News:

Thank you for your patience during the Forum downtime while we upgraded the software. Welcome back and see this thread for some new features and other changes to the forum.

Main Menu

Radio Station Call Letters- Where did they come up with them

Started by roadman65, January 31, 2015, 02:15:53 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

SidS1045

Quote from: 6a on February 03, 2015, 05:41:53 PM
In addition to these AM anomalies I know of WRR-FM in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

...which exists because, once upon a time, there was a WRR(AM) on that map.

There's also WIL-FM in St. Louis, named after yet another AM station gone from that map.  Even though WIL was licensed to St. Louis (west of the Mississippi), their transmitter site was in East St. Louis IL, east of the Mississippi, therefore a "W" call sign.  (Historical footnote, for those of you who are NYC radio aficionados:  WIL was the "farm team" for the great air staff of the 1960's and 1970's at WABC/New York.  Jack Carney, Ron Lundy (who debuted on WIL as the "Wil' Child"), Dan Ingram, Bob Dayton ("Rockin' Robin Scott") and George Michael all worked at both stations.)
"A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves." - Edward R. Murrow


6a


Quote from: SidS1045 on February 04, 2015, 02:35:54 PM
Quote from: 6a on February 03, 2015, 05:41:53 PM
In addition to these AM anomalies I know of WRR-FM in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

...which exists because, once upon a time, there was a WRR(AM) on that map.

There's also WIL-FM in St. Louis, named after yet another AM station gone from that map.  Even though WIL was licensed to St. Louis (west of the Mississippi), their transmitter site was in East St. Louis IL, east of the Mississippi, therefore a "W" call sign.  (Historical footnote, for those of you who are NYC radio aficionados:  WIL was the "farm team" for the great air staff of the 1960's and 1970's at WABC/New York.  Jack Carney, Ron Lundy (who debuted on WIL as the "Wil' Child"), Dan Ingram, Bob Dayton ("Rockin' Robin Scott") and George Michael all worked at both stations.)
I've always found a certain mystique about the three letter call signs - I think it's just the novelty and old school nature of the ones still in use. Most especially the oddball ones like WGY in Schenectady that were powerhouses in old power towns. Not to mention the original clear channels (like WGY) where there might have been a total of two stations on that frequency in the country, which says something about the lack of power line interference in a lot of the country at the time. Oh, to be a DXer back then!

froggie

QuoteAs we all know the FCC controls what part of the radio dial (the frequency) a radio station is to broadcast at as well as the range and area it is to be covered.  Stations west of the Mississippi River are to begin with the letter "K" and those east of it are to begin with "W."

Of note, amateur radio callsigns appear to be the opposite.  I got my "ham" license in North Carolina and my callsign starts with a K.

bing101

KNBA 1190 Vallejo stood for North Bay Area.

KOVR Sacramento stood for Coverage.

KOCE PBS SoCal stands for Orange County Educational TV.

KCAL Los Angeles stands for California but KCal in Metric stands for kilocalorie

KXTV Sacramento stands for TV 10

KRON stands for San Francisco Chronicle Former Owner.

KBHK Stands for Henry Kaiser

Jim

According to a very early broadcast recording that they play occasionally, WGY, one of the earliest stations, selected its call letters W for wireless, G for General Electric, and Y for the last letter in Schenectady.
Photos I post are my own unless otherwise noted.
Signs: https://www.teresco.org/pics/signs/
Travel Mapping: https://travelmapping.net/user/?u=terescoj
Counties: http://www.mob-rule.com/user/terescoj
Twitter @JimTeresco (roads, travel, skiing, weather, sports)

SidS1045

Quote from: 6a on February 04, 2015, 06:02:12 PMNot to mention the original clear channels (like WGY) where there might have been a total of two stations on that frequency in the country, which says something about the lack of power line interference in a lot of the country at the time. Oh, to be a DXer back then!

If you go back farther, you'll find that on the original clear channels (640, 650, 660, 670, 700, 720, 750, 760, 770, 780, 820, 830, 840, 870, 880, 890, 1020, 1030, 1040, 1100, 1120, 1160, 1180, 1200 and 1210) there was only *one* station on each frequency.  The definition of "clear channel" is a frequency which is "clear" of interference from other stations.

However, since the early 1980's there have been no "clear" channels on the AM band.  WOAI/San Antonio, on 1200, was the last station to occupy a truly "clear" channel.
"A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves." - Edward R. Murrow

Takumi

Quote from: roadman65 on February 04, 2015, 10:48:21 AM
Funny not practical, I said.    Yes it was funny because it made you laugh especially when Les Nesman butchered the famous golfer's name Chi Chi Rodriguez with Ch-eye Ch-eye Rod rig ooh wiz.  The fact that he is supposed to be professional at his job and know a simple name like Rodriquez and hardly knew it made it laughable.
My favorite Les line is in the episode when Herb has briefly separated from his wife, and when the guys are all at Johnny's apartment hanging out and Herb wants to go to a club to meet women, Les says "One-night stands get a little old after awhile, Herb!" Everyone turns to look at him as if to say "how would you know?"
Quote from: Rothman on July 15, 2021, 07:52:59 AM
Olive Garden must be stopped.  I must stop them.

Don't @ me. Seriously.

briantroutman

#82
Quote from: Pete from Boston on February 04, 2015, 09:30:46 AM
WKRP either stands for nothing or for "crap," but were a compromise because the preferred choices were being used by real radio stations.

I read that a station in Salt Lake City changed its call letters to KRPN so that they could have a musical top-of-the-hour ID that modified the close of the show's theme song to "WKRP 'n Salt Lake City" . Apparently (surprisingly), adding an extraneous "W"  to the ID didn't run afoul of FCC regulations.


Quote from: roadman65 on February 04, 2015, 09:46:58 AM
It was fictional and in real life such a station would not work. ...Even though not practical, a very funny sitcom though.

Perhaps it would have been impractical in real life, but I recall hearing more than a few broadcasters say that WKRP–more than any other fictional radio station–came the closest to representing life in radio.

Molandfreak

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on December 05, 2023, 08:24:57 PM
AASHTO attributes 28.5% of highway inventory shrink to bad road fan social media posts.

elsmere241

Quote from: jeffandnicole on January 31, 2015, 05:00:08 PM
I want to say WPVI is Philadelphia (P), Channel 6 (Roman Numeral VI).

That is correct.

WJBR in northern Delaware comes from "Just Beautiful Radio", its slogan up until 1985 when it changed formats.
WILM is for Wilmington, Delaware.
WDEL is for Delaware.

roadman65

Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

KEVIN_224

@ ELSMERE241: Do the letters of WSTW-FM 93.7 Wilmington mean anything?

elsmere241


hm insulators

The call sign KTAR in Phoenix supposedly once stood for "Keep Taking the Arizona Republic" newspaper.
KAZG, an oldies station in Phoenix, stands for "Arizona Gold."
KBAQ, the local classical music outlet in Phoenix calls themselves "K-Bach."
Remember: If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.

I'd rather be a child of the road than a son of a ditch.


At what age do you tell a highway that it's been adopted?

US71

KWTO Springfield, MO  "Keep Watching The Ozarks"

KOLR-TV Springfield, MO  "Color"

KUOA: originally the University of Arkansas, sold to John Brown University in Siloam Springs. Now it broadcasts ESPN Radio

Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

busman_49

WBNS, Columbus - stood for Wolfe Banks, News, and Shoes. Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WBNS-TV
WXIX 19, Cincinnati - XIX=19 in roman numerals

hm insulators

The Hawaiian island of Kauai has a station called KUAI.
Remember: If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.

I'd rather be a child of the road than a son of a ditch.


At what age do you tell a highway that it's been adopted?

NYhwyfan


KEVIN_224

WATR-AM 1320 of Waterbury, CT. We even had a WATR-TV channel 20 of Waterbury once. Today, that's WCCT-TV (CW).

Desert Man

From my knowledge on local radio stations' call letters: K-Des stands for "desert", K-PSI for "Palm Springs/Indio", K-PLM simply for "palm", KWXY is still a mystery (ROFL) and K-UNA for "one" in Spanish, the Spanish language station owned by KESQ-TV (ABC), owner of sister TV stations KCWQ (CW), KDFX (Fox) and KPSP (CBS). I can look it up on Wikipedia's articles on radio and TV stations, but take it with a pinch of salt since it's on Wikipedia...stations' official web sites can explain more in detail.
Get your kicks...on Route 99! Like to turn 66 upside down. The other historic Main street of America.

hm insulators

When I lived in Hawaii, I was just barely within reach of an album-rock station in Honolulu called KDUK--"The Duke 98-Rock." They later became KPOI, poi being a Hawaiian staple side dish.
Remember: If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.

I'd rather be a child of the road than a son of a ditch.


At what age do you tell a highway that it's been adopted?

bing101

KNPR Las Vegas stands for Nevada Public Radio

KUOP Stockton stands for University of the Pacific.

KeithE4Phx

Quote from: hm insulators on February 10, 2015, 04:44:05 PM
The call sign KTAR in Phoenix supposedly once stood for "Keep Taking the Arizona Republic" newspaper.
KAZG, an oldies station in Phoenix, stands for "Arizona Gold."
KBAQ, the local classical music outlet in Phoenix calls themselves "K-Bach."

KTAR indeed stood for "Keep Taking (the) Arizona Republic.  The paper owned the station from 1928 to 1946 and it became KTAR in 1929.  It was KFAD from its 1922 sign-on until the Republic bought it and changed it to KREP.  After too many "misunderstandings" of the callsign, they changed it to KTAR a year later.  Now, it's just ESPN Radio 620 on Ancient Modulation, with news/talk on FM 92.3.

Also in Phoenix, both radio and TV:

Various abbreviations for Phoenix or Phoenix, AZ:  KPHO-TV Ch. 5 (and KPHO radio between 1940 and 1971),  KPNX Ch. 12,  KPAZ-TV Ch. 21,  KFNX 1100,  KPHX 1480 (currently silent),  KNIX 102.5 (and AM 1580 in the 1980s).

KAET Ch. 8:  Originally stood for Arizona Educational Television.
KSAZ-TV Ch. 10:  Originally stood for "The Spirit of Arizona" before it was bought by Fox.
KNXV-TV Ch. 15:  Originally stood for "New 15," for New Television of Arizona, its original owner.

KFYI 550:  "For Your Information," a right-wing talker.
KGME 910:  "The Game" when it first signed on in 1994 on AM 1360.  Now Fox Sports 910.
KKNT 960:  Don't ask!  Somebody at Salem really screwed that one up.  :pan:
KDUS 1060:  Sports station originally known as "The Deuce."  Later known as "The Fan" and now NBC Sports Radio 1060.
KKKQ 1060:  An early '90s predecessor to KDUS.  Another gem of a call letter choice -- it was a station catering to African-Americans with "KKK" in the call.  It quickly was changed to KUKQ.  :pan:
KFNN 1510:  "Financial News Network," although I don't think it was ever affiliated with the old TV broadcaster of that name.

KFLR 90.3:  Family Life Radio, originally on AM 1230.
KJZZ 91.5:  Phoenix's public radio station used to air jazz music for 12 hours a day, now cut back to 3.
KDKB 93.3:  "Dwight-Karma Broadcasting," who owned the station in the 1970s.  Also AM 1510 at that time.
KOOL 94.5:  "It's always KOOL in Phoenix," a slogan from the 1940s and '50s when it was on AM 960.  Also the original call letters for Channel 10.
KYOT 95.5:  "Coyote," a smooth-jazz station until a few years ago.  Now known as a classic-rock station called The Mountain.
KUPD 97.9:  "Cupid" was its original name back in the early 1960s, then simulcasted on AM 1060.
KMVP 98.7:  "Most Valuable Player," a sports station originally on AM 860.
KMLE 107.9:  "Camel Country 108"
"Oh, so you hate your job? Well, why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called "EVERYBODY!" They meet at the bar." -- Drew Carey

KeithE4Phx

#98
Quote from: Jim on February 04, 2015, 11:13:10 PM
According to a very early broadcast recording that they play occasionally, WGY, one of the earliest stations, selected its call letters W for wireless, G for General Electric, and Y for the last letter in Schenectady.

Most 3-letter calls were sequentially assigned, but there were exceptions like WGY:

WGN Chicago:  World's Greatest Newspaper (Chicago Tribune)
WLS Chicago:  World's Largest Store (original owner Sears-Roebuck)
KUT Austin:  University of Texas
WMT Cedar Rapids:  Waterloo Morning Tribune

Also, if you look it up, you'll find that there were no 3-letter callsigns in the KAA to KCZ block.  Those calls were assigned to Germany prior to 1929, which was around the same time that the FRC stopped issuing them.  It's also why Westinghouse got KDKA in 1920, rather than, say, KAAA.
"Oh, so you hate your job? Well, why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called "EVERYBODY!" They meet at the bar." -- Drew Carey

KeithE4Phx

Quote from: froggie on February 04, 2015, 08:07:56 PM
QuoteAs we all know the FCC controls what part of the radio dial (the frequency) a radio station is to broadcast at as well as the range and area it is to be covered.  Stations west of the Mississippi River are to begin with the letter "K" and those east of it are to begin with "W."

Of note, amateur radio callsigns appear to be the opposite.  I got my "ham" license in North Carolina and my callsign starts with a K.

All new Technician and General class ham licenses are issued 2x3 callsigns starting with K, and have since late 1978.  Prior to that, all new hams got 2x3 calls starting with W.  Why they changed it, I have no idea. 

It has nothing to do with how broacast calls are assigned, though.  The ham assignments have changed several times since the Feds first assigned callsigns in 1912.
"Oh, so you hate your job? Well, why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called "EVERYBODY!" They meet at the bar." -- Drew Carey



Opinions expressed here on belong solely to the poster and do not represent or reflect the opinions or beliefs of AARoads, its creators and/or associates.