Re: 1939...

[Donna Halper <dlh@donnahalper.com>]

Bob J wrote--
>The thing that's different with the 1926 line-up is that radio station
>WBZ (900 Kc) 15,000 watts, was in Springfield, and WBZA (900 kc) 500
>watts, was in Boston at that time.  I wonder if there was an
>interference problem?  When was the swap in call letters that I remember
>as WBZA (FM), Springfield, in the 50s?

WBZA first went on the air in Boston in 1924-- I believe this is all on the
Boston Radio Timeline on the Archives.  The station had problems from day
one-- in fact the local newspapers were laying bets in their columns about
whether the Boston studio would come in tonight or whether it would have a
persistent hummmmmmmmmmmm (which it took the engineers ages to get rid of).
 WBZ remained in Springfield, and for a long time that is how it remained--
but in 1931 (March as I recall), the call letters flipped, and WBZ became
the Boston station.  It was at 990 kHz throughout the 30s, until NARBA, I
believe, in 1941.  

WBZA in Springfield ended its broadcasts in 1962-- Westinghouse had to
divest of a station because in those days, limit was 12 (ah yes, the good
old days), and Westinghouse had planned to buy something bigger and better,
thus ending WBZA's existence.   

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