WQEN
MHz (HD Radio) | |
Branding | 103.7 The Q |
---|---|
Programming | |
Format | Top 40 (CHR) |
Subchannels | HD2: Active rock "103.1 The Vulcan" HD3: Alternative rock "Alt Bham" |
Affiliations | Premiere Networks |
Ownership | |
Owner |
|
WDXB, WERC, WERC-FM, WMJJ | |
History | |
First air date | October 1966 | (as WLJM-FM)
Former call signs | WJBY-FM (CP, 2/1966-6/1966) WLJM (1966–1975) |
Call sign meaning | W QuEeN city (refers to Gadsden, the station's former city of license) |
Technical information | |
Facility ID | 22997 |
Class | C1 |
ERP | 100,000 watts |
HAAT | 285 meters (935 ft) |
Translator(s) | HD2: 103.1 W276BQ (Birmingham) |
Links | |
Webcast | WQEN Webstream WQEN-HD2 Webstream WQEN-HD3 Webstream |
Website | 1037theq.iheart.com 1031thevulcan.iheart.com (HD2) altbham.iheart.com (HD3) |
WQEN (103.7
It broadcasts a Top 40 (CHR) station to Birmingham and north-central Alabama.[1]
History
In October 1966, the station that is now WQEN signed on as WLJM, licensed to Gadsden.[2] The call letters stood for Lloyd, John and Mary Faye, the three children of original owner Charlie Boman. In 1974, WLJM was sold to Charles Smithgall and Mike McDougald who operated WAAX, also in Gadsden. In 1975, 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. Since then, WQEN has been a Top 40 station.
By 1976, 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 the station to cover Gadsden, east Alabama, and many areas of the Birmingham metropolitan area. During this time, WQEN was known as either "Super Q104, WQEN", "SuperHot Q104", and "Q104 WQEN, The Southern Super Giant". Except for a brief period in the late 1980s when the station was known as "103.7 QFM", the station was called "Q104" for over 20 years. Until the mid 1990s, WQEN was primarily focused on Gadsden, Anniston, and eastern Alabama.
In 1998, WQEN began broadcasting from a tower near
WQEN was the first Top 40 station in the Birmingham market since WAPI-FM (I-95) dropped the format in 1994. Ironically, a second station in the market adopted the same format a few months later when WEDA, known on the air as Hot 97.3, signed on. That station changed formats in 2000. The DJ line-up featured Rick and Bubba in the mornings, Scott Bohannon (formerly of WAPI-FM/I-95) in middays, and Luka (formerly of WRAX/107.7 The X) in the afternoons.
In 2005, WQEN was one of several stations in north
References
- ^ "Station Information Profile". Arbitron.
- ^ "Directory of Radio Stations in the United States and Canada". Broadcasting Yearbook 1979. Washington, D.C.: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1979. p. C-4.
External links
- WQEN official website
- Q-104 Tribute Website
- WQEN in the FCC FM station database
- WQEN in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
- W276BQ in the FCC FM station database
- W276BQ at FCCdata.org