WACE (AM)
City | Chicopee, Massachusetts |
---|---|
Broadcast area | Springfield, Massachusetts |
Frequency | 730 kHz |
Branding | WACE AM 730 Radio |
Programming | |
Format | Christian radio |
Ownership | |
Owner | Carter Broadcasting |
History | |
First air date | December 1, 1946[1] |
Technical information | |
Facility ID | 9194 |
Class | D |
Power | 5,000 watts day 8 watts night |
Transmitter coordinates | 42°10′2.00″N 72°37′31.00″W / 42.1672222°N 72.6252778°W |
Links | |
Website | waceradio.com |
WACE (730 kHz) is an AM radio radio station broadcasting a mixed Christian radio and infomercial radio format. Licensed to Chicopee, Massachusetts, United States, the station serves the Springfield radio market and has been permitted to identify itself as "Chicopee-Springfield" since 1969. The station is currently owned by Carter Broadcasting.[2]
History[]
On December 1, 1946, WACE first signed on the air.[3] It was owned by the Regional Broadcasting Company on Chicopee Street in Chicopee. WACE was a daytimer, broadcasting at 1,000 watts by day. But because AM 730 is a clear channel frequency, reserved for CKAC in Montreal and XEX in Mexico City, WACE had to sign-off at sunset to prevent interference. In the 1960s the power was increased to 5,000 watts but still as a daytime-only station, though its pre-sunrise power of 8 watts enabled the station to be heard as far away as Hartford, Connecticut due to the transmitter's location on the banks of the Connecticut River. (In 1986 the station was allowed to operate at 8 watts at night as well.) At full power the signal could be heard as distantly as Rhode Island.
During the 1970s, the station broadcast a popular oldies format. Among its personalities were Charlie (Ahl) Day, later of WCBS-FM in New York and WOMC in Detroit, and Mike Adams, for many years a popular sports-talk radio and TV host in Boston. The station also featured a 3-hour morning news block anchored by Day and Don Yankee. In 1977, Ace Broadcasting bought the station. As music listening shifted to FM radio, the new owners tried an all-news radio format, as a network affiliate of CBS Radio News.[4]
The news format didn't last very long and by 1980, WACE was airing religious programming, where national preachers bought blocks of time on the station to discuss their faith and seek donations.[5]
References[]
- ^ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1999 (PDF). 1999. p. D-209. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
- ^ "WACE Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
- ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1948 page 142
- ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1977 page C-98
- ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1983 page B-114
External links[]
- WACE in the FCC AM station database
- WACE on Radio-Locator
- WACE in Nielsen Audio's AM station database
- Radio stations in Massachusetts
- Radio stations established in 1946
- Chicopee, Massachusetts
- 1946 establishments in Massachusetts
- Massachusetts radio station stubs