Re: Same calls since day 1

[Steve & Barb Sawyer <steve5@tiac.net>]

Doug Bassett wrote:

The current user of the WKNE calls (1290 Keene) claims a first broadcast date
of June 2, 1927. Whether they were WKNE (on 1290) then, I don't know. (They

> also bill themselves as "Keene's First Station".) WKNE-FM (103.7 Keene) claims
> that May 1, 1964, was their original on-air date. Again, I don't know if they
> were WKNE-FM (on 103.7) then. Why such a perfect set of calls be ever licensed
> to another town is beyond me.

That's interesting, Doug... I do however, seem to remember 103.7 was WNBX-FM when
I first took notice back in 1980-ish.  Very interesting format.  Simulcast with AM
1290 WKNE for the 6-10am shift, then they would break away at 10am (and this
always suprised me...) when the stereo light would come on (they ran mono during
morning drive).  WNBX was beautiful music all day.  Sundays, they ran a show of
hits from the 20s - 40s, which incidently moved to then WSLE 92.1 Peterborough NH
when WNBX changed calls to 'KNE-FM and went CHR in the mid 80s - but that's
another story.  At any rate, 103.7 certainly was NOT WKNE-FM continuously.

In a similar format combo, late 70s early 80's WTSA 1450 would simulcast 6-10am
(perhaps only till 9:30am) with it's sister station WMMJ-FM 96.7, which also was
Beautiful music for 20 hrs/day outside of morning drive.  Its a bit ironic that
when the FM picked up the live AC format run on FM and the AM went satellite
Country, it was WTSA-FM which was live and crosstown WKVT-FM was canned.  As we
know, now things are the other way around with 'TSA-FM being more and more
automated and 'KVT-FM going more in a live direction.

Steve Sawyer

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