WPQR
WPQR (1050 AM) was a radio station licensed to Conway, New Hampshire, United States, serving the Mount Washington Valley of the White Mountains. The station was last owned by Mt. Washington Radio & Gramophone, L.L.C.[3] It carried a tourist information format (similar to highway advisory radio) with a simulcast on FM translator W237BX.
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| City | Conway, New Hampshire |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Mount Washington Valley |
| Branding | Visitor Radio |
| Programming | |
| Format | Defunct, was tourist radio |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Mt. Washington Radio & Gramophone, L.L.C. |
| Sister stations | WBNC, WMWV, WVMJ |
| History | |
| First air date | December 21, 1955 |
| Last air date | October 17, 2012 |
| Former call signs | WJWG (1955-1957)[1] WBNC (1957-2012)[2] WPQR (2012-November 14, 2013) |
| Former frequencies | 1050 kHz |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 49203 |
| Class | D |
| Power | 1,000 watts day 63 watts night |
| Transmitter coordinates | 43°58′48″N 71°6′36″W |
| Translator(s) | W237BX/95.3 |
AM 1050 is a clear channel frequency. For much of its history, WPQR (previously WBNC) had been a daytimer, required to go off the air at night because of that. Two 50,000 watt stations, CHUM Toronto and WEPN New York City, dominate the frequency in New England at night. While WPQR was powered at 1,000 watts by day, it eventually was permitted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to stay on the air at night, but at only 63 watts. So outside Conway, it was difficult to hear the station at night, without the Toronto or New York stations overriding WPQR's signal.
WPQR's management saw that a station in Madbury, New Hampshire, had gone off the air due to financial problems and decided to apply for its AM 1340 frequency. The FCC allowed a new 1340 station to be established in Conway. So WPQR went dark on October 17, 2012, along with its translator, W237BX.
The tourist information format, call letters and FM translator were then transferred to the new station on 1340 kHz (then WPQR) which picked up the WBNC call sign. The translator remained W237BX. WPQR's license was deleted on November 14, 2013, after being surrendered by the licensee on November 6, 2013.
References
- 1956 Broadcasting Yearbook, page 201
- 1958 Broadcasting Yearbook, page A-320
- "WPQR Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
External links
- WPQR in the FCC's AM station database
- WPQR on Radio-Locator
- WPQR in Nielsen Audio's AM station database