Portlands am560's original call letters

[Andy Taylor]

were WCSH.Check out this website. http://neradio.wrko.org/histories/hist_wcsh.htm

Also a list of Maine radio stations from 1950.
http://neradio.wrko.org/station_lists/am_1950_me.htm

 

[Nick Seneca]

Interesting that 2 early scions of Maine radio chose to have their names embedded in the calls of stations they owned:

Guy Gannett: WGUY and WGAN

Faust Couture: WFAU and WCOU

There was a marvelous book published by the MAB in 1990 called The History of Broadcasting In Maine - The First Fifty Years written by Ellie Thompson. It includes some great early photos of Maine radio & TV pioneers like Frank Fixaris, Bob Fuller, J.J. Jeffries, Chuck Sanford, Chuck Igo, George Hale, Cliff Reynolds, Bud Sawyer, even Jack Paar, who, for awhile owned WMTW, Channel 8!

The book cites WMB, Auburn as being the first station to be licensed in the Pine Tree State, with the Department of Commerce issuing a license in April 1922.

The oldest continuously operating station in the state? WABI, signing on June 30, 1923 with 50 watts at 1250 kc, according to this book.

Nick Seneca

 

[Chuckigo]

were WCSH.Check out this website. http://neradio.wrko.org/histories/hist_wcsh.htm

No - if you notice the top of the webpage with the notes about WCSH, you'll see they have seemingly mis-typed the frequency. everything else about WCSH as its noted seems correct.

WCSH, as the page notes, was originally named for the Congress Square Hotel and operated at an early freq 1170 - then 970 - but NEVER 560.

Guy Gannett put WGAN on the air (and WGUY, too). Hence, as Mr.Seneca noted, the personal-homage to the newspaperman.

 

[Channel Surf]

were WCSH.Check out this website. http://neradio.wrko.org/histories/hist_wcsh.htm

No - if you notice the top of the webpage with the notes about WCSH, you'll see they have seemingly mis-typed the frequency. everything else about WCSH as its noted seems correct.

WCSH, as the page notes, was originally named for the Congress Square Hotel and operated at an early freq 1170 - then 970 - but NEVER 560.

Guy Gannett put WGAN on the air (and WGUY, too). Hence, as Mr.Seneca noted, the personal-homage to the newspaperman.

That is right, and of course, A/C formatted 970-WCSH became nostalgia formatted WYNZ-AM in February, 1981. AOR formatted 100.9-WLOB-FM became WYNZ-FM in December, 1980...still AOR for nearly another year...

 

[Andy Taylor]

I've got an aircheck of 970 WYNZ as A/C on 2/13/80 with Nelson Gardner & Mark Andrews right before the switch to nostalgia.They were running promos about the format switch on "Saturday".They used the word "wins"(WYNZ) when doing the weather.
Didn't 100.9 originally come on as WRQN "Rockin" around 1975?

 

[Channel Surf]

I've got an aircheck of 970 WYNZ as A/C on 2/13/80 with Nelson Gardner & Mark Andrews right before the switch to nostalgia.They were running promos about the format switch on "Saturday".They used the word "wins"(WYNZ) when doing the weather.
Didn't 100.9 originally come on as WRQN "Rockin" around 1975?

100.9 was originally WRQN around 1975. It became AOR WLOB-FM "FM-101 Portland's Best Rock" in the fall of 1978, humiliating WBLM (on 107.5 at that time with its transmitter situated between Lewison and Augusta)in its first book with only 3000 watts in those days. Ownership and call letters changed in December, 1980 as it became WYNZ-FM, still AOR as "Z-101 Portland's Best Rock". Format was flipped to Soft A/C (yawn) in November, 1981. The long running Oldies format appeared in the late '80s....