WPTX

WPTX (1690 AM) is an adult standards and soft oldies formatted broadcast radio station.[4] The station is licensed to Lexington Park, Maryland and serves Southern Maryland and the Northern Neck of Virginia in the United States.[1][2][3] WPTX is owned and operated by Somar Communications, Inc.[1]

WPTX
Broadcast areaSouthern Maryland
Northern Neck[2][3]
Frequency1690 AM kHz
Branding100.7 FM and 1690 AM WPTX
Programming
Format
Affiliations
Ownership
OwnerSomar Communications, Inc.[1]
WKIK, WMDM, WSMD-FM
History
First air date
February 4, 1953 on 1570 kHz[7]
Former call signs
  • WAZC (1998)
  • WMDM (1998–2000)[8][9]
[10]
Call sign meaning
Patuxent
Technical information
Facility ID87109
ClassB
Power
  • 10,000 watts daytime
  • 1,000 watts nighttime
Transmitter coordinates
38°16′58.45″N 76°33′37.84″W[1]
Translator(s)100.7 MHz W264DR (Lexington Park)
Links
WebcastWPTX Webstream
WebsiteWPTX Online

WPTX is Maryland's first and only AM expanded band radio station, having moved to the expanded band from 920 kHz in 1998. It operates with 10,000 watts daytime and reduces power to 1,000 at night to protect other stations on 1690 AM. Programming is also heard on 250-watt FM translator W264DR at 100.7 MHz in Lexington Park.

History

WPTX originated as the expanded band "twin" of an existing station, with the same call sign, on the standard AM band.

The original WPTX was established by Patuxent Radio, Inc., owned by World War II pilot Jack Daugherty and businessman Paul Chapman,[11] who obtained a construction permit on October 15, 1952 for the new station, initially operating daytime-only with 1,000 watts on 1570 kHz.[7] Daugherty started WPTX in part because he felt Lexington Park needed its own civil institutions, having found resentment in his dealings in the county seat of Leonardtown.[11] In 1953 St. Mary's County went from having no local station to having two, as WKIK (1370 AM) in Leonardtown signed on January 7, followed by WPTX on February 4.[12]

In the early years of WPTX, Daugherty's 7-year-old son Tom was often let in by one of the disc jockeys to spin big band records on the station.[11] In June, just four months after going on the air, Patuxent Radio applied to move WPTX to 920 kHz with 500 watts, remaining a daytime-only station; the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the change in February 1954, making the move two months later and increasing its coverage area.[13] Majority control changed hands four times in the next five years, ending when James S. Beattie became the sole owner of WPTX in 1959 and moved the station's studios to the Lexington Park, where they remained until 1968.[7]

Key Broadcasting Corporation became the fifth owner of WPTX in six years when it purchased the station in 1960.[7] Six years later, Key filed to upgrade the station to 5,000 watts and begin nighttime service with 1,000 watts; the FCC granted the application in February 1968, and the upgrade took effect in 1971.[7] 1976 saw WPTX expand to the FM dial with the start-up of WMDM-FM 97.7;[14] the AM station shifted to exclusively carrying a middle of the road format coinciding with the launch.[15]

In 1988, Key Broadcasting sold WPTX and WMDM to Sconnix Broadcasting as part of a $25 million deal to purchase Key's Baltimore stations, WBMD and WQSR. Sconnix sold the Lexington Park outlets to Emmet Broadcasting for $1.2 million months later.[16] After WKIK, a longtime country outlet, closed in 1992,[11] WPTX flipped to country; WMDM-FM began simulcasting it the next year.[17] Emmet sold the pair in 1996 when he sought to move near his family in Kentucky; Steve Garchik acquired both stations.[18] WMDM-FM was split off again with separate programming later that year, and the AM station moved from country to talk.[19]

Expanded Band assignment

On March 17, 1997, the FCC announced that eighty-eight stations had been given permission to move to newly available "Expanded Band" transmitting frequencies, ranging from 1610 to 1700 kHz, with WPTX authorized to move from 920 to 1690 kHz.[20]

A construction permit for the expanded band station was assigned the call letters WAZC on March 6, 1998, although this was changed to WMDM three weeks later.[8] FCC policy mandated that both the original station and its expanded band counterpart could operate simultaneously for up to five years, after which owners would have to turn in one of the two licenses, depending on whether they preferred the new assignment or elected to remain on the original frequency.[20] It was quickly decided to transfer full operations to the expanded band station, beginning on July 15, 1998,[21] and on November 16, 1999, the license for the original WPTX on 920 AM was cancelled.[22]

Later history

The call sign on 1690 AM was changed from WMDM to the historic WPTX on March 27, 2000.[8] A year later, Roy Robertson, owner of WSMD-FM and WKIK-FM, bought WPTX and WMDM-FM.[23] The talk programming was replaced with sports after the new acquisitions were off the air for 26 days.[24]

Translator

In addition to WPTX's primary frequency, the station's programming is simulcast on the following translator station, on the FM band, to widen WPTX's broadcast area.[25][26]

Call signFrequencyCity of licenseFIDERP (W)HAATClassTransmitter coordinatesFCC info
W264DR 100.7 FM MHz FMLexington Park, Maryland202822250 watts114 m (374 ft)D38°16′56.0″N 76°33′35.0″WLMS

References
  1. "WPTX Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  2. "WPTX-AM 1690 kHz - Lexington Park, MD - Daytime Coverage". Theodric Technologies, LLC. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  3. "WPTX-AM 1690 kHz - Lexington Park, MD - Nighttime Coverage". Theodric Technologies, LLC. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  4. "Arbitron Station Information Profiles". Nielsen Audio/Nielsen Holdings. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  5. "Station Finder – Maryland". Fox News Channel/Premiere Networks. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  6. "Maryland Sports Radio Network". University of Maryland, College Park/Learfield IMG College. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  7. FCC History Cards for WPTX (920 kHz)
  8. "Call Sign History". Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  9. "FCCdata.org - powered by REC - DWPTX-AM". REC Networks. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  10. "FCCdata.org - powered by REC - WPTX-AM". REC Networks. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  11. Babcock, Jason (January 3, 2014). "Region's radio stations took to air in 1953". The Enterprise. p. A-4. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  12. "WPTX "On The Air"; Von Hagel Announces Staff". The Enterprise. February 5, 1953. p. 1. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  13. Merritts, Hilda (April 22, 1954). "Dairy Isle On Shangri-La Drive Now Open in Park". The Enterprise. p. 4. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  14. "WMDM-FM Begins Broadcast". The Enterprise. December 16, 1976. p. A-8. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  15. "WPTX-FM Aiming For Young Adults". The Enterprise. September 30, 1976. p. A-8. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  16. "Changing Hands" (PDF). Broadcasting. April 24, 1989. p. 121. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  17. Thomas Dade, Jennifer (May 5, 1993). "WMDM Goes Country". The Enterprise. p. A-3. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  18. MacKinnon, Christine (July 26, 1996). "WMDM/WPTX Radio Sold for $800,000". The Enterprise. p. A-1. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  19. MacKinnon, Christine (November 13, 1996). "Waves and Seagulls Signal Sea Change in WMDM Format". The Enterprise. p. A-11. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  20. "FCC Public Notice: Mass Media Bureau Announces Revised AM Expanded Band Allotment Plan and Filing Window for Eligible Stations" (FCC DA 97-537), March 17, 1997.
  21. Stauffer, Steven J. (July 17, 1998). "WPTX-AM Changes Name, Frequency, Boosts Signal". The Enterprise. p. A-2. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  22. FCC Station Search Details: DWPTX (Facility ID: 61313)
  23. Leibe, Paul (June 27, 2001). "Radio stations sold, temporarily taken off air". The Enterprise. p. A-10. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  24. "New formats for WMDM and WPTX radio stations". The Enterprise. July 25, 2001. p. A-9. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  25. "W264DR Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  26. "FCCdata.org - powered by REC - W264DR-FM". REC Networks. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
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