WPEL (AM)

WPEL
City	Montrose, Pennsylvania
Broadcast area	Scranton, Pennsylvania; Binghamton, New York
Frequency	800 kHz
Programming
Format	Religious
Ownership
Owner	Montrose Broadcasting Corporation
Sister stations	WPEL-FM, WPGM (AM), WPGM-FM, WBGM
Technical information
Power	1,000 Watts (day); 135 Watts (night)
Transmitter coordinates	41°51′16″N 75°51′50″W / 41.85444°N 75.86389°WCoordinates: 41°51′16″N 75°51′50″W / 41.85444°N 75.86389°W
Translator(s)	W238CM (95.5, Endicott, New York)
Links
Website	www.wpel.org

WPEL is a religious formatted radio station playing Southern gospel music in Montrose, Pennsylvania. It is a non-commercial, listener-supported radio station owned and operated by the Montrose Broadcasting Corporation, a non-profit organization founded by W. Douglas Roe. Mr. Roe was the original licensee and died in 1984.^[1]

WPEL (AM) broadcasts on a frequency of 800 kHz AM with 1,000 watts of power daytime and 135 watts of power during nighttime hours; 800 AM is a clear-channel frequency, on which XEROK-AM is the dominant Class A station.

History[]

WPEL has been on the air since May 30, 1953. The funding of the station came, in part from the Montrose Bible conference, of which W. Douglas Roe was the Executive Director.^[2]

On October 17, 2007, WPEL (AM) changed frequencies from former 1250 kHz, which it had been transmitting on for over 50 years, to 800 kHz in an effort to be better heard in the area with its limited transmit power.^[3] In 2015, WPEL (AM) began rebroadcasting its programming on an FM translator at 95.5 in Endicott, New York.

Ownership[]

The station is sister to WPEL-FM, 96.5 MHz, also licensed to Montrose. WPEL-FM began broadcasting on June 5, 1961.

The Montrose Broadcasting Corporation also owns and operates radio stations WPGM-AM/FM in Danville, Pennsylvania and WBGM-FM in New Berlin, Pennsylvania.

Larry Souder served as president of the Montrose Broadcasting Corporation from 1984–2017, and WPGM since 1964. As of April 1, 2017, James Baker, the manager of WPEL, assumed the roles of President and CEO^[4]

References[]

^ Circione, Sandra (31 December 1984). "WPEL Founder W.D. Roe dies". The Evening Press(Binghamton, NY). p. A-7.
^ Treneman, Ann (9 October 1983). "Heavenly Sounds - WPEL's sung God's praises for 30 years". The Sunday Press (Binghamton, NY). p. 23.
^ Scott Fybush. "Northeast Radio Watch - November 5, 2007 - Pennsylvania". (Rochester, New York). Retrieved November 5, 2007.
^ "Business Newsmakers". The Daily Item (Sunbury, PA). 30 April 2017.

External links[]

WPEL official website
WPEL in the FCC AM station database
WPEL on Radio-Locator
WPEL in Nielsen Audio's AM station database

W238CM in the FCC FM station database
W238CM on Radio-Locator

This article about a radio station in Pennsylvania is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .

[obit-1] Circione, Sandra (31 December 1984). "WPEL Founder W.D. Roe dies". The Evening Press(Binghamton, NY). p. A-7.

[2] Treneman, Ann (9 October 1983). "Heavenly Sounds - WPEL's sung God's praises for 30 years". The Sunday Press (Binghamton, NY). p. 23.

[nerw-3] Scott Fybush. "Northeast Radio Watch - November 5, 2007 - Pennsylvania". (Rochester, New York). Retrieved November 5, 2007.

[4] "Business Newsmakers". The Daily Item (Sunbury, PA). 30 April 2017.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]