HARD TO BELIEVE: ONLY 2 CAPE COD RADIO STATIONS BEFORE 1970

[Early Byrd]

Here's an interesting tidbit...
As rapidly developed as Cape Cod has been since the post World War II days, it did not see it's third radio station until 1970, when WQRC 99.9 signed-on. This July 20th will be their 40th birthday. Cape Cod only had WOCB AM & FM, West Yarmouth, before WQRC came along. The AM went on the air in 1940, and the FM in 1948.

 

[CAPECRUSADER]

NOW

WMVY 92.7
WFQR 93.5
WXTK 95.1
WQRC 99.9
WFRQ 101.1
WCIB 101.9
WGTX 102.3
WPXC 102.9
WKPE 103.9
WOCN 104.7
WCOD 106.1
WFCC 107.5

WHEW!

 

[jlehmann]

NOW

WMVY 92.7
WFQR 93.5
WXTK 95.1
WQRC 99.9
WFRQ 101.1
WCIB 101.9
WGTX 102.3
WPXC 102.9
WKPE 103.9
WOCN 104.7
WCOD 106.1
WFCC 107.5

WHEW!

You missed 96.3 WEII and all the non comms.

 

[N1WVQ]

WCOD-FM came on in 1967.

 

[aaronread]

Well, prior to 1970 I would opine that you probably could hear a lot the Boston and South Shore FM's around a goodly portion of the Cape. (since the dial wasn't so crowded) And certainly a lot of Boston-area AM stations were VERY listenable on the Cape thanks to the saltwater path.

The Vineyard and Nantucket, of course, weren't so lucky. But they also weren't as heavily populated, either. And one assumes that with the ownership limits and more strict license renewal reviews back in those days, you only needed one or two signals to really provide a local service to the Cape and Islands.

 

[radiojay1]

Even now, it's great that you can hear many out of market stations on the Cape if you are a fan of hip-hop, R&B, dance, Top 40, and classic pop, soul, and dance.  On the Cape, I have decent reception of 103.3 WODS and Fun 107 (107.1) in most parts.  Dunes 102.3 WGTX is a satellite fed classic hits station (but not like 101.9 Cool 102) but it's in an area where 103.3 WODS can be heard well, on the outer Cape.  This kind of station should have been created to cover where 103.3 WODS cannot be heard well, like parts of Barnstable and Yarmouth, because WGTX reception is only fair in those parts.  I would love to see Fun 107 get a translator to cover the outer Cape, where reception is poor because of Classical 107.5 WFCC. 

 

[BRNout]

Well, prior to 1970 I would opine that you probably could hear a lot the Boston and South Shore FM's around a goodly portion of the Cape. (since the dial wasn't so crowded) And certainly a lot of Boston-area AM stations were VERY listenable on the Cape thanks to the saltwater path.

The Vineyard and Nantucket, of course, weren't so lucky. But they also weren't as heavily populated, either. And one assumes that with the ownership limits and more strict license renewal reviews back in those days, you only needed one or two signals to really provide a local service to the Cape and Islands.

Believe it or not, going back to the late 60's, you could get WABC (and other New York 50 kw signals) quite well on the Islands - day and night. You probably still can. If my cloudy memory serves, WABC came in pretty much as well on the south shore of the Cape as WRKO. Lots of people had it on at the beach back then.

FM was different of course and yes you were pretty much out of luck on the Nantucket - save for (perhaps) WGBH. Then again, few people in a place like the Cape and Islands had FM radios back then.

 

[HHH]

Yes, before WCOD (106.1) came on in about 1967, you really only had the following stations that served the cape and islands.

WOCB AM & FM West Yarmouth. The only stations with full Cape and islands coverage in those days.

Also (in most places):

WPLM AM & FM Plymouth

WBSM AM & FM New Bedford

WNBH AM & FM New Bedford


The cape was--and still is--rich with distant salt-water path AM signals from Boston, Providence, New York and Maine, depending where you are. But those listed were pretty much the only stations which directly served the cape and islands in the old days.

I remember having a portable FM radio on Nantucket in about 1968. I got WOCB-FM (94.9) pretty well, WBSM-FM and WNBH-FM OK, I could make out WPLM-FM, and just heard a wisp of WGBH-FM and a couple of Providence FMs. Most of the dial was just empty. I am sure that if I had a good tuner with a rooftop antenna with an amp pointed at Boston or Providence, I would have been OK for mono listening, but probably pretty hissy in stereo.

People on the beach back then (1960s) listened to WBZ, WABC, and WPRO(AM...when they were top 40). That was about it for rock and roll radio on the Cape

 

[pqgeorge]

Yes, before WCOD (106.1) came on in about 1967, you really only had the following stations that served the cape and islands.

WOCB AM & FM West Yarmouth. The only stations with full Cape and islands coverage in those days.

Also (in most places):

WPLM AM & FM Plymouth

WBSM AM & FM New Bedford

WNBH AM & FM New Bedford


The cape was--and still is--rich with distant salt-water path AM signals from Boston, Providence, New York and Maine, depending where you are. But those listed were pretty much the only stations which directly served the cape and islands in the old days.

I remember having a portable FM radio on Nantucket in about 1968. I got WOCB-FM (94.9) pretty well, WBSM-FM and WNBH-FM OK, I could make out WPLM-FM, and just heard a wisp of WGBH-FM and a couple of Providence FMs. Most of the dial was just empty. I am sure that if I had a good tuner with a rooftop antenna with an amp pointed at Boston or Providence, I would have been OK for mono listening, but probably pretty hissy in stereo.

People on the beach back then (1960s) listened to WBZ, WABC, and WPRO(AM...when they were top 40). That was about it for rock and roll radio on the Cape

Don't forget WRKO-FM, a part-time rock station eventually going full-time rock with "R-KO" (Arko), "the shy but friendly robot" in October of 1966. At the time, around 1965-1966, WRKO-FM (98.5) covered the Cape pretty well from its' 20,000 watt (ERP) signal (mono of course) high atop the Channel 7 tower in Newton. Surprisingly, the 98.5 signal covered quite well into New Hampshire, Rhode Island, the Cape and portions of Connecticut and Maine. It was so popular in the short time it appeared, 680 WNAC adopted a Top 40 format as WRKO in March of 1967. WCOD did sign-on 1967 as one of the the Cape's first FM Stereo stations. But the signal was pretty dismal with only 25,000 watts on a "short stick" from Dennis. It barely got off the island. If I recall, it was a "beautiful music" station for several years until it went to "Old Gold" (oldies) in the early 70's.

 

[Early Byrd]

Who remembers when WMEX (1510 AM) had someone they dubbed "The Beachcomber" who would walk local beaches and award prizes to people who had the portable radios tuned to WMEX? Funny thing, I distinctly remember them saying that "The Beachcomber" was going to be visiting Cape Cod beaches on at least a few occasions. I couldn't imagine WMEX's signal being a factor anywhere on the Cape, but then again, the signal from their then Quincy transmitter might have done well over the water.

 

[pqgeorge]

Who remembers when WMEX (1510 AM) had someone they dubbed "The Beachcomber" who would walk local beaches and award prizes to people who had the portable radios tuned to WMEX? Funny thing, I distinctly remember them saying that "The Beachcomber" was going to be visiting Cape Cod beaches on at least a few occasions. I couldn't imagine WMEX's signal being a factor anywhere on the Cape, but then again, the signal from their then Quincy transmitter might have done well over the water.

The WMEX/1510 signal from Wollaston (Quincy) was not very good in the area of Buttermilk Bay (Bourne/Buzzards Bay). However, people STILL tuned into WMEX as late as the summer of 1973, while I was vacationing at Hideway Village. The Top-40/oldies "Wimmex" was still on radios at the beach that summer, all be it noisy with the late WNLC (New London, CT) in the background. But a lot of radios were also tuned to FM with WVBF ("Stereo 105") playing on many of them. FM was really beginning to "make waves" at the beach that summer, as well as WBCN.

 

[HHH]

"Who remembers when WMEX (1510 AM) had someone they dubbed "The Beachcomber" who would walk local beaches and award prizes to people who had the portable radios tuned to WMEX? Funny thing, I distinctly remember them saying that "The Beachcomber" was going to be visiting Cape Cod beaches on at least a few occasions. I couldn't imagine WMEX's signal being a factor anywhere on the Cape, but then again, the signal from their then Quincy transmitter might have done well over the water."

I remember that WMEX was a hands-down favorite along the north shore beaches, being directional that way plus over salt water from Squantum. They were always about 10 to 1 over anybody else at Revere Beach.

The Cape was a different story. Until the 50K day upgrade in the late 60s, which put them over the Cape pretty well, the 5K north-south figure eight from Squantum (big lobe north, smaller lobe south) didn't reach the Cape very well, except on the outer Cape near Wellfleet, Truro and P-Town where they dashed across the water path.

Goes to show, however, how people used to reach for their favorite station back then. Probably adding to the equation is that there were so few rock AMs back then (WBZ and WMEX in all of Boston, WPRO and WICE in all of Providence, etc).

 

[MickeyD]

"Who remembers when WMEX (1510 AM) had someone they dubbed "The Beachcomber" who would walk local beaches and award prizes to people who had the portable radios tuned to WMEX? Funny thing, I distinctly remember them saying that "The Beachcomber" was going to be visiting Cape Cod beaches on at least a few occasions. I couldn't imagine WMEX's signal being a factor anywhere on the Cape, but then again, the signal from their then Quincy transmitter might have done well over the water."

I remember that WMEX was a hands-down favorite along the north shore beaches, being directional that way plus over salt water from Squantum. They were always about 10 to 1 over anybody else at Revere Beach.

The Cape was a different story. Until the 50K day upgrade in the late 60s, which put them over the Cape pretty well, the 5K north-south figure eight from Squantum (big lobe north, smaller lobe south) didn't reach the Cape very well, except on the outer Cape near Wellfleet, Truro and P-Town where they dashed across the water path.

Goes to show, however, how people used to reach for their favorite station back then. Probably adding to the equation is that there were so few rock AMs back then (WBZ and WMEX in all of Boston, WPRO and WICE in all of Providence, etc).

WMEX was the only rock station that people listened to on Revere BEach until WRKO arrived.

 

[rjoc]

Nobody mentioned the old WVLC Orleans 1170AM, now WFPB...when did they come on? Wasn't it about 1970???

 

[tpjones]

I lived in Falmouth Heights in the summer from 54 - 68 and we always listened to "1010 WINS NEW YORK" -- I can hear the jingle/slogan now. It was rock n roll or pop or whatever. I think they had Murray the K and His Swingin Soiree. We couldn't get WBZ or any other boston station. It was NY all the way, apparently sliding up the coast.