WQEN
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| WQEN-FM | |
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| City of license | Trussville/Birmingham |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Central Alabama |
| Branding | 103.7 The Q |
| Slogan | Alabama's Hit Music Channel |
| First air date | 1976 |
| Frequency | 103.7 MHz |
| Format | Top 40 |
| ERP | 100,000 watts |
| Class | C0 |
| Callsign meaning | W QuEeN city (refers to Gadsden, the station's former city of license) |
| Owner | Clear Channel |
| Website | www.1037theQ.com |
WQEN, known on the air as “103-7 the Q”, is a Clear Channel-owned Top 40 FM radio station licensed to Trussville, Alabama that serves Birmingham and north-central Alabama. Other stations in the Birmingham market owned by Clear Channel include WMJJ-FM (96.5), WDXB-FM (102.5), WENN-FM (105.5), and WERC-AM (960). The morning show is Ace & TJ Show.
[edit] History
In the late 1960's, the station that is now WQEN signed on as WLJM-FM, licensed to Gadsden. Little is known about WLJM, except that it was the FM companion to Gadsden's WJBY-AM. In 1975, the FM station was sold to the owners of WAAX-AM, another Gadsden radio station, and the FM station took its current call letters. After a brief run as an automated easy listening radio station, WQEN became one of the first FM Top 40 stations in Alabama, known on the air as Q-104. For over 30 years, WQEN has been a Top 40 station.
By 1978, the transmitter for WQEN was moved to Steele, some 15 miles south of Gadsden, and the power of its signal was increased to 100,000 watts. This enabled Q-104 to cover Gadsden, east Alabama, and many areas of the Birmingham metropolitan area. Except for a brief period in the late '80's when the station was known as "103.7 Q-FM", the station was called Q-104 for over 20 years. Until the mid 1990's, Q-104 was primarily focused on Gadsden, Anniston and eastern Alabama.
In 1998, WQEN began broadcasting from a tower near Springville, enabling its signal to cover the entire Birmingham market, and began broadcasting from studios in Birmingham. The station was rebranded with its current name, 103-7 the Q, at that time. This gave Birmingham its first Top 40 station since WAPI-FM (I-95, now WYSF) dropped the format in 1994.
In 2005, WQEN was one of several stations in north Alabama and southern Tennessee that changed either their city of license, broadcast frequency, or both. As a result, WQEN, now licensed to Trussville, rather than Gadsden, began broadcasting from Red Mountain in Birmingham, greatly improving its signal in Jefferson County and Shelby County.
[edit] External links
| FM Radio stations serving the Birmingham / Anniston/ Gadsden area (Arbitron #56) | |
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WBRC 87.7¹ | WLJR 88.5 | WBFR 89.5 | WBHM 90.3 | WJSR 91.1 (covers the northern half of the city) | WVSU 91.1 (covers the southern half of the city) | WGIB 91.9/101.5 | WPHC 92.5 | WDJC 93.7 | WYSF 94.5 | WBHJ 95.7 | WMJJ 96.5 | WNCB 97.3 | WKLD 97.7 (Oneonta: covers northern suburbs) | WHPH 97.7 (Jemison: covers southern suburbs) | WBHK 98.7 | WZRR 99.5 | WJOX 100.5 | WYDE 101.1 | WDXB 102.5 | WQEN 103.7 | WZZK 104.7 | WENN 105.5 | WBPT 106.9 | WUHT 107.7 ¹ Audio for TV channel 6 (Fox) |
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WJCK 88.3 | WKNG 89.1 | WGRW 90.7 | WTBJ 91.3 | WPIL 91.7 | WLJS 91.9 | WTDR 92.7 | WHMA 95.5 | WVOK 97.9 | WTRB 98.3 | WRHY 105.9 | |
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WTBB 89.9 | WSGN 91.5 | WGMZ 93.1 | WKXX 102.9 | WQSB 105.1 | |
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