Why do radio station call letters start with K or W?
First, this is only true in the United States, as other countries have different systems for assigning call letters (also known as call signs) to broadcast stations. When the US government began regulating the radio airwaves by licensing stations, they chose to assign each station west of the Mississippi River a four-letter combination beginning with K, while east of the Mississippi, the call letters would start with a W.
Why are there stations that don’t fit this pattern?
There are actually several possible reasons why a station west of the Mississippi, for example, might start with a W, instead of a K as you would expect. One reason is that the original boundary, established in 1912, actually ran north from the border of Texas and New Mexico. It was later changed to the Mississippi River in 1923, so for about 11 years, many stations in Texas and the Great Plains were designated with a W and kept their call letters after the boundary change.
Other reasons:
- Stations may have moved their license to a community across the boundary.
- Owners may request a specific call sign, such as WACO in Waco, TX.
- The government may have just made a mistake, as was possibly the case with KTGG in Michigan (when an FCC clerk mistook the “MI” abbreviation for Missouri).
Why are there radio stations with only three letters?
There are about 50 broadcast AM radio stations that still have a three-letter call sign, which was the norm in the United States until about mid-1922. From that point forward, stations in the US would receive a four-letter call sign, and the three-letter format would only be used for FM or TV stations that were associated with an existing three-letter AM station. These were usually randomly assigned, but some call letters had a meaning behind them, such as the famous WGN in Chicago, which stands for “World’s Greatest Newspaper” (referring to the Chicago Tribune, owned by the same parent company).
My college station had call letters that didn’t follow any of these rules. What’s up with that?
College stations that use carrier-current or cable to broadcast their signal (as opposed to an over-the-air broadcast) are not subject to FCC licensing, so they can choose any call letters they like. They can also choose any frequency and are allowed to be fully commercial stations, unlike over-the-air college stations which usually operate as educational, non-profit broadcasters.
What are some of the oddest/weirdest/coolest radio call signs?
- In West Texas, one company owned both KBUY in Amarillo and KSEL in Lubbock (BUY and SEL)
- KAVE in Carlsbad, New Mexico, home of Carlsbad Caverns National Park.
- KENO in Las Vegas, NV, named after the casino game.
- KFOG in San Francisco, CA
- KOOL in Phoenix, AZ and KOLD in Tuscon, AZ
- The aforementioned WACO in Waco, TX.
- WIND in the Windy CIty, Chicago, IL
- WOOD in Grand Rapids, MI (a city famous for furniture making)
The furthest west station with a W call sign is WOAI in San Antonio, TX. The K station furthest east is KYW in Philadelphia.
Image credit: “Radio Stickers” by StickerGiant is licensed under CC BY 2.0