WKTA

WKTA (1330 AM) is a commercial radio station broadcasting a Spanish tropical format. Licensed to Evanston, Illinois, the station serves the Chicago metropolitan area and is owned by Polnet Communications, Ltd.[5]

WKTA
Broadcast areaChicago metropolitan area
Frequency1330 kHz
BrandingLa Mega 95.9 FM 1330 AM
Programming
FormatSpanish tropical
Ownership
OwnerPolnet Communications, Ltd.
WEEF, WNVR, WPJX, WRDZ
History
First air date
1953 (1953)[1]
Former call signs
WEAW (1953-1979)[2]
WPRZ (1979[2]-1981)[3]
WEAW (1981-1987)[3]
WSSY (1987-1990)[3]
Technical information[4]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID52909
ClassD
Power5,000 watts day
110 watts night
Transmitter coordinates
42°8′22″N 87°53′7″W
Translator(s)95.9 W240DE (Evanston)
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen Live

By day, WKTA is powered at 5,000 watts. But to protect other stations on 1330 AM from interference, it drops its power to 110 watts at night. It uses a directional antenna with a six-tower array.[6] Programming is also heard on 80-watt FM translator W240DE at 95.9 MHz.[7]

History

The station signed on the air in 1953 (1953). The original call sign was WEAW.[1][2] The station was owned by North Shore Broadcasting, and the station's call letters stood for the name of its president, Edward A. Wheeler.[8][9] The station's transmitter was located in Evanston and it ran 500 watts during daytime hours only.[2] In 1956, the station's power was increased to 1,000 watts.[2] By 1959, the station had begun airing brokered ethnic programming.[8] In 1962, the station's transmitter was moved to an unincorporated area between Northbrook and Wheeling, and its power was increased to 5,000 watts.[2] By the early 1970s the station primarily aired brokered ethnic and religious programs.[8]

By early 1979, the station had begun airing a Christian radio format.[10] On June 1, 1979, the station's call sign was later changed to WPRZ, which stood for the word "Praise."[2] On July 14, 1979, WPRZ presented the Christian contemporary festival "Alleluia", which featured Chuck Girard.[11] The station was taken off the air in autumn of 1980.[2][12]

In late 1981, the license was sold to Lee Hague for $125,000.[13] The following year the station was brought back on the air from a new site in the same area, with the WEAW callsign revived.[14][15][3] The station aired adult contemporary music and religious programming.[8][16] By the mid-1980s the station was airing Christian talk and teaching programs and uptempo Christian contemporary music, with a certain amount of secular adult contemporary mixed in.[17][18][8] Christian talk and teaching programs heard on WEAW included The Old-Time Gospel Hour with Jerry Falwell, Family Altar with Lester Roloff, and Insight for Living with Chuck Swindoll.[18]

In 1986, the station was sold to Polnet Communications for $1.2 million.[19] The station would air adult contemporary music, along with a large amount of ethnic programming.[20] In October 1987, the station's callsign was changed to WSSY.[3] The station was branded "Sunny 1330".[21][8]

In 1989, WSSY began to air a hard rock and heavy metal format branded "G-Force", though brokered ethnic and religious programming continued to air mornings and early afternoons.[22][23] In 1990 the station's call letters were changed to WKTA.[3] By early 1991, "G-Force" had ended, and the station aired brokered ethnic and religious programming.[24] The hard rock and heavy metal format would again appear on WKTA as "Rebel Radio", a brokered format launched by G-Force alumni Scott Davidson.[25] WKTA would become a flagship station for the hard rock network, which was syndicated to other stations in the midwest.

Former logo

In 2003, New Life Russian Radio began broadcasting from Northbrook, Illinois, on 1330 AM WKTA. It called itself "Resonance Radio" featuring call-in shows, international news, and Russian popular music.[26]

In 2020, WKTA switched to Spanish language tropical music as "La Mega 95.9 FM 1330 AM".

FM translator

In addition to the main signal on 1330 kHz, the WKTA signal is also heard on 95.9 MHz, an FM translator.

Broadcast translator for WKTA
Call signFrequencyCity of licenseFIDERP (W)HAATClassFCC info
W240DE 95.9 FMEvanston, Illinois1479288044 m (144 ft)DLMS

References
  1. 1971 Broadcasting Yearbook, Broadcasting, 1971. p. B-63. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  2. History Cards for WKTA, fcc.gov. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  3. Call Sign History, fcc.gov. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  4. "Facility Technical Data for WKTA". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  5. "WKTA Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
  6. Radio-Locator.com/WKTA
  7. Radio-locator.com/W240DE
  8. Ghrist, John R. (1996). Valley Voices: A Radio History. Crossroads Communications. p. 318-321.
  9. "What those letters on the dial mean", Chicago Tribune Magazine. March 4, 1979. p. 16. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  10. "Stations, everywhere: a listeners' guide to the AM and FM bands", Chicago Tribune Magazine. March 4, 1979. p. 34. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  11. "'Alleluia' On Air", Billboard. June 30, 1979. p. 20. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  12. "'80 In Review", Radio & Records, Issue Number 362, December 12, 1980. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  13. "Ownership Changes", Broadcasting. October 5, 1981. p. 59. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  14. Public Notice Comment - BMP-19810702AI, fcc.gov. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  15. Public Notice Comment - BL-19820203AF, fcc.gov. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  16. Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1983, Broadcasting/Cablecasting, 1983. p. B-73. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  17. Zorn, Eric. "Religious Radio Wades To Mainstream To Pull Listeners To Its Message", Chicago Tribune. April 14, 1985. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  18. Chicago Radio Guide. Vol. 1, No. 1. May 1985. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  19. "Changing Hands", Broadcasting. February 17, 1986. p. 71. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  20. Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1987, Broadcasting/Cablecasting, 1987. p. B-89. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  21. Chicagoland Radio Waves: Your Complete Guide to Local Radio. Media Ties. Summer 1988. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  22. Seigenthaler, Katherine. "Heavy Mettle", Chicago Tribune. April 3, 1990. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  23. "WSSY AM 1330", Radio Chicago. Fall 1989. p. 28. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
  24. "WKTA AM 1330", Radio Chicago. p. 41. Winter 1991. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
  25. Chicago Radio Rock Wars: G-Force 1330 Accessed January 1, 2014
  26. Gwinn, Eric. "Russian picnic mixes borscht with flavor of the homeland", Chicago Tribune. May 2, 2003. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
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