So I've always wondered why some radio stations start with K and others start with W. At first, I thought it had something to do with AM vs FM stations, or something else.
But radio.about.com set me straight!
In 1912, every country was allotted one (or more) call letters to designate their radio stations. The US was given K and W (Canada got C and Mexico got X, btw). Stations all over the country nabbed whatever call letters they wanted, but in 1923, the FCC said that everyone east of the Mississippi had to start with W, and west of the Mississippi would get K.
What's interesting is that I live on the Mississippi, and there's a big mix around me (KCLD, WCCO, KVSC, WJON, etc).
Neato!
So, according to radio.about.com, in 1912 there were only 25 countries, assuming the USA was the only one to get two letters.
Changed a bit since then, hasn't it?
This is off topic, but what happend to ElissaSweeper? Any final release?
:-)
Arne
Some useless info for you all...
You should see all of the different numbers in use for us ham radio operators. My call-sign is KE6GBU. Not only do we have the 'W' and 'K' thing, the number in our call-sign indicates the region where we received our license, but it gets confusing (for me anyway) after that.
When I was really active in the ham service, there were different one and two character prefixes for the different class of operator. I'm just a lowly Technician class, so my prefix is 'KE', region is '6' and the rest is seemingly random, 'GBU'. I don't know if they still do it that way anymore, though. My ex trashed my radio :(
@Arne -- the project has fallen by the way-side. You're welcome to improve it if you'd like, though! I'm sure I'll pick it back up again sometime in the future. :-)
@Will -- interesting (but sad due to the ex).
@Steve -- heh, I don't think many countries had radio capabilities in 1912. ;-) I'm not certain what happened now that everyone has the ability. Perhaps someone smarter than I (Will, perhaps?) could pipe up?
@Steve - This lettering scheme is a very American thing.. We don't have a station naming convention here in the UK - you can call your station whatever you like. I'm pretty sure the rest of the world works the same way.
@Aaron - So, you can't have a national radio station in the US then? Or at least not without calling it something different at either side of the Mississippi?
@Charlie: It's not really that American, the UK equivalents are G and M, I think.
It's just we don't force our major broadcasters to use the callsigns. They're still used for ham radio of course.
It really must make RDS pretty useless if people travel around the US and don't know the local stations.
@Aaron. Right now I don't have the time to improve it, but as I remember it ElissaSweeper was almost finished. It is always interesting and instructive to look into others code. If you choose to post the source code I will definitely be happy to take a look at it.
Arne
We have a radio station here in Kansas that begins with the "W" (WIBW in Topeka to be specific - http://www.am580wibw.com/ ).
When the mandate came down in the 1920's the older stations were grandfathered. So you will see some W's out west...
~joe
Huh. That is interesting. Thanks!
Aaron said: "Perhaps someone smarter than I (Will, perhaps?) ..."
@Aaron: Two words: Oh please!
I am the least of men, I'm not that smart, really.
Damn, you guys are geeks...
Charlie: you can't really have a national radio station in the U.S. anyway. Imagine how much power you'd have to use to broadcast across three thousand miles, with a bunch of mountain ranges in the way!
@Mars - I wouldn't suggest you broadcast it from one place. In the UK we have various transmitters round the country that broadcast the same national stations (as well as the national TV channels). For example in Edinburgh, there are two main masts nearby whose signal overlap to ensure all the surrounding counties are covered. Does this not happen in the states?
Hello! Was actually thinking about Australian radio station call signs this morning. If you're interested ...
First digit indicates which state (1 to 8)
Two letters following mean that it's an AM station.
Three letters means it's an FM station.
(Little more info here: http://www.adonline.id.au/radio/callsigns.htm)
We apparently started broadcasting in 1923.
I miss the RDS thing you guys have in the UK - especially the way the radio in the car could look the same radio station on another frequency - good for long trips!
Supposedly there's a radio/sports station in northern Minnesota called GOAL (I vaguely recall my dad telling me this). I guess northern Minnesota kinda gets free reign, since the stations there are really neither east nor west of the Mississippi.
As for a National Radio Station in the U.S.A., we have the equiv. in the New Orleans station "WWL". It was referred to as a "Clear Channel Station" for years. During a national emergency, it would be the station handling the broadcast. There are repeater stations across the nation that relay the broadcast during the late night hours and we call it the "Trucker's Station". They were also referred to as a 50,000 watt giant some years ago. It's on the AM 750 spot in New Orleans.
While we don't have the European equivalent of a national radio station in the States (many transmitters, same program, no transmitter differentiation) we have two services that come close: Radio Disney, and Disney-owned ESPN Radio.
Radio Disney comes closest, I think with little to no local content (outside of commercial sales) and only the required local station ID.
Too bad we can't do better. I have hopes that HD radio will be where a national station comes from, but it may wind up being only on satellite.