The first decade of FM broadcasting, starting in 1936 to 1946, occurred in the 42 - 50 MHz band. The frequency band was changed to the current 88 to 108 MHz band in 1946. FM stations operating in the old frequency band were required to move to the higher frequencies and most did so before 1948.
Many initial call signs in the FM band were assigned in the following manner:
an initial "W" or "K", depending on whether the station location was east or west of the Mississippi River,
followed by two numbers, and
one or two letters usually representing the community of license, like K 47 SL (now KSFI, Salt Lake City, UT).
The early FM history cards in this folder came from a single microfiche sheet (#40) in the noncommercial educational FM history cards section. They include the experimental FM facilities constructed by
Edwin H. Armstrong, the inventor of FM radio.
History cards were never intended to provide complete records for a station, but instead.list transactions (permits, licenses, assignments, etc.) at the Commission with limited details and comments added. The cards available here are not a complete list of authorizations issued in the 1930s and 1940s.
Grant Date |
Station |
Comment |
---|
6/12/1936 |
W2XMN
Alpine, NJ |
Edwin H. Armstrong Licensed 10/3/1938, Deleted 11/1/1950 |
10/31/1940 |
W 99 NY / W 59 NY
New York, NY |
Frequency Broadcasting Corporation
Deleted 5/13/1942 |
2/18/1941 |
W 81 SP
Philadelphia, PA |
Westinghouse Radio Stations, Inc.
Deleted 4/21/1942 |
9/16/1941 |
K 45 SF
San Francisco, CA |
Hughes Tool Company
Deleted 1/20/1942 |
10/22/1941 |
W 79 C
Chicago, IL |
Oak Park Realty and Amusement Co.
Deleted 9/23/1942 |
11/25/1941 |
K 49 LA
Los Angeles, CA |
Hughes Tool Company
Deleted 1/20/1942 |
1/27/1942 |
W 91 HJ / W 91 NJ
West Orange, NJ |
Deleted 9/29/1942 |
8/06/1945 (STA) |
KE2XCC
Alpine, NJ |
Edwin H. Armstrong
Deleted 11/22/1954 |
Additional early FM licensed stations with FCC History Cards and FCC Facility ID Numbers, 1938 to 1947:
First Licensed Date |
First call sign, city, state
(links to History Cards) |
Facility ID (links to current
station info) |
---|
11/14/1938 |
WDNG, Anniston, AL |
71344 |
11/21/1938 |
WBOE, Cleveland, OH (now deleted) |
12018 |
5/08/1939 |
WCNY, New York, NY |
3539 |
3/13/1941 |
WBKY, Lexington, KY |
4303 |
9/18/1941 |
KALW, San Francisco, CA |
58830 |
1/15/1942 |
W 51 C, Chicago, IL |
28620 |
1/29/1942 |
W 51 R, Rochester, NY |
71204 |
5/20/1942 |
W 47 P, Pittsburgh, PA |
59968 |
9/09/1942 |
W 57 A / W 85 A, Schenectady, NY |
15330 |
9/09/1942 |
W 53 PH, Philadelphia, PA |
20348 |
9/30/1942 |
WIUC, Urbana, IL |
68940 |
11/06/1942 |
W 53 H, Hartford, CT |
66465 |
11/18/1942 |
W 45 BR, Baton Rouge, LA |
4053 |
11/18/1942 |
W 69 PH, Philadelphia, PA |
25094 |
1/26/1943 |
W 75 NY, New York, NY |
51249 |
1/23/1943 |
W 71 NY, New York, NY |
63781 |
3/02/1943 |
W 73 PH, Philadelphia, PA |
9622 |
3/02/1943 |
W 75 P, Pittsburgh, PA |
73889 |
3/16/1943 |
K 45 LA, Los Angeles, CA |
28631 |
3/16/1943 |
W 65 H, Hartford, CT |
72144 |
3/23/1943 |
W 45 D, Detroit, MI |
9618 |
3/23/1943 |
W 47 PH, Philadelphia, PA |
25438 |
3/30/1943 |
W 67 NY, New York, NY |
9611 |
3/30/1943 |
W 67 C, Chicago, IL |
9613 |
5/04/1943 |
W 59 NY, New York, NY |
29022 |
8/25/1943 |
WBEZ, Chicago, IL |
66649 |
9/21/1943 |
W 35 NY / W 39 NY, New York, NY |
73355 |
11/02/1943 |
W 49 D, Detroit, MI |
59592 |
4/26/1944 |
WTAG-FM, Worcester, MA |
35225 |
8/08/1944 |
W 51 NY, New York, NY |
19615 |
10/08/1945 |
W 83 C, Chicago, IL |
73233 |
03/31/1946 |
WWST-FM, Wooster, OH |
74201 |
1/26/1947 |
WBGO, Newark, NJ |
48699 |
6/24/1947 |
WGNC-FM, Gastonia, NC |
6587 |
7/11/1947 |
WCPI-FM, Bristol, VA |
6876 |
7/11/1947 |
WINC-FM, Winchester, VA |
41810 |
8/19/1947 |
WCLT-FM, Newark, OH |
71285 |
9/11/1947 |
WNDB-FM, Daytona Beach, FL |
10343 |
9/18/1947 |
WSTV-FM, Steubenville, OH |
65408 |
9/18/1947 |
KISU / KSUI, Iowa City, Iowa |
66626 |
9/18/1947 |
WMIX-FM, Mount Vernon, IL |
73103 |
9/24/1947 |
WFUV, New York, NY |
22033 |
10/09/1947 |
WFAS-FM, White Plains, NY |
14380 |
10/20/1947 |
WFAH-FM, Alliance, OH |
14914 |
11/17/1947 |
W 63 SY / WSYR-FM, Syracuse, NY |
48725 |
11/17/1947 |
WKNP, Corning, NY |
53611 |
11/18/1947 |
WHPE-FM, High Point, NC |
5164 |
11/18/1947 |
WKRC-FM, Cincinatti, OH |
11276 |
11/18/1947 |
KCRW, Santa Monica, CA |
59086 |
11/18/1947 |
WFOB-FM, Fostoria, OH |
67709 |
11/18/1947 |
WCEC-FM / WFMA, Wake Forest, NC |
74125 |
11/20/1947 |
WLBC-FM, Muncie, IN |
17602 |
12/01/1947 |
WATC-FM, Ashland, OH |
2925 |
12/01/1947 |
WJTN-FM, Jamestown, NY |
29919 |
12/01/1947 |
WJMC-FM, Rice Lake, WI |
67197 |
12/20/1947 |
WWHG-FM, Hornel, NY |
5309 |
12/24/1947 |
WEAW-FM, Evanston, IL |
67073 |
Per the History Cards:
77 additional FM stations were licensed in 1948,
143 additional FM stations were licensed in 1949, and
74 additional FM stations were licensed in 1950.
(These counts may not include FM stations deleted before 1980 and removed from the History Cards.)
|
These additional history cards were also in the folder above: |
1/10/1936 (STA) |
W8XWJ, Detroit, MI |
The Evening News Association
Deleted 1/1/1941 Apex AM modulation |
7/22/1941 |
W 77 XL, Lansing, MI |
WJIM, Inc.
Deleted 9/7/1942 Apex AM modulation |
6/3/1937 |
KA-9952, Jackson, MS |
Licensed 3/28/1938, Deleted 2/18/1952
(Misplaced intercity relay history cards) |
For more information on AM and FM radio broadcasting, please visit the Audio Division website, and the Broadcast Radio Links page.
For more information on Television broadcasting, please visit the Video Division website.
FCC > Media Bureau > Audio Division and Video Division, (202) 418-1600.