Some Savannah/Lowcountry Station history?

[jovialjay]

Once upon a time...

Beaufort County, SC radio consisted of:

WBEU(AM)/Beaufort - 1kw-D on 960 (1954)

WSIB(AM)/Beaufort - 500w-D/250w-N on 1490 (1962)

WBEU-FM/Beaufort - 18kw at 225' HAAT on 98.7 (1962)

and

WHHR(FM)/Hilton Head Island - 3kw at 300' HAAT on 106.3 (1973)

It was in the early 80's that the mad rush began, with 1130 (WHHI) at Hilton Head Island, 92.1 (WGCQ) at Parris Island, 99.7 (original calls?) at Port Royal, 104.9 (WXRY) at Ridgeland (in Jasper County, which also had WBUG(AM) - 1kw-D at 1430), 105.5 (WIJY) at Hilton Head Island and 107.1 (WLOW) at Bluffton...all hitting the air before the end of the decade.

I get a headache with all the frequency changes, upgrades and consolidation that occured later. In fact, I believe I'll have a Dillon County continental breakfast right now...that's two Goody's headache powders chased with an iced-cold, 6 ounce Coca-Cola!!! Yum, yum.

 

[upstate29651]

99.7's original calls were WHTK. Hmm....or was it? ???

G

 

[jovialjay]

99.7's original calls were WHTK


You're right. It was WHTK.

 

[Radio-X]

OK...based on what I can sort out...here we go.

Docket 86-469 was the thing that switched most of the HHI stations around in order to crank their power from 3kW A's.

WGZR:

Signed on late 1988 as class A WLOW 107.1
Moved to 106.9 in the early '90's as a C2.
Switched calls to WHHR-FM in 1994, then back to WLOW that year
Switched calls to WIJY in late 1996.
Upgraded to C1 in 1997.
Switched to WWVV in 1998
WGZR in 2003.

WLOW:

CP calls as WTOI
Signed on as 3kW WIJY 105.5 in 1988. On the same 300' tower as WHHR 106.3.
Moved to 107.9 as a C2. Oddly enough, this would later allow WCOO to move in Charleston and WRHQ to sign on later from Savannah instead of Bryan County.
Switched to WLOW 12/1996.

WFXH:

Originally WHHR-FM
Upgraded and moved to 106.1 in late 1990.
Became classic rock WFXH in 1991.
Went modern rock 2/27/01

WYKZ

Moved in as a Savannah station on their current tower in 1985...after failing to get on the WJWJ tower for Charleston coverage.


So, the $64,000 question: What were the formats of WHHR-FM. WZAZ (104.9), WXRY (104.9)? If it helps any, Dr. Demento was on WXRY in 1987 (the only way I know this is from some Dr. Demento newsletters I had in the bathroom...I knew they'd come in handy for something)

Either way, it's time for sleep.

Joe

 

[FilmCritic3K]

WFXH:

Originally WHHR-FM
Upgraded and moved to 106.1 in late 1990.
Became classic rock WFXH in 1991.
Went modern rock 2/27/01

A slight correction - on February 27th, 2001, WFXH flipped from satellite-fed classic rock (as "Fox 106.1 - The Classic Rock Station") to Active Rock (as "Rock 106.1 - The Only Station That Really Rocks!"), as its sister station WWVV-FM (now WGZR) at that time was modern rock (Alternative) as "Wave 106.9 - Savannah's New Rock Alternative"; in 2002, WFXH rebranded and shifted its playlist for a brief while as "Rock 106.1 - New Rock". Now the station reports as an Alternative while playing a blend of alternative and active rock using the positioner "Rock 106.1 - Because Music Rules!"

 

[jovialjay]

What were the formats of WHHR-FM. WZAZ (104.9), WXRY (104.9)?

I don't have a clue about 104.9, but, for many years, WHHR was beautiful music/easy listening..."It's the beautiful sound of Hilton Head...This is FM-106, W-H-H-R"

 

[vchimpanzee]

There are some details missing from this.

I didn't try to read it all, and the truth is I've never had much reason to care about Savannah/Hilton Head.

But in Myrtle Beach in 1988, I heard this great big band format on 106.9. That was WLOW. I later heard the same format on 99.7 in 1994. It was the best standards format I ever heard. I don't know why I knew that was WLOW on a new frequency, but I did. Even though the "legal" station ID was WNCK.

Was WJCL ever mentioned? I happened to land on it in the car one day in North Carolina when it was still beautiful music. I have no idea how I was able to pick it up that far away.

 

[Kenny Ray]

I worked at WSIB in Beaufort for a few years about 65-68. The offices were in a converted finance company I think. I remember we were the only rock station in the area. For some reason Charleston's signals didn't come in good and I believe WTMA ??? was big back then in Charleston. I remember playing the Beatles Daytripper immediately after sign on at 5 AM and that was kinda banging for that era.... We didn't sport any color codes on our labels... lol.... I spent twenty years in radio in SC 1965-85,

I remember we had to drop to 100 kw at night but you could still get the station at Gardens Corners 16 miles away. The secret was the stick was on a small island. I know, cause I helped the owner Charlie Bell gee and haw with a mule when we put in a new ground system. That was a hoot for a city boy. We trenched the copper wire in the furrows made by the mule pulling the plow and then unwound another ten or fifteen feet of the wire, tied it to a cement block, and heaved it as far out in the ocean as possible. You might say that stick had a real ground system. Had to use the mule cause we couldn't get a tractor over there on the island. And you thought you had done everything in radio until you read this? lol

Some of you might remember my late brother, Orvan Lee Oxenrider, who worked at both stations in Beaufort in the sixties and also worked in the Savannah market. As far as Georgia, he worked at a station in Griffin and a couple in the Atlanta market too. His radio names were Bobby Lee and Lee Oxenrider most of the time. Back when themes were used he used "Mr Lee, 1 2 3, I shot Mr Lee" or something like that. He was PD many of those places and active in little theatre groups as well. He died of a heart attack at 53.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Oxenrider&GSfn=Orvan&GSbyrel=in&GSdyrel=in&GSob=n&GRid=14619295&

 

[vchimpanzee]

I remember we had to drop to 100 kw at night but you could still get the station at Gardens Corners 16 miles away.

I believe you mean 100 watts.

100 kw would be remarkable for an AM, especially one in a small town.

 

[KennyRay]

[Quote from: Kenny Ray on September 22, 2008, 01:19:11 am
I remember we had to drop to 100 kw at night but you could still get the station at Gardens Corners 16 miles away.

I believe you mean 100 watts.

100 kw would be remarkable for an AM, especially one in a small town./quote]


Wow.... thanks for catching that.... 100 watts is correct.

 

[radioguybroadcasting]

This has been some interesting reading folks, thanks for sharing!

 

[bobgallico]

In 1951 I joined the on-air staff of WDAR and spent a year there. At that time the station was owned, to the best of my memory, by
Blair Minnick. His son, Pennington, was working ( part-time, I think) as an engineer at the station. The only other person I remember well was the very gracious Milton Bellah, who I know was there at the start in 1946. I don't know what happened to the Minnicks, or where Milton went to.
Any confirmation of my memories would be welcome. I am doing a piece for www.radioirish.com., concerning an afternoon record show I did on the station that year.

Incidentally, I had previously worked for J.B.Fuqua for a year on WJBF.

With every good wish to all radio people everywhere

Bob Gallico

 

[relangford]

I was WEAS-AM/FM Chief Engineer between 1965-1967 (follow JayAllen Brimmer's death) and from 1975-1976. The AM transmitter was custom built by the Betts Company of Atlanta - I visited a number of times during its manufacturer. The FM was from Collins (very classy for a Rivers station). The Talmadge Bridge always caused us a lot of trouble with respect to our non-circular pattern. I set up the FM automation equipment (with help from WGUN engineers), but never liked it. From 1967 to 1971, I was at WRFC in Athens, GA as transmitter (later, chief) engineer.

 

[RobynWattsV2.0]

So, the $64,000 question: What were the formats of WHHR-FM. WZAZ (104.9), WXRY (104.9)? If it helps any, Dr. Demento was on WXRY in 1987 (the only way I know this is from some Dr. Demento newsletters I had in the bathroom...I knew they'd come in handy for something)

Either way, it's time for sleep.

Joe

And ten years later, I think I've found some answers for Joe. I hope he's still with us.

The CP for 104.9 was originally held by WBUG-AM 1430 (1kW-D) Ridgeland, SC. The CP was sold to Pennington Broadcasting, who put WXRY (the 1987 version) on the air under test authorization November 15th, 1985, as a 3kW licensed to Ridgeland, but with studios on Hilton Head Island. It was AC, with 4 hours of Oldies and 3 hrs of Beach Music on weekends and aligned with CBS's "RadioRadio" network. Full license was granted July 15th, 1986.

In 1988, the call letters were changed to WZBZ (The Breeze), but the format remained the same. On March 5th, 1990, Pennington sold the station to Mattox-Guest of South Carolina and changed the call letters to WSHG, but keep the AC format. The station changed hands again in 1992, this time to Country Time Broadcasters (acq. April 4th, 1992), but Mattox-Guest reacquired the station nearly a year later (April 15, 1993) and set about applying to upgrading the signal to 16kW the following year. Also, in 1994, the format was changed to Hot County, but keeping the weekend Oldies and Beach programming.

Adventure Comunications acquired the station on March 6th, 1997, and changed the calls to WGZR, but kept the Hot Country format.

On July 18, 2000, Triad Radio purchased Adventure Comunications, but retained WGZR's Hot Country format until 2003, when sister WWVV's then-format (Modern AC) on 106.9 was swapped with WGZR's.

And, I think everyone knows what's happened since. Personality, I liked Wave 106.9 and Wave 104.9, particularly Wave 104.9's Triple A format, circular 2003-2004.

Best,
Robyn (recovering from a flu bug, here in WNC)

 

[RobynWattsV2.0]

And I've forgotten to post info on WHHR! It signed on July 14th, 1973 at 3 kW on 106.3, under the ownership of Hilton Head Radio Corps. It has the distinction of being Hilton Head's first radio station. WHHR featured a Beautiful/Easy Listening format for about the first 21 years of the station's existence. It was sold on October 5th, 1982 to the Hilton Head Broadcasting Corp., but retained the format.

It was about this time (February 14th, 1983, to be preside) that WHHR had signed-on a sister AM! (Something that was very unusual for an FM to do this late in the game.) That station was WHHQ (1130-Q) 1130 AM (1 kW D) and featured AC music in stereo. I personally remember the station being along the lines of a Bright, or Hot AC, as they played a lot of Adult Top 40 hits, stopping short of hard rock bands like Def Leppard and Ratt, or "heavy" R&B from acts like Cameo and Midnight Star. In September, 1984, all current music was dropped and the station went to a Recurrent/Gold format with no DJ's outside of AM drive. My family was transferred back to Columbia, SC in February of 1985, but I understood that they've tried Adult CHR again later in 1985 (complete with becoming a American Top 40 affiliate). However, it was short-lived and the station went Oldies in 1986. By 1989, the station dropped Oldies and became a full-time simulcast of WHHR (-FM) as WHHR-AM and added nighttime service at 500 W.

On February 11th, 1991, Adventure Broadcasting purchased WHHR AM & FM for $300,000.00. The format on the station(s) stays the same, however, WHHR get a major increase of power (from 3 kW to 50 kW) during this time and changes frequencies from 106.3 to 106.1 FM.

In 1994, WHHR-AM breaks away from simulcasting the FM in order to go News/Talk. The FM, meanwhile, acquired the new call letters WFXH.

In 1995, after a little more than 21 years of playing Easy favorites for Hilton Head, WFXH becomes "Fox 106.1", sporting a Classic Rock format. By 1997, WHHR (AM) becomes WFXH-AM, but retains their news/talk format.

And that's a short history lesson on 106.1 (WFXH-FM)

Robyn

 

[KevinCoan]

WLOW on 106.9/99.7

There are some details missing from this.

I didn't try to read it all, and the truth is I've never had much reason to care about Savannah/Hilton Head.

But in Myrtle Beach in 1988, I heard this great big band format on 106.9. That was WLOW. I later heard the same format on 99.7 in 1994. It was the best standards format I ever heard. I don't know why I knew that was WLOW on a new frequency, but I did. Even though the "legal" station ID was WNCK.

Was WJCL ever mentioned? I happened to land on it in the car one day in North Carolina when it was still beautiful music. I have no idea how I was able to pick it up that far away.

WLOW, or rather "The American Music Classics" network, was on both 106.9 and 99.7 WNCK for about 2 years. Thank you Charleston!, I got a cruise to Europe for 250 bucks... well, sure I had to sign some people up, best perk ever.