WHSR-FM (91.9), Winchester High School

["PETER GEORGE, N1GGP" <PGEORGE@WELLESLEY.EDU>]

     WHSR-FM was one of the earliest suburban 10 watters in the Boston
area.  It was built and engineered by an Arnold W. Ginsburg.  YES, the
same man we all know and love as Arnie "Woo-Woo" Ginsburg.  It hit the
air in 1959 serving the town of Winchester and surrounding towns.  It
had a fairly high antenna.  I used to pick it up on a regular basis in
my town of Randolph, some 30 miles away....NO kidding.  It was a very
well run radio station for so many years.  However, the 1978 ruling
that required all ten watters to increase power or risk losing their
protected status or move to a "empty" channel in the commercial band.
Through a long list of mismanagements and technical gaffes, not to
mention "Proposition 2 and half"...WHSR-FM died in 1991.  Someone
thought that it was OK to move the station to 89.3 FM.  Who ever did
the engineering moved it to 89.3 with "FCC permission".  The occupants
of 88.9 and 89.7 got wind of it and called the FCC.  They had to get off.
The folks at WHSR-FM called WUMB-FM to ask it they could go back to 91.9
of which they were licensed to operate.  WUMB said "OK, as long as no
one would make any complaint".  Needless to say, they didn't have a 
chance.  WUMB made a complaint to the FCC and ordered WHSR-FM to vacate
the premises.  There were plans to help WHSR to move to 97.9 with the
special permission with  the then WROR 98.5.  However, the problem was
not with WROR, but WOKQ/97.5.  By the time everything was straightened
out, WHSR-FM never took the time to fill out the necessary paperwork
to move to 97.9.  As a result, a thirty-three year old station died.
It was a crying shame, indeed.  It was so useless.

- -Pete-

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Peter Q. George, N1GGP                  *  "Scanning the bands since 1967 !" 
33 Stetson St., Apt. 2                  *                  +
Whitman, Massachusetts  02382           *                  |
USA                                     *      73         +|+    de N1GGP
PGEORGE@wellesley.edu                   *                +\|/+
XERB@bigfoot.com                        *               + \|/ +
W221AG@hotmail.com (my FM translator)   *               + \|/ +
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