WAQY

WAQY (102.1 FM) is a Springfield, Massachusetts area classic rock radio station. Since the late 1980s, the station has been known as "Rock 102".

WAQY
CitySpringfield, Massachusetts
Broadcast areaSpringfield, Massachusetts
Frequency102.1 MHz (HD Radio)
BrandingRock 102
SloganSpringfield's Classic Rock!
Programming
FormatClassic rock
SubchannelsHD2: WLZX-FM simulcast (Alternative rock)
Ownership
OwnerSaga Communications
(Saga Communications of New England, LLC)
WHAI, WHMP, WHMQ, WLZX, WLZX-FM, WPVQ-FM, WRSI
History
First air date
1953 (1953) as WCRX
Former call signs
WCRX (1953–1972)
WAQY-FM (November 22, 1991-July 9, 1999)[1]
Call sign meaning
WACKY from their Top 40/CHR run as "Wacky 102"
Technical information
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID58551
ClassB
ERP17,000 watts
HAAT238 meters (781 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
42.083°N 72.704°W / 42.083; -72.704
Links
Public license information
Profile
LMS
WebcastListen Live
Websiterock102.com

History

102.1 FM in Springfield, Massachusetts signed on as WCRX in 1953. The call letters stood for "Charles River Broadcasting extension," the station being a sister and extension of 102.5 FM WCRB-FM in Boston, Massachusetts. Both the Springfield, Massachusetts and Boston, Massachusetts stations programmed a classical music radio format overseen by Charles River Broadcasting owner Theodore Jones.

Switch to rock as WAQY

In the mid-1970s, Owners Don Wilks and Mike Schwartz decided to put the first automated Rock and Roll station on the air. Their program direction, Jim Boldebook, was given the task of programming a Shafer automation system. WAQY broadcast top 40 music with song titles every third song and no on-the-air DJ. DJs went live starting in 1976.

August 1981, WAQY switched to a Rock music format known as AOR. Now known simply by the station’s call letters WAQY, they played a mix of new rock music from the 1980s mixed with older rock artists of the '60s (The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix etc.) and 1970s (Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, etc.) Artists played included then current and popular Arena rock favorites Blue Öyster Cult, Journey, Foreigner and Fleetwood Mac as well as singer and songwriter artists from Tom Petty to Billy Joel. Hard rock and heavy metal acts like AC/DC, Van Halen and Rush were also core artists. In the mid-1980s, WAQY adopted its current moniker "Rock 102" playing up to five current rock songs an hour. By 1992, WAQY stopped playing current music and completed its evolution from an AOR to a classic rock format.

The station serves as the Pioneer Valley's affiliate for the New England Patriots radio network.

Technical

WAQY transmits 17,000 watts from the top of Provin Mountain in Feeding Hills on the WWLP tower.[2] WAQY transmits using a 4-bay Continental (ERI) center-fed antenna and a Nautel NV20 HD [3] transmitter. WAQY's signal covers all of the Springfield, Massachusetts market, and can be heard as far south as New Haven, Connecticut. WAQY is running a high-level IBOC (HD Digital signal) at -14db versus the normal -20db.[4] As of September 2018, there have been claims that WAQY is supposedly simulcasting two sister stations over HD sub-channels (i.e. WLZX-FM via HD2 and WHMP via HD3).

References
  1. Callsign history of WAQY; retrieved July 20, 2019
  2. http://www.fccinfo.com/CMDProEngine.php?sCurrentService=FM&tabSearchType=Appl&sAppIDNumber=186321
  3. http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_det.pl?Application_id=1464708
  4. http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1464708&Form_id=335&Facility_id=58551
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