FM History from 1945
Mark Roberts
The following is a directory of all commercial FM stations in
the U.S. on January 1, 1945, which fit on one page of the BROADCASTING
Yearbook for 1945, sorted by state (* indicates no known association with
colocated AM station):
Call Location Frequency Owner
---- -------- --------- -----
KHJ-FM Los Angeles, CA 44.5 Don Lee Broadcasting System
KTLO Los Angeles, CA 46.1 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (CP)
WDRC-FM Hartford, CT 46.5 WDRC, Inc.
WTIC-FM Hartford, CT 45.3 Travelers Broadcasting Service
WBBM-FM Chicago, IL 46.7 Columbia Broadcasting System
WDLM Chicago, IL 47.5 Moody Bible Inst. of Chicago (WMBI)
WEHS Chicago, IL 48.3 WHFC, Inc. (CP)
WGNB Chicago, IL 45.9 WGN, Inc.
WWZR Chicago, IL 45.1 Zenith Radio Corporation *
WMLL Evansville, IN 44.5 Evansville On The Air, Inc.
(WEOA-WGBF)
WOWO-FM Fort Wayne, IN 44.9 Westinghouse Radio Stations, Inc.
WABW Indianapolis, IN 47.3 Associated Broadcasters, Inc.
WSBF South Bend, IN 47.1 (WSBT)
WBRL Baton Rouge, LA 44.5 Baton Rouge Broadcasting Co. (WJBO)
WBZ-FM Boston, MA 46.7 Westinghouse Radio Stations, Inc.
WGTR Boston, MA 44.3 Yankee Network, Inc.*
WMTW Boston, MA 43.9 Yankee Network, Inc.*
WBZA-FM Springfield, MA 48.1 Westinghouse Radio Stations, Inc.
WTAG-FM Worcester, MA 46.1 Worcester Telegram Publishing Co.*
WENA Detroit, MI 44.5 Evening News Association (WWJ)
WLOU Detroit, MI 44.9 John Lord Booth (WJLB)
KMBC-FM Kansas City, MO 46.5 Midland Broadcasting Co.
KOZY Kansas City, MO 44.9 Commercial Radio Equipment Co.*
WFMN Alpine, NJ 43.1 Edwin H. Armstrong *
WAAW Jersey City-Newark, NJ
49.5 Bremer Broadcasting Corp. (CP, WAAT)
WNBF-FM Binghamton, NY --smudged copy--
WABC-FM New York, NY 46.7 Columbia Broadcasting System
WABF New York, NY 47.5 Metropolitan Television, Inc.*
WBAM New York, NY 47.1 Bamberger Broadcasting Service (WOR)
WEAF-FM New York, NY 45.1 National Broadcasting Co.
WFGG New York, NY 45.5 William G.H. Finch (CP)
WGYN New York, NY 44.7 Muzak Radio Broadcasting Station, Inc.*
WHNF New York, NY 46.3 Marcus Loew Booking Agency (WHN)
WNYC-FM New York, NY 43.9 City of New York
WQXQ New York, NY 45.9 Interstate Broadcasting Co. (WQXR)
WHEF Rochester, NY 44.7 WHEC, Inc.
WHFM Rochester, NY 45.1 Stromberg-Carlson Co. (WHAM)
WBCA Schenectady, NY 44.7 Capitol Broadcasting Co.*
WGFM Schenectady, NY 48.5 General Electric Co. (WGY)
WMIT Winston-Salem, NC 44.1 Gordon Gray (WSJS)
WFLD Columbus, OH 44.5 (WBNS)
KYW-FM Philadelphia, PA 45.7 Westinghouse Radio Stations, Inc.
WCAU-FM Philadelphia, PA 46.9 WCAU Broadcasting Co.
WFIL-FM Philadelphia, PA 45.3 WFIL Broadcasting Co.
WIP-FM Philadelphia, PA 44.9 Pennsylvania Broadcasting Co.
WLBG Philadelphia, PA 46.5 Seaboard Radio Broadcasting Corp.
(CP, WIBG)
WPEN-FM Philadelphia, PA 47.3 Wm. Penn Broadcasting Co.
KDKA-FM Pittsburgh, PA 47.5 Westinghouse Radio Stations, Inc.
WTNT Pittsburgh, PA 44.7 WWSW, Inc.
WSM-FM Nashville, TN 44.7 Nashville Life & Accident Insurance Co.
KSL-FM Salt Lake City,UT 44.7 Radio Service Corp. of Utah (CP)
WMFM Milwaukee, WI 45.5 The Journal Co. (WTMJ)
WDUL Superior, WI 44.5 Head of the Lakes Broadcasting Co. (WEBC)
========
This, of course, was before the move to the FM band we know and love today.
Most of the activity was in the Northeast and in Chicago. Kansas City had
an unusual amount of activity, considering its size and location.
Everett Dillard, the founder of KOZY, later founded WASH in Washington, D.C.
KOZY left the air sometime in 1951. Indiana was also well represented.
Westinghouse was the one chain that seemed quite interested in FM, at least
at the early stages of the game.
--
==============================================================================
Mark Roberts | -> tran...@tyrell.net, mar...@delphi.com
Kansas City, Missouri | These accounts are personally funded.
All opinions expressed in this Usenet post are mine. Not available in stores.
==============================================================================
a.ren...@genie.geis.com
> The following is a directory of all commercial FM stations in the U.S. on
> January 1, 1945, which fit on one page of the BROADCASTING Yearbook for
> 1945,
>
> ---- -------- --------- -----
interesting is that despite it's heritage, now it's a 3,000 watt station in
Huntington, IN.
Following the move to the current FM band (88-108) did they
wind up on 103.1 or was there an intermediate move? I would think that an
older FM allocation like this would be likely to be high-powered and still
licensed to Ft Wayne, as is it's big brother WOWO-AM.
Anyone have more information?
Andy in Orlando
Scott D Fybush
> > Call Location Frequency Owner
> > ---- -------- --------- -----
> > WOWO-FM Fort Wayne, IN 44.9 Westinghouse Radio Stations, Inc.
>
>Interesting that WOWO-FM was one of the first FM's in the country. Even more
>interesting is that despite it's heritage, now it's a 3,000 watt station in
>Huntington, IN.
>Following the move to the current FM band (88-108) did they
>wind up on 103.1 or was there an intermediate move? I would think that an
>older FM allocation like this would be likely to be high-powered and still
>licensed to Ft Wayne, as is it's big brother WOWO-AM.
>
>Anyone have more information?
Sure do...and it's not what it looks like. The current WOWO-FM goes back
only to 1965, and what's more, has been co-owned with WOWO(AM) only
since 1986!
WHLT-FM came on in September 1965, co-owned with WHLT-AM 1300 Huntington.
By the mid-70s, the station had become WHUZ, "Z103," and in 1986, it was
purchased by WOWO's owners, Price Communications, who flipped it
first to WIOE (get it...W103?) playing automated soft rock, and then
in 1989 to the WOWO simulcast as WOWO-FM.
Transmitter is on US 24 east of downtown Huntington, about 5 miles
west of the WOWO-AM transmitter site, also on US-24. I have video
of both.
WIOE/WOWO-FM had at one time a CP to go to 102.9B1, I think. I don't
know why it was never activated. The 103.1 signal is fine in
Allen and Huntington Counties, but is gone pretty fast after that.
And now you know............the rest of the story.
Good day!
-=Scott Fybush - fyb...@world.std.com=-
PS -- One other Fort Wayne note: WKQM-FM 96.3, licensed Churubusco,
is reportedly on air with a jazz format. Studios are with co-owned
WGL Am-FM, 2000 Lower Huntington Rd, Ft Wayne. Transmitter is in
the Fort Wayne antenna farm on Hillegas Road. Paul Phillips
can supply additional details if he's reading.
Jerry McCarty
Roberts) wrote:
>
>
> The following is a directory of all commercial FM stations in
> the U.S. on January 1, 1945, which fit on one page of the BROADCASTING
> Yearbook for 1945, sorted by state (* indicates no known association with
> colocated AM station):
>
> Call Location Frequency Owner
> ---- -------- --------- -----
> WLOU Detroit, MI 44.9 John Lord Booth (WJLB)
For what its worth, the 1000 watt driver stage of the WLOU transmitter
was moved to Jackson, MI and converted to operate on the present band.
This truly was a marvel to behold. For some semblance of stability,
the entire exciter stage had coils of wire around it, something analogous
to a crystal oven.
We had to keep modulation less than 20%, otherwise the frequency took off
in time to the music. Interestingly enough, polka music didn't bother it.
No, I don't know why. Same studio, same sources.
Anyway, this unit was still used up until about 1968, then it was donated
to the Community College.
JOHN SCHMIDT
A couple of comments:
WTAG-FM was the FM half of WTAG(AM) also worcester, owned, as you commented, by
the Worcester Telegram and Gazette. The FM operation was sold off in the mid
'60s and became WSRS, when the FCC enforced the rule that newspapers couldn't
own both an AM and FM in the city they published in. Since I don't have my
Broadcasting yearbook or my M Street here, I don't know what the current calls
are. A lot of the early experimentation with WTAG, etc was done by Hobart
Newell, who was the professor for many of my EE courses (in particular my
Communications Engineering courses) at WPI, my undergraduate alma mater.
Don Howe also was a Consulting Engineer for many of these stations. Hey was
also a professor at WPI, and a good friend of mine during and after my stay at
WPI.
WMTW, while licensed to Boston, was actually on top of Mount Washington, in New
Hampshire, over 100 miles away. There is still a station there, and the last I
knew, the call was still WMTW.
The Yankee Network owned WNAC, 680 AM when I was growing up in Reading, in the
Boston suburbs. I don't know if they owned it in 1945.
For whoever commented about WOWO-FM being relatively recent, a fair number of
stations gave up when the FCC moved the band to 88-108 after WWII. Also others
gave up in the '50s when the audience was nil. It is quite possible that they
had a station, gave up the operation, and then years later re-applied and got a
new license.
WSHS, licensed to Sewanhaka High School, a few miles from here, started on 90.3
in, as I recall, 1947, and continued until the late '60s. (with the original
transmitter) When they stopped operating, Adelphi and Nassau Community College
both applied for 90.3. We now share the frequency. You might look in the 1948
issue of the Broadcasting Yearbook, if it is there, and see how many stations
were on then.
John
*******************************************************************************
John H. Schmidt, P.E. |Internet: sch...@auvax1.adelphi.edu
Technical Director, WBAU |Phone--Days (212)456-4218
Adelphi University | Evenings (516)877-6400
Garden City, New York 11530 |Fax-------------(212)456-2424
*******************************************************************************
David A. Kaye
: We had to keep modulation less than 20%, otherwise the frequency took off
: in time to the music.
Ummm...but isn't that what frequency modulation is supposed to do? Am I
missing something here?
: Interestingly enough, polka music didn't bother it.
This is yet another reason to adopt a *real* "alternative" music format
-- POLKA! Nobody's doing it, it's fun music, and will certainly attract
notice.
--
d...@crl.com PBS: Gives us "More Tales" or give us back our money!
San Francisco B3 f t++ w+ d+ k+ s- e r p; S6/7 g l- z++ o a++ u J++
Ed Ellers
>Interesting that WOWO-FM was one of the first FM's in the country. Even more
>interesting is that despite it's heritage, now it's a 3,000 watt station in
>Huntington, IN.
A lot of FMs turned in their tickets in the late 40s and all through the 50s,
especially AM simulcasters; the latter often found themselves buying FMs later.
One example is WHAS in Louisville, one of the 1-A clears; they had an old-band
CP (never activated commercially, so it wouldn't have been on Mark's list) which
they brought up in early 1946 on 99.7. This was shut down around 1950. Another
group started WLVL on 97.5 around 1960; they had financial difficulties and
were bought out by WHAS in the mid-1960s. 99.7 was reactivated by then-WKLO in
the early 60s as a simulcast.
Jerry McCarty
wrote:
> Jerry McCarty (mic...@um.cc.umich.edu) wrote:
>
> : We had to keep modulation less than 20%, otherwise the frequency took off
> : in time to the music.
>
> Ummm...but isn't that what frequency modulation is supposed to do? Am I
> missing something here?
>
Perhaps I should have been a bit clearer. The modulation in FM will cause
the frequency to deviate above and below the center frequency by a certain
amount. In our case, it was the center frequency itself that was changing.
Scott D Fybush
[On FM history...]
>In my market, Rochester, NY, WHEF survives as WCMF/96.5 with
>AOR format and is actually #1 12+ in most recent Arbitrons, while
>the old WHFM survives as WKLX/98.9.
Close...but not quite. WHFM did indeed stay on the air on 98.9
for three more decades, being sold in 1985 to become WZKC (country
KC99) and then in 1986 classic rock (now oldies) WKLX. But WHEF
died in 1950...and the 96.5 freq wasn't resurrected as WCMF until
1960.
Some other early FMs:
(this from a 1946 list:)
WFMN 98.9 Alpine NJ (also known as KE2XCC on 92.1) died in 1954,
after its owner, FM pioneer Edwin Armstrong, committed suicide.
WNBF-FM 96.3 Binghamton NY evolved into WQYT on 98.1, later WHWK.
WBZ-FM 100.7 Boston was turned off in the early 50s, later revived
on 106.7 in 1957. WBZ-FM 106.7 was sold in 1982...now WMJX.
WBBM-FM 99.3 Chicago still on as 96.5.
WDLM 99.7 Chicago evolved into 97.9...later WSDM and WLUP-FM.
WEHS 100.1 Chicago...dead?
WGNB "98.0" (really 98.7?) Chicago was WGN's FM, sold off a year or
two later to become classical WFMT, still on the air.
WWZR 98.5 Chicago was Zenith's station, later WEFM on 99.5,
now WUSN.
WELD 94.5 Columbus OH -- dead?
That's just a smattering from the start of the list. Clearly,
many of the early FMs, especially outside the big markets,
died a quick death.
The Boston and Hartford
>stations listed also continue to operate, in many cases under the
>same owners or their corporate descendants.
As we've seen, WBZ-FM actually *didn't* survive, but was later
revived. The other Boston FMs were WTAG-FM 102.7 Worcester,
which I believe to be an ancestor of present-day WSRS 96.1,
and WGTR 103.1, which I think evolved into WAAF 107.3.
And yes, Hartford is an exception...both WDRC-FM and
WTIC-FM made it to the present day alive.
BTW, the noncomm FMs actually made it through much better.
WATX 42.1 Ann Arbor MI became WUOM 91.7, WNYE 42.1 Brooklyn
stayed alive on 91.5, WBEZ 42.5 Chicago also moved intact
to 91.5. KSUI Iowa City IA moved from 42.7 to the regular
band an lived, KUSC 42.9 Los Angeles made it to 91.5,
WBGO Newark NJ (a CP in 1946) came on and survived at 88.3,
KALW San Francisco made the move from 42.1 to 91.7
and lived...and WIUC 42.9 Urbana IL moved to WILL-FM 90.9
and lived. The only dead ones were WLSU Baton Rouge LA
(a CP), WCAH Buffalo NY on 42.9, KICR Kansas City (a CP),
and KOKU Norman OK (a CP). Oh, and WBKY Beattyville KY
on 42.9. How many FM receivers do you think there were
in greater Beattyville in 1946? ;-)
The early FM pioneers
>needed patience, but eventually many of them prospered once
>stereo, and the fragmenting of the top 40 audience through the emer-
>gence of album rock, gave new life to the band.
Very true...but waiting 3 decades took LOTS of patience,
and the presence of a deep-pockets AM next door!
-=Scott Fybush - fyb...@world.std.com=-
Robert Casey
>
>The early FM pioneers
>>needed patience, but eventually many of them prospered once
>>stereo, and the fragmenting of the top 40 audience through the emer-
>>gence of album rock, gave new life to the band.
>
>Very true...but waiting 3 decades took LOTS of patience,
>and the presence of a deep-pockets AM next door!
>
big New York City AM's used to simucast the programming of the AM on
FM. Untill around the mid 60s ('65, '66?) the FCC made a rule saying
that the FM had to do its own programming half the time.
WABC-FM (now WPLJ) used to simucast WABC 770 AM (I used to tape record
top 40 songs off the FM, incidently captured some DJ talking). WNEW-FM
used to simulcast WNEW 1130 AM, than the FM started playing progressive
album rock, though I think they had the same newscast for a while.
My father had set up an old Pilot FM tuner (mono, vacuum tubes) and a
small tube amp, and a speaker, back in the early '60s. Guess that makes
me and my brother early FM listeners.
Ed Ellers
>WFMN 98.9 Alpine NJ (also known as KE2XCC on 92.1) died in 1954,
>after its owner, FM pioneer Edwin Armstrong, committed suicide.
It was, of course, W2XMN on the old band; KE2XCC was apparently a separate
license issued to allow Armstrong to conduct comparison tests between the two
bands.
>WBBM-FM 99.3 Chicago still on as 96.5.
in the late 40s, dropped them a few years later and ended up building new ones
(or buying out undercapitalized FM-only stations) in the 60s.
>WGNB "98.0" (really 98.7?) Chicago was WGN's FM, sold off a year or
>two later to become classical WFMT, still on the air.
again.
>WWZR 98.5 Chicago was Zenith's station, later WEFM on 99.5,
>now WUSN.
dial at 99.5.