WACE (AM)

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Coordinates: 42°6′33.34″N 72°36′38.32″W / 42.1092611°N 72.6106444°W / 42.1092611; -72.6106444
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

WACE
History
First air date
December 1, 1946; 78 years ago (1946-12-01)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID9194
ClassD
Power
  • 5,000 watts (day)
  • 7 watts (night)
Transmitter coordinates
42°6′33.34″N 72°36′38.32″W / 42.1092611°N 72.6106444°W / 42.1092611; -72.6106444
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Websitethestationofthecross.com/stations/springfield-ma/

WACE (730

EWTN Radio
programming is also heard.

By day, WACE transmits 5,000 watts, using a

clear channel frequency reserved for Canada and Mexico. To avoid interference with other stations, WACE must reduce power at night to 7 watts. The transmitter is off West Street in Springfield, near the North End Bridge and the Connecticut River.[3]

History

Early years

WACE

signed on the air on December 1, 1946.[4] It was owned by the Regional Broadcasting Company with studios on Chicopee Street in Chicopee.[5]
The station broadcast at 1,000 watts by day.

Because

signing off at sunset to prevent interference. In the 1960s, the daytime power was increased to 5,000 watts. While it remained a daytime-only station, its pre-sunrise power of 8 watts enabled the station to be heard as far away as Hartford, due to the transmitter's location on the banks of the Connecticut River and the low frequency on the AM band. (In 1986 the station was allowed to operate at 7 watts at night as well.) At full power the signal could be heard as distantly as Rhode Island
.

Oldies and all-news

During the 1970s, the station broadcast a popular oldies format. One of its personalities was Charlie (Ahl) Day, later of WCBS-FM in New York and WOMC in Detroit. Another disc jockey was Mike Adams, for many years a popular sports-talk radio and TV host in Boston. The station also featured a three-hour morning news block anchored by Day and Don Yankee. In 1977, Ace Broadcasting bought the station.

As music listening shifted to FM radio, the new owners ended the oldies sound. The station tried an

CBS Radio News.[6]

Religious radio

The news format did not last very long. By 1980, WACE was airing a brokered religious format, where national preachers bought blocks of time on the station to discuss their faith and seek donations.[7]

On May 1, 2022, WACE went

FCC for special temporary authority (STA) to stay silent for a while. The request was to relocate to a new transmitter site using the tower that WMAS-FM, WHLL and W251CT were using.[8] In August 2022, Holy Family Communications, a Roman Catholic broadcaster behind The Station of the Cross Network, agreed to purchase the station from Carter Broadcasting.[9] Holy Family relaunched WACE as part of its Catholic radio network on January 23, 2023.[10]

In May 2025, Holy Family agreed to sell WACE, WNEB in Worcester, and WESO in Southbridge to Journey For Life Media for $150,000.[11]

References

  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WACE". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ "WACE Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  3. ^ Radio-Locator.com/WACE
  4. ^ "Chicopee" (PDF). Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook. 1999. p. D-209. Retrieved January 25, 2012 – via World Radio History.
  5. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1948 page 142
  6. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1977 page C-98
  7. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1983 page B-114
  8. ^ "WACE". FCCdata.org.
  9. ^ "Station Sales Week Of 8/19 - RadioInsight". August 19, 2022.
  10. ^ Shook, Ashley (January 25, 2023). "Catholic programming launches new radio station in Springfield". WWLP. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  11. ^ Venta, Lance (May 9, 2025). "Station Sales Week Of 5/9: Cumulus Sells Buffalo AM". RadioInsight. Retrieved May 11, 2025.
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