• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Last FM to go stereo?

X

Xnewsie

Try this one on for size...

A few days ago, a co-worker told me that my current station did not go stereo until 1982. The FM in question had already been on the air since the mid-60's. Question: What was the last FM station in the U.S. to flip the switch for stereo broadcasts? I'm barring non-commercial stations and those that didn't get on the air until after docket 80-90.
 
First FM to revert to momo

Stereo:

Possibly a dying technique for FM!

As FM's move to talk, and that's happening daily, some are
also turning off the stereo generators in the interest of
better coverage. Not greater range; less susceptibility to
degradation, particularly in urban areas.

I guess stereo was just a passing fad.....
<P ID="signature">______________
"Only sick music makes money today."
--Friedrich Nietzsch (he said this before
rap was invented, or even rock!)</P>
 
Re: First FM to revert to momo

> As FM's move to talk, and that's happening daily, some are
> also turning off the stereo generators in the interest of
> better coverage.

WNIR in Akron, Ohio did this years ago when they went news/talk. I dunno when exactly, but it's been that way as far back as I can remember.

Last year, I DX'd a country station out of Kentucky that was in mono...at 100kw, no less!
 
Re: First FM to revert to momo

> > As FM's move to talk, and that's happening daily, some are
>
> > also turning off the stereo generators in the interest of
>
> > better coverage.
>
> WNIR in Akron, Ohio did this years ago when they went
> news/talk. I dunno when exactly, but it's been that way as
> far back as I can remember.
>
> Last year, I DX'd a country station out of Kentucky that was
> in mono...at 100kw, no less!

Several 100KW FMs have gone back to mono if they run a non-music format. 97.5 News Channel in Houston and 103.3 ESPN Sports in Dallas are both Class Cs and mono...its a 23db S/N increase and better coverage at the fringe....for rimshots, it is very helpful but if they are a music format, it hurts them in their city grade area...which is why 97.5's sister station on 103.7 is stereo but also a rimshot...(and they run IBOC as well..have not had a chance to see what their IBOC coverage is)
As for last FM to go from mono to stereo with a music format, I believe KETX-FM in Livingston TX holds that "honor"...it was mono until the mid 90s...not sure where they did but I know it was in the middle 90s...
 
And then there's WLNG on Long Island, Oldies station, which has never gone stereo. They remain mono to this day, reverb and all!
 
Re: First FM to revert to momo

> > > As FM's move to talk, and that's happening daily, some
> are
> >
> > > also turning off the stereo generators in the interest
> of
> >
> > > better coverage.
> >
> > WNIR in Akron, Ohio did this years ago when they went
> > news/talk. I dunno when exactly, but it's been that way as
>
> > far back as I can remember.
> >
> > Last year, I DX'd a country station out of Kentucky that
> was
> > in mono...at 100kw, no less!
>
> Several 100KW FMs have gone back to mono if they run a
> non-music format. 97.5 News Channel in Houston and 103.3
> ESPN Sports in Dallas are both Class Cs and mono...its a
> 23db S/N increase and better coverage at the fringe....for
> rimshots, it is very helpful but if they are a music format,
> it hurts them in their city grade area...which is why 97.5's
> sister station on 103.7 is stereo but also a rimshot...(and
> they run IBOC as well..have not had a chance to see what
> their IBOC coverage is)
> As for last FM to go from mono to stereo with a music
> format, I believe KETX-FM in Livingston TX holds that
> "honor"...it was mono until the mid 90s...not sure where
> they did but I know it was in the middle 90s...
>


WTLX-100.5 in Columbus, WI (Madison Market) crosses between mono and stereo. Normally its in stereo, sometimes in mono. WTLX was once an AC station but has been a Talk/Sports station since the 90s.


WXXM-92.1 in Sun Prairie, WI (Madison Market) flpped from Hot AC "Mix 92.1" to Air America in September 2004 and to this day remains in stereo.

WPJP-100.1 Port Washington, WI (Milwaukee Market) and most of the other Relevent Radio (Religious) affiliates are in mono. There are 2 Relevant Radio affiliates in Wausau, WI market. 1 is in Stereo. The other is in mono.

Then there are the stereo stations with the music loaded in mono.

WSPT-97.9 Stevens Point, WI (Wausau-Stevens Point market) transmits in stereo but their music is all loaded in mono so it may just as well be mono.


Back in the 90s, WJKL-94.3 Elgin, IL (Chicago Market) was a AC (ABC Satellite) station as "The Fox 94.3" They ran German programming on Sundays in mono. In 1998 WCBR-92.7 (Brokered) was sold to Big City Radio and became Chicago's first Kiss FM (Later Energy) Much of the brokered programming was dumped off onto WJKL. Much of the programming was in mono, the music shows were stereo as well as the rest of the ABC Satellite they had left. Not too long after One On One Sports (Now Sporting News Radio) lost their station 950 WNTD to Radio Unica and was then dumped off onto WJKL. WJKL ran One On One Sports from 6AM-6PM and 7PM-10PM in mono. "The Radio Shopping Show" (Their locally programmed store) in stereo, and Heavy Metal "Rebel Radio" in stereo overnights.


Pre Big City Radio, WVVX-103.1 (Brokered Ethnic) was ALWAYS in mono. When Big City bought this station and launched WXXY "Heart & Soul 103.1" in 1997, it was put in stereo.


<P ID="signature">______________

AIM: JeremyA1069</P>
 
> WCSM-FM, Celina, OH still mono after all these years, with
> the same board they used in the 70s.
>
WWPH 107.9 FM in Princeton Junction is in mono with a "morning show style" music/talk format all day.<P ID="signature">______________
17-year-old radio geek
Location: Princeton Junction, NJ
AIM: KewlDude471</P>
 
Re: First FM to revert to moNo

> > > > As FM's move to talk, and that's happening daily, some
>
> > are
> > >
> > > > also turning off the stereo generators in the interest
>
> > of
> > >
> > > > better coverage.
> > >
> > > WNIR in Akron, Ohio did this years ago when they went
> > > news/talk. I dunno when exactly, but it's been that way
> as
> >
> > > far back as I can remember.
> > >
> > > Last year, I DX'd a country station out of Kentucky that
>
> > was
> > > in mono...at 100kw, no less!
> >
> > Several 100KW FMs have gone back to mono if they run a
> > non-music format. 97.5 News Channel in Houston and 103.3
> > ESPN Sports in Dallas are both Class Cs and mono...its a
> > 23db S/N increase and better coverage at the fringe....for
>
> > rimshots, it is very helpful but if they are a music
> format,
> > it hurts them in their city grade area...which is why
> 97.5's
> > sister station on 103.7 is stereo but also a
> rimshot...(and
> > they run IBOC as well..have not had a chance to see what
> > their IBOC coverage is)
> > As for last FM to go from mono to stereo with a music
> > format, I believe KETX-FM in Livingston TX holds that
> > "honor"...it was mono until the mid 90s...not sure where
> > they did but I know it was in the middle 90s...
> >
>
>
> WTLX-100.5 in Columbus, WI (Madison Market) crosses between
> mono and stereo. Normally its in stereo, sometimes in mono.

If anyone (CW??) knows if this is true or not please tell me. KRBE Houston used to do this in the late 80s. They normally broadcast in stereo but there were times when I could swear the music was in mono. They would do it for several hours then go right back to stereo. Never understood why they did that. I noticed it during their studio mixshows also on the weekends. <P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by rageradio on 11/04/05 01:02 AM.</FONT></P>
 
One of our stations, WAIV FM 103.3 (Now WIVQ q 103.3) in Spring Valley Illinois switched from mono to stereo in July of 1997 When we switched from all talk to light AC The staion then became part of our top forty simulcast in March of 2000.
 
> One of our stations, WAIV FM 103.3 (Now WIVQ q 103.3) in
> Spring Valley Illinois switched from mono to stereo in July
> of 1997 When we switched from all talk to light AC. the station had been mono sence its sign on in March of 1994.
>The staion then became part of our top forty simulcast in March
> of 2000.
>
 
Re: First FM to revert to momo

> Pre Big City Radio, WVVX-103.1 (Brokered Ethnic) was ALWAYS
> in mono. When Big City bought this station and launched WXXY
> "Heart & Soul 103.1" in 1997, it was put in stereo.

I thought they were in mono until they launched the 80's channel and moved to the WKIE/WFZH stick.

-A<P ID="signature">______________

</P>
 
Re: First FM to revert to momo

> > Pre Big City Radio, WVVX-103.1 (Brokered Ethnic) was
> ALWAYS
> > in mono. When Big City bought this station and launched
> WXXY
> > "Heart & Soul 103.1" in 1997, it was put in stereo.
>
> I thought they were in mono until they launched the 80's
> channel and moved to the WKIE/WFZH stick.
>
> -A
>

First time I ever saw them in stereo, they were brand new (Still running Jockless) in the Heart & Soul format. I remember being parked outside Shirley's Dollhouse in Wheeling playing with the radio and when the seek button stopped at 103.1 it was in stereo with a new format.
<P ID="signature">______________

AIM: JeremyA1069</P>
 
WKTJ 99.3 in Farmington Maine plays music and I don't believe they've ever been in Stereo.
 
FM mono music stations

> Last year, I DX'd a country station out of Kentucky that was
> in mono...at 100kw, no less!

89.9 WKCR in New York City is a non-commercial Jazz music station and they are 100% mono. Meanwhile, 93.9 WNYC-FM switches between mono for talk programming and stereo for music, although their HD Radio and RDS signals are on the air full-time, even when their analog signal is in mono.
<P ID="signature">______________
noiboc.jpg

"This is the New York Emergency Broadcast System satellite channel. They took the crosstown bus."</P>
 
> Try this one on for size...
>
> A few days ago, a co-worker told me that my current station
> did not go stereo until 1982. The FM in question had already
> been on the air since the mid-60's. Question: What was the
> last FM station in the U.S. to flip the switch for stereo
> broadcasts? I'm barring non-commercial stations and those
> that didn't get on the air until after docket 80-90.
>

I can think of a few stations that have no intention of going stereo and were around before 80-90.

WQTQ, WLNG, WIHS, I'm sure there are others, but I can't think this early in the morning.
 
Re: First FM to revert to momo

> > As FM's move to talk, and that's happening daily, some are
>
> > also turning off the stereo generators in the interest of
>
> > better coverage.
>
> WNIR in Akron, Ohio did this years ago when they went
> news/talk. I dunno when exactly, but it's been that way as
> far back as I can remember.

Was WNIR, nee WKNT-FM, *EVER* FM stereo?
 
Re: First FM to revert to momo

> Was WNIR, nee WKNT-FM, *EVER* FM stereo?

Good question. Perhaps OA can enlighten us? Yoohooooo...
 
America's Monophonic FM Talk Wonder - WNIR

> > Was WNIR, nee WKNT-FM, *EVER* FM stereo?
>
> Good question. Perhaps OA can enlighten us? Yoohooooo...

I felt a rippling in the Force...

:)

As far as I know, WKNT-FM was never stereo, though I could be wrong. When I started listening to the station, it was about a year after midday talk show host Howie Chizek started on "WKNT AM & FM, Kent, Ohio", while the rest of the station was still playing music. This was, uhh, 1974. (I was young!)

The reason I'm not sure? I never listened to the station on a stereo. My early listening was actually done on a monophonic shortwave radio I had. Honest. (On the FM band, of course. Even back then, AM 1520 was barely perceptible outside of Kent and Ravenna.)

So, I wouldn't bet the house on it, but I'm pretty sure 100.1/Kent, OH was never in stereo.

(A tip of the hat to the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Clint O'Connor for inspiring the subject line...he used that in an article about WNIR sister WJMP/1520's format flip to liberal talk earlier this year...the first of two such flips in 2005 alone.)

-OA<P ID="signature">______________
Ohio Media Watch - <a target="_blank" href=http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com>http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com</a></P>
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom