams' calls overlap. The K and W calls are universal across the country on the ham bands. In fact, my brother dropped his W calls for a vanity handle and its starts with a K!
> http://www.oldradio.com/archives/general/kwtrivia.htm
>
> This will answer every question and show every exception
> that there ever was and places the exceptions in catagories.
>
>
However, it doesn't answer why hams' calls overlap. The K and W calls are universal across the country on the ham bands. In fact, my brother dropped his W calls for a vanity handle and its starts with a K!
J
Jim_Hicks
Guest
Re: call letters-Everything Answered
In this area at least, the K's came after they went through the first W's. The first ham calls were like early commercial calls: WOR, WRC, WOW, KYW. The amateur got W1AW, W3PM, W3WR, etc. Then they went to 3 letters, like W3FEG. When I let my K3ZSF call lapse, my next call was a WA3. Then they went to WB's, WC's, etc.
The new K's and W's refer to the class license. If you upgrade from Advanced to Extra, you can change to a call that represents your new license. A ham friend of mine moved from K3YSW to K3JL. The 2 letters after the regional number indicate the Extra class ticket.
> > http://www.oldradio.com/archives/general/kwtrivia.htm
> >
> > This will answer every question and show every exception
> > that there ever was and places the exceptions in
> catagories.
> >
> >
> However, it doesn't answer why hams' calls overlap. The K
> and W calls are universal across the country on the ham
> bands. In fact, my brother dropped his W calls for a vanity
> handle and its starts with a K!
>
In this area at least, the K's came after they went through the first W's. The first ham calls were like early commercial calls: WOR, WRC, WOW, KYW. The amateur got W1AW, W3PM, W3WR, etc. Then they went to 3 letters, like W3FEG. When I let my K3ZSF call lapse, my next call was a WA3. Then they went to WB's, WC's, etc.
The new K's and W's refer to the class license. If you upgrade from Advanced to Extra, you can change to a call that represents your new license. A ham friend of mine moved from K3YSW to K3JL. The 2 letters after the regional number indicate the Extra class ticket.
> > http://www.oldradio.com/archives/general/kwtrivia.htm
> >
> > This will answer every question and show every exception
> > that there ever was and places the exceptions in
> catagories.
> >
> >
> However, it doesn't answer why hams' calls overlap. The K
> and W calls are universal across the country on the ham
> bands. In fact, my brother dropped his W calls for a vanity
> handle and its starts with a K!
>
Re: call letters-Everything Answered
> However, it doesn't answer why hams' calls overlap. The K
> and W calls are universal across the country on the ham
> bands. In fact, my brother dropped his W calls for a vanity
> handle and its starts with a K!
>
Reason is that the geographic specificity resides in the number that is part of the call sign. All calls on the PA side have a 3, the NJ calls have a 2, based on the Federal region where the ham is resident.
So the use of K and W doesn't imply geographic differentiation as it does with broadcast stations.
Richard / Allentown
> However, it doesn't answer why hams' calls overlap. The K
> and W calls are universal across the country on the ham
> bands. In fact, my brother dropped his W calls for a vanity
> handle and its starts with a K!
>
Reason is that the geographic specificity resides in the number that is part of the call sign. All calls on the PA side have a 3, the NJ calls have a 2, based on the Federal region where the ham is resident.
So the use of K and W doesn't imply geographic differentiation as it does with broadcast stations.
Richard / Allentown
- Status
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