Do you remember stations with letter/number nicknames?

[Banjomax]

Didn't WKNE Keene use "K1037" for awhile? In that same market there was WHDQ as Q106 and WBFL did rock as B107 in the early 90's.

Also in that neck of the woods in days long past...
Y105 (WYRY Hinsdale, mid-late '90s)
927K (WKVT-FM Brattleboro, late '80s)

And in the WAY distant past, WTSA (AM, Brattleboro) was "Big T Radio". I made a copy of a complete set of those jingles from a reel some time ago; the jingles probably date from the 1960s. I'm sure the original reel didn't make the recent move of the station, and was unceremoniously (if inadvertently) tossed. My copy is on a minidisc somewhere...

I still remember promos for the "B107 B-Line"... "In Vermont, 722-9235; in New Hampshire, 756-9235. The B107 B-Line!" At the time, I didn't realize that 9235 on a phone spelled out "WBFL".

 

[raccoonradio]

If I didn't mention Y-102 earlier I should have. There was a local rock album in the 80s by a group called
the Fabulous Billygoons, and on the back was a quote from "'Coach' Tom Lane, Y-102".

I'm sure a bunch of stations had phone numbers associated with their calls, or their freq. WMWM used to
be 745-9400 till someone got the bright idea to get 745-9170 for the 91.7 frequency; however these days
it's (978)542-8500 because the college wants us on the 542 exchange they have; and apparently the 9000
block of numbers wasn't available if we wanted 9170.

Other businesses will use relevant numbers, too; a couple friends of mine worked at a liquor store up here
and one day they go a call: "Oh, hi...I was just curious to see what would happen if I dialed "745-BEER".
And of course, that was the reason why they had that number!

 

[goodguy1510]

WCOZ!!! "Kick Ass Rock & Roll" . . . "The Rock & Roll Mutha" . . . "All Zeppllin, All The Time". What a great station! Tom Doyle (now on WROR) did mornings. Steven Clean did afternoons (where is he now?) and Mauzy Stafford (on Odlies 103.3) did the overnights. I was in college at the time and 'COZ and 'BCN where the only stations we listened to. 94 and a half - COZ!

 

[pqgeorge]

TK/101 (was Re: Do you remember stations with letter/number nicknames?)

Wasn't 100.7 in Boston known as "TK 101" somewhere along the way before becoming WZLX ??

That is correct. In fact, October 4 was the 32nd anniversary of TK/101's debut on 10/4/1976. WTTK was an automated hybrid Country/Rock station with a state of the art automation system that allowed for intros and outros of every song. It sounded rather well done. However, TK/101 quickly morphed into an album rock station within a few months. Plough was planning to sell both WTTK and sister station WACQ/1150 within a year or so. Both WTTK and WACQ disappeared from the Boston airwaves on January 1, 1979. Both stations became WHUE (AM/1150 and FM/100.7), yet another beautiful music station. "WHUE....Beautiful music for YOU!".

Ironically, WTTK eventually became WKKT around January 1, 1985. Like WTTK, WKKT only lasted a short time. 100.7 became WZLX in early October, 1985.

 

[Kritical]

Never forget 1010 WINS New York!

 

[Pat Lucci]

When WEEI was all news, we had several of those plays. It seemed to change every time we got a new news director. When I started there is was News Radio 59. It changed to News radio 590. By the time I left it was WEEI 590 News.

 

[Time Traveler]

Someone here mentioned WROR and I remember when the 105.7 freq lic. to Framingham was
WVBF...and I also remember how they used to have a nickname: "F-105"

WVBF 105.7

WMEX 1510

WEZE Z-1260 (circa 1973) during its Top 40/Oldies hybrid format.....

 

[Time Traveler]

WXLO in Fitchburg (Worcester) used to be M-104. Late 70's early 80's. M supposedly stood for "music."

WFMP/104.5 in Fitchburg used "M-104" as their moniker in late 1979, when the station switched from Country (in mono) to Drake/Chenault's Contempo 500 format (in Stereo). They called it "Music 104" for a brief period in late 1979. Before they went to full-power in the 80's, they used an antenna originally cut for 104.7 (WFMP's original frequency). Either the move to 104.5 was as a result of 104.9 (Simon Geller's WVCA) being dropped into Gloucester in 1964 or Cape Cod wanted a frequency for Orleans. Either way, the signal from the old site was pretty bad and spotty. It was amazing that the old 104.7 antenna handled Stereo on 104.5 in the first place. Now, as WXLO, the signal really goes far and wide. Before 104.5 fired up in Conway, NH, WXLO had a solid signal on the Kancamangus Highway especially near Passaconaway. I got it on a cheap SONY FM radio.

WFMP was originally WBNE-FM, a simulcast of 960-WFGM, when I first started hearing them in 1966. In 1967, WBNE became WFMP, and WFGM became WFGL. Bad signal on the old transmitter or not, I managed to pick up WFMP in upstate New York, numerous times in the 1960s on a GE portable radio. Of course, there were far fewer FM stations in those days.

 

[pqgeorge]

WXLO in Fitchburg (Worcester) used to be M-104. Late 70's early 80's. M supposedly stood for "music."

WFMP/104.5 in Fitchburg used "M-104" as their moniker in late 1979, when the station switched from Country (in mono) to Drake/Chenault's Contempo 500 format (in Stereo). They called it "Music 104" for a brief period in late 1979. Before they went to full-power in the 80's, they used an antenna originally cut for 104.7 (WFMP's original frequency). Either the move to 104.5 was as a result of 104.9 (Simon Geller's WVCA) being dropped into Gloucester in 1964 or Cape Cod wanted a frequency for Orleans. Either way, the signal from the old site was pretty bad and spotty. It was amazing that the old 104.7 antenna handled Stereo on 104.5 in the first place. Now, as WXLO, the signal really goes far and wide. Before 104.5 fired up in Conway, NH, WXLO had a solid signal on the Kancamangus Highway especially near Passaconaway. I got it on a cheap SONY FM radio.

WFMP was originally WBNE-FM, a simulcast of 960-WFGM, when I first started hearing them in 1966. In 1967, WBNE became WFMP, and WFGM became WFGL. Bad signal on the old transmitter or not, I managed to pick up WFMP in upstate New York, numerous times in the 1960s on a GE portable radio. Of course, there were far fewer FM stations in those days.

You are right about WFGM. I did see in a White's Radio Log from 1963 that 104.7 in Fitchburg, MA was listed as WFGM-FM. By that time, 960 was already WFGL. However, I never knew that 104.7 (now 104.5) was WBNE-FM. But FM, as it was back in the early 60's, had a few surprises on the dial. I guess this was one of them. 73, Pete.

 

[Cueburn]

I'm surprised Peter Q. missed this one...

98 Country WCAV

1460 WBET

 

[pqgeorge]

I'm surprised Peter Q. missed this one...

98 Country WCAV

1460 WBET

Ah, perish the thought. I grew up listening to the WBET stations as a little tyke back in the 60's and 70's. I used to call the CE at the time (Elbie Hooker) all the time back when I was getting my radio wings (around 9-18 years old). We would talk for hours about WBET/WBET-FM and I knew pretty much about any changes to 97.7 months before they actually occured. The switch to Stereo and 24 hour rock on 11/1/1976 on WBET-FM and the switch of the call-letters on 1/1/1977 to WCAV, I knew about 6 months before it happened. We "radio junkie types" are a close knit community. Little did I know that one day, I would actually work for 'BET/'CAV for many years, both on the air and backstage as a tech. I was proud to spin the first Country record in July, 1982 on 97.7 and was there on the night when the station left 60 Main Street for the last time almost ten years ago.

If any station were to be a real life clone of WKRP, this combo was it! What a time. I miss it.

Peter Q. George (K1XRB)
Alum, WBET/WCAV-FM (1982-1991)

 

[WLYNWAZNgm]

from the early 80's --
WKLS-FM Atlanta 96 Rock

 

[Time Traveler]

WXLO in Fitchburg (Worcester) used to be M-104. Late 70's early 80's. M supposedly stood for "music."

WFMP/104.5 in Fitchburg used "M-104" as their moniker in late 1979, when the station switched from Country (in mono) to Drake/Chenault's Contempo 500 format (in Stereo). They called it "Music 104" for a brief period in late 1979. Before they went to full-power in the 80's, they used an antenna originally cut for 104.7 (WFMP's original frequency). Either the move to 104.5 was as a result of 104.9 (Simon Geller's WVCA) being dropped into Gloucester in 1964 or Cape Cod wanted a frequency for Orleans. Either way, the signal from the old site was pretty bad and spotty. It was amazing that the old 104.7 antenna handled Stereo on 104.5 in the first place. Now, as WXLO, the signal really goes far and wide. Before 104.5 fired up in Conway, NH, WXLO had a solid signal on the Kancamangus Highway especially near Passaconaway. I got it on a cheap SONY FM radio.

WFMP was originally WBNE-FM, a simulcast of 960-WFGM, when I first started hearing them in 1966. In 1967, WBNE became WFMP, and WFGM became WFGL. Bad signal on the old transmitter or not, I managed to pick up WFMP in upstate New York, numerous times in the 1960s on a GE portable radio. Of course, there were far fewer FM stations in those days.

You are right about WFGM. I did see in a White's Radio Log from 1963 that 104.7 in Fitchburg, MA was listed as WFGM-FM. By that time, 960 was already WFGL. However, I never knew that 104.7 (now 104.5) was WBNE-FM. But FM, as it was back in the early 60's, had a few surprises on the dial. I guess this was one of them. 73, Pete.

As unimportant as this really is, WFGM-960 didn't become WFGL until 1967. Also, the original WFGM was located at 1580 or 1590, not 960.

 

[pqgeorge]

WXLO in Fitchburg (Worcester) used to be M-104. Late 70's early 80's. M supposedly stood for "music."

WFMP/104.5 in Fitchburg used "M-104" as their moniker in late 1979, when the station switched from Country (in mono) to Drake/Chenault's Contempo 500 format (in Stereo). They called it "Music 104" for a brief period in late 1979. Before they went to full-power in the 80's, they used an antenna originally cut for 104.7 (WFMP's original frequency). Either the move to 104.5 was as a result of 104.9 (Simon Geller's WVCA) being dropped into Gloucester in 1964 or Cape Cod wanted a frequency for Orleans. Either way, the signal from the old site was pretty bad and spotty. It was amazing that the old 104.7 antenna handled Stereo on 104.5 in the first place. Now, as WXLO, the signal really goes far and wide. Before 104.5 fired up in Conway, NH, WXLO had a solid signal on the Kancamangus Highway especially near Passaconaway. I got it on a cheap SONY FM radio.

WFMP was originally WBNE-FM, a simulcast of 960-WFGM, when I first started hearing them in 1966. In 1967, WBNE became WFMP, and WFGM became WFGL. Bad signal on the old transmitter or not, I managed to pick up WFMP in upstate New York, numerous times in the 1960s on a GE portable radio. Of course, there were far fewer FM stations in those days.

You are right about WFGM. I did see in a White's Radio Log from 1963 that 104.7 in Fitchburg, MA was listed as WFGM-FM. By that time, 960 was already WFGL. However, I never knew that 104.7 (now 104.5) was WBNE-FM. But FM, as it was back in the early 60's, had a few surprises on the dial. I guess this was one of them. 73, Pete.

As unimportant as this really is, WFGM-960 didn't become WFGL until 1967. Also, the original WFGM was located at 1580 or 1590, not 960.

I did a little research and found that WFGL went on the air February 15, 1950 as WFGM at 1580 AM. Original studios were located on the third floor of a downtown building at the corner of Main and Prichard Streets in Fitchburg. The original transmitter included one broadcast tower near the current intersection of John Fitch Highway. The station originally had a power output of 1,000 watts. Several years later new studios were constructed in a renovated townhouse at 170 Prichard Street in Fitchburg. A new four-tower transmitter was constructed atop Alpine Hill and the station's dial position was changed to 960 AM. In 1960 the station was granted a license for FM station WFGM-FM on 104.7, which later became WBNE, WFMP and eventually WXLO at 104.5 FM.

And that's the way it is.......

 

[Time Traveler]

Interesting....and I was told way back in the early 70s, that the move from 1580 was made to accomodate a new station that was being proposed, which I believe was 1590, in Nashua, NH. I seem to recall that WFGM was originally a daytimer, but would receive full time status by moving to 960, so a deal was struck. Also, WFGL remained powered at 1000 watts until some time in the 1980s, when the day time power was increased to 2500 watts.
Alot of good it did them....

 

[bandman]

Hit Radio 103.3 WHTT

Rock 93-7, WCGY

and more recently:

96-9 FM Talk.

I loved WHTT..talk about jocks that were tight. Didn't they give "Kiss" a run for their money at one time?

 

[Retro]

Hit Radio 103.3 WHTT

Rock 93-7, WCGY

and more recently:

96-9 FM Talk.

I loved WHTT..talk about jocks that were tight. Didn't they give "Kiss" a run for their money at one time?

Yes, they sure did! Radiorama would remember that also.

 

[DrPicky]

WZOU was Z-94 for a while. What's now WZLX was a country FM called TK-101. What's now Oldies 103.3 was Q-103 in the "quality rock" days. What's now WXLO/Worcester was M-104/Fitchburg. What's now WVEI-AM in Worcester was 14Q. What's now WBIX/Natick was G-1060.