WGPB

WGPB

City	Rome, Georgia
Broadcast area	Northwest Georgia
Frequency	97.7 MHz
Translator(s)	W221CG 92.1 Kennesaw
First air date	June 30, 2006
Format	Public broadcasting
ERP	4,200 watts
HAAT	241 meters
Class	C3
Facility ID	6797
Transmitter coordinates	34°14′5″N 85°13′48″W / 34.23472°N 85.23000°W / 34.23472; -85.23000Coordinates: 34°14′5″N 85°13′48″W / 34.23472°N 85.23000°W / 34.23472; -85.23000
Callsign meaning	Georgia Public Broadcasting
Affiliations	NPR/PRI/American Public Media
Owner	Georgia Public Broadcasting (Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission)
Sister stations	WGTV
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	www.GPB.org

WGPB FM 97.7 is a public radio station in Rome, Georgia. It is part of the Georgia Public Broadcasting radio network, a state network which in turn is a member of National Public Radio, Public Radio International, and American Public Media. Unlike most stations on the GPB network, WGPB does not completely simulcast with the network. WGPB also produces its own programs. The studios are located at Georgia Highlands College's Heritage Hall campus in downtown Rome, from which locally produced programming originates. The station began broadcasting as WGPB at 5 AM on June 30, 2006.

History

The station began as WROM-FM, sister station to WROM AM 710, and had that callsign until November 1979. It then became WKCX, known as "K98", most recently with a hot adult contemporary format. A satellite-delivered format was used during most of the broadcast day, except for mornings and afternoons. The station was previously owned by Mills Fitzner, who owned WKCX for 20 years under the name Briar Creek Broadcasting Corp.

Format and callsign change

In 2006, WKCX was sold to Georgia Public Broadcasting, with the format changed from hot adult contemporary, to public broadcasting. The deal was announced in March 2006, and was finalized after a 45-day waiting period on June 29, one day before GPB began broadcasting on the frequency. Most of WKCX's staff left the station on May 31 in preparation for the changeover. The station began broadcasting as WGPB at 5 AM on June 30, 2006.

Coverage

WGPB is the first GPB or NPR radio station in northwest Georgia, and covers all of Floyd and about half of each neighboring county reliably. The only other NPR/PRI stations available are WABE FM 90.1 from Atlanta, and WUTC FM 88.1 and WSMC-FM 90.5 from Chattanooga, both of which have marginal to poor reception in the Rome area. GPB Radio is also usually available on the second audio program of GPB TV station WNGH-TV 18, from near Chatsworth, except for when WNGH is using the SAP channel for other uses.

The station broadcasts with a power of 4,200 watts at 241 meters (791 ft) HAAT, and is class C3. Despite what seems like a low effective radiated power, its height makes it approximately equivalent to the class C3 maximum of 25,000 watts at 100 meters, which gives a reference distance of nearly 40 km or 25 miles from the radio antenna site. This is the first GPB station, and one of the few non-commercial educational stations in the country, that use a channel outside of the 88-92 MHz reserved band. WQMT FM 98.9 in Chatsworth was purchased under similar circumstances for $3.2 million and switched to GPB programming on January 2, 2008 as WNGH-FM. Both stations have a single station ID done together each hour and heard on both stations, indicating they use the same feed.

In early February 2013, GPB applied to the FCC to move the station eastward, which would reduce coverage in northeast Alabama and increase it in northwestern metro Atlanta, bringing Cartersville and Acworth within its protected signal contour. This would increase power from 4.2 to 17.5 kW, but decrease HAAT from 241 to 120 meters (394 ft), leaving the station with approximately the same or slightly greater coverage area, and with greater population within its broadcast range. This radio tower, just west-northwest of Kingston (34°15′3″N 84°59′5″W / 34.25083°N 84.98472°W / 34.25083; -84.98472), has been used by WTSH-FM 107.1, which is moving south-southwest to a higher tower located west-northwest of Euharlee according to that station's construction permit. WGPB's application references two other stations in Alabama which would also be moving as the result of its signal being pulled away from that state.

Broadcast translator

The station was also assigned broadcast translator W221CG FM 92.1 MHz, licensed to, but not reaching any part of, Kennesaw with 55 watts at 19 meters HAAT. It was located along Cobb Parkway (U.S. Route 41) on the north-northeast corner of Awtrey Church Road (34°3′57″N 84°43′24″W / 34.06583°N 84.72333°W / 34.06583; -84.72333 (W221CG FM 92.1)), west of Acworth and just north of SR 92, and reached as far north as the southern parts of Emerson according to FCC maps.

It was owned by Radio Assist Ministry, not GPB/GPTC, and may not have actually been airing WGPB. It has since been reassigned to relay commercial station WWWQ FM 99.7 MHz, and was sold by RAM to Cumulus Licensing, owner of WWWQ. The station was moved west-southwest in 2009 to the far exurbs between Dallas and Hiram, and had a construction permit to move between Powder Springs and Austell to serve Lithia Springs on 92.5 MHz, where it became W223BP in early 2012.

References

External links

Georgia Public Broadcasting

Television	WGTV WJSP WMUM WABW WACS WCES WNGH WVAN WXGA

Radio	WGPB WUWG WJSP WKSU WWIO WNGU WSVH WUGA WUNV WWET WXVS WPPR WJWV WACG WABR WNGH WWIO AM WWIO-FM WATY WBTB

Radio stations in the Rome / northwest Georgia market

By FM frequency	WMBW – 88.9 W215BA – 90.9 WCCV – 91.7 WIPK – 94.5 WSRM – 95.3 WATG – 95.7 WGPB – 97.7 WQTU – 102.3 WTSH-FM – 107.1

By AM frequency	WROM – 710 WQRX – 870 WEBS – 1030 WZQZ – 1180 WGJK – 1360 WLAQ – 1410 WRGA – 1470

Defunct stations	WGTA – 950

Georgia radio markets Albany Atlanta Augusta Brunswick Columbus Macon Savannah Valdosta Other Georgia radio regions Rome Thomasville/Bainbridge Waycross See also List of radio stations in Georgia

Radio stations in the Atlanta, Georgia market

By AM frequency	550 590 610² 640 680 750¹♦ 790 (830) 860 890 920 970 1010² 1040 1080² 1100² (1120) 1160 1190 1230 1270 1290² 1300 1310 1320 1330 1340 1380 1400 1400 1410 1420 1430 1450 1460 1480 1500 1520 1550² 1570 1600² 1690 ¹Clear-channel stations with extended nighttime coverage ²Broadcast in Spanish (fulltime)

By FM frequency	88.1 88.5 89.1 89.3 90.1 90.7 90.7 91.1 91.5 91.7 91.9 92.1 92.9 93.3 94.1 94.5 94.9 95.5♦ 96.1 96.5 96.7♠ 97.1 97.5♣ 97.9 98.1 98.5 98.9 99.7 100.5 101.5 101.9² 102.3² 102.5 102.9 102.9♣ 103.3 103.7 104.1 104.7 105.3² 105.7♠ 106.7 107.1 107.5♣ 107.9 ♠WRDG simulcasts WRDA ♣WUMJ simulcasts W275BK ♦WSBB-FM simulcasts WSB AM

NOAA Weather Radio	162.550

By callsign	KEC80 WABE WAEC WAFS WALR-FM WAMJ WAOK WAOS WATB WAZX WAZX-FM WBCX WBHF WBZY WCFO WCHK WCLK WCNN WCOH WDCY WDPC WDUN WDWD WFGM WFOM WFSH-FM WFTD WGFS WGKA WGST WHIE WHTA WIFN WIGO WJGA-FM WJSP-FM WJTP WKHX-FM WKKP WLBB WLKQ-FM WLTA WMLB WMVV WMVW WNEA WNIV WNNX WNSY WPBC WPBS WPCG-LP WPLO WPZE WQXI WRAS WRDA WRDG WREK WRFG WSB WSB-FM WSBB-FM WSRV WSTR WTSH-FM WTZA WUBL WUMJ WUWG WVEE WVFJ-FM WWEV-FM WWPW WWWE WWWQ WXEM WXJO WXKT WYAY WYXC WYZE WZGC W233BF W243CE W250BC W255CJ W275BK

Internet radio	99X Atlanta WGHR

Defunct	WERD (860 AM) WGHR (102.5/100.7) WHLE-LP (106.3 FM) WTJH (1260 AM)

Satellite radio local traffic/weather XM Channel 227 Sirius Channel 153 Georgia radio markets Albany Atlanta Augusta Brunswick Columbus Macon Savannah Valdosta Other Georgia radio regions Rome Thomasville/Bainbridge Waycross See also List of radio stations in Georgia

NPR member stations in the state of Georgia

GPB stations	Albany WUNV Athens WUGA Augusta WACG-FM Brunswick WWIO-FM Carrolton WUWG Chatsworth WNGH-FM Dahlonega WNGU Demorest WPPR Folkston WATY Ft. Gaines WJWV Macon WMUM-FM Rome WGPB Savannah WSVH Tifton WABR Valdosta WWET Warm Springs WJSP-FM Waycross WXVS

Other stations	Atlanta WABE Atlanta WCLK Columbus WTJB Thomasville WFSL

See also List of NPR stations

See also adult contemporary classic hits college country news/talk NPR oldies religious rock sports top 40 urban other radio stations in Georgia

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