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WXCT

MarcB

MarcB

WXCT 990/WACM 1490 flip to Oldies

WXCT 990/WACM 1490 have flipped to Oldies after playing “The Same Old Song” by The Four Tops on a loop for several hours. My Mom and I went out to run errands at 11AM and they were still looping that song. Got home at 12:35PM and they played “5 O’Clock World then Night Fever then a Male Voice Over. “You Love Oldies. We love Oldies. The New Oldies 990 and 1490 WXCT.” Into another Oldies song. Not sure if they’re still going to have their Spanish Religious Programming tomorrow.

http://www.davidsonmediagroup.com/player/wacm_player.html
 
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Oldies Are Back in Connecticut/Western Mass

WXCT 990 Southington, CT/WACM 1490 West Springfield has flipped from Spanish to 50-60-70s Oldies.

They stunted for several hours with "The Same Old Song" by the Four Tops. When My Mom and I went out this morning the song was still looping. When we came home they played "5 O'Clock World and Night Fever. Then a Voice-Over "We Love Oldies, You Love Oldies. The All New Oldies 990/1490 WXCT. Later there was a voice over mentioning Greatest Hits of the 50s-60s-70s.

Most likely WXCT will still be running their ethnic programming on Sunday 8:30AM-3:00PM. It's been a staple on the station since they signed on. Not sure about Saturday programming.

http://www.davidsonmediagroup.com/player/wacm_player.html (They haven't changed the logo on stream link).
 
Well, at least now the Hartford area has an Oldies outlet, after the demise of Oldies on WDRC. We know since the popularity of FM years ago a lot of AM daytimers program talk radio or ethnic programming. I used to work @990 years ago. I wish them luck. Before the popularity of FM, Top 40 hits were programmed on stations like WABC, etc. Those songs are now Oldies, & they sound great on the AM band!
 
They're playing a lot of "Oh Wow" songs as in "Oh Wow I haven't heard this song in a long time." There are just a few glitches. Twice so far they've run a dead carrier for several hours on both stations as if either the computer crashed or ran out of music to play. And on 990 there are occasional mil-seconds long bouts of dead air. A glitch with whatever they're using to get the programming from the West Springfield Studio to the Southington Studio. I noticed it too for the past 3 years when they were simulcasting WSPR. It's not there when the programming originates from the Southington Studio. The other glitch is the automated Legal ID that plays over the top of the programming once an hour. The automated legal ID thing (done by Charlie Profit) has been playing like that since 2007 when the station was taken over by Radio Cantino Nuevo.
 
WXCT continues to program oldies with a few glitches along the way. Think they're getting feed from the West Springfield studio but my spies tell me that may end in time as sales allows. Word has it that the company that owns both stations, Davidson Media out of NC, apparently got wind of the grumbling of listeners since the owners of DRC made their big changes to the format and jocks and there now is a market for an oldies format. Their 2.5KW signal certainly has the reach into the Hartford/New Britain market. Time will tell if they do it right...make the station exciting to listen to again...a destination on the dial if you will. My spies also tell me NC management is planning on meeting with city officials in the near future to find out what they can do and provide for the community through WXCT. Sounds interesting. Stay tuned.
 
A DJ who was on WHYN in 1960s and most recently on WARE 1250 might be involved with this station. My Mom was listening on the way home from work and said she heard an announcer on named Fred King. He was talking about WACM's Sunday Morning Irish radio show and did Springfield-area News and weather information. I Googled the name and that's how I found out about WHYN and WARE.
 
I've only heard one ad so far: Torres Insurance of Chicopee. A holdover advertiser from the Spanish format, or was that 100 percent leased by churches?
 
CTListener said:
I've only heard one ad so far: Torres Insurance of Chicopee. A holdover advertiser from the Spanish format, or was that 100 percent leased by churches?
Click to expand...

That's the 3rd advertiser. They were also advertising Springfield Technical Community College and Springfield/Holyoke Liquor Mart.

Um from January 2012 until March 2015 WXCT was simulcasting WSPR 1270's Spanish/Tropical Format and was only Spanish Religion all day Saturdays til 8:30AM on Sundays and 3PM Sunday until 6AM Monday. In Mid-March 2015 WXCT broke off from WSPR. 1270 was LMA'd to Rafael Diaz and he put in a bid to buy WACM. I guess it fell through. WXCT resumed simulcasting WSPR in Mid-June 2015. Then they switched to Simulcasting WACM 1490 about a week and a half later and they've been simulcasting WACM ever since. As of July 4th the WACM simulcast was added to Saturdays and Sundays. (Sundays before 8:30AM and after 3PM).
 
1. Indescribable to hear the legendary voice of Jim Knapp (aka Jim "The Big Tuna" Kaye) as the voice of 990 & 1490. I was thinking he would be the perfect Radio Host/Personality for the stations. I used to work with him @WAQY after 990WNTY. He also works @ABC40 in Springfield. He's been the host of the "Goldrush" that was on Rock102 & WHMP/Northampton for years, & now is also on AtomicRadio.US He is the epitome, connossieur & guru of the format!

2. What is the latest FCC rule for simulcasting stations that use different calls? I'm hearing "990 & 1490 WXCT". Shouldn't it be "990WXCT & 1490WACM"? I hear the ID "WXCT Southington", but are they ID'ing 1490 WACM Springfield at the same time? I can't listen to both stations at the same time, to see if they do, unless I hook up my 2 AM radios, & I'm out of state now. Thanks!
 
I've heard around :15 and :45 past the hour this as the legal ID from the VO Guy doing all the other Voice-Overs. "1490 WACM West Springfield 990 WXCT Southington/Hartford." Then the tagline "The Pioneer Valley and Western Connecticut's home for Good times and Great Oldies" or something like that. Then also at around :03 past the hour there is an automated "WXCT Southington" ID that plays over the top of the programming. It's done by Charlie Profit who ran the station until May 2007 and it's been playing once an hour automatically over the top of the programming for the past 8 years. Over the years I've heard it at ridiculous times. :13 after the hour :17 after the hour, :36 after the hour, :48 after the hour.

I guess they're just branding the station as "Oldies 990/1490 WXCT".

Back when 92.7 WLIR Garden City, Long Island was also simulcast on 98.5 WDRE Westhampton, Long Island you would only hear the legal ID "WDRE Westhampton" once an hour. All other times you'd hear the station ID by it's brand name "92.7 'LIR"
 
>2. What is the latest FCC rule for simulcasting stations that use different calls? I'm hearing "990 & 1490 WXCT". Shouldn't it be "990WXCT & 1490WACM"?

The only FCC requirement is call letters and associated city of license (COL) at the top of the hour. Saying "990 and 1490 WXCT" other times is considering acceptable branding.

BTW - I had to reedit this because I originally typed WTXL. :)
 
BTW, on Thursday night WXCT was getting clobbered by WDCX Rochester, NY, along the Berlin Turnpike in Berlin and Meriden. Usually WDCX is the weak background station in this situation. Better than normal skywave propagation that night or might WDCX have been running daytime power?
 
Don't know who the PD is, but on the I LOVE AM RADIO Facebook Group Larry Kratka who used to be with WUPE in Pittsfield said his cousin from Plainville, CT called Davidson Media Group in North Carolina and was told they might be doing some local things with 990. I know Larry Kratka's cousin from Plainville. Longtime friend of the family, so I don't see why he would make up something like that.

Meanwhile right now someone needs to go up to Sylvan Street in West Springfield and restart the computer. They're both running a dead carrier.
 
Work is being done at the WACM site on the computers that feed them and 990 and it sounds a lot better...at least on line. Can't get WACM in the Berkshires ...to far but their stream is running. My cousin in Plainville has informed me that he now listens to 990 for music and TIC for news. Thats it. Says 990 sounds pretty good in his vehicle and it never fades wherever he goes. Gets it inside his house just fine too. Penetration is KEY to "inside" listeners. According to the I LOVE AM RADIO Facebook page, lots of work and consideration is being done on both stations. I think the key is to make the stations "exciting" to listen to again. A station that has really done that is a LP station in Woodbridge, NJ....check out: www.woldradio.com and listen to what they've done. TM jingles, tight production. Sure, it's an FM but its the "sound" of the station that makes it fun to listen to. Not to mention the music. Just sayin.....
 
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