WSML (1200 AM ) is a radio station located in Graham, North Carolina . The station airs a country music format branded as Maverick 95.1-94.3 .
64-429: WSML signed on December 2, 1967, as a daytimer operating at 1190 AM, owned by Smiles of Graham, Inc. In its early years, the station had a top 40 format, but by 1970 it had become a country music station. This gave way to a rock music format by 1973, and a blend of country and rock soon thereafter. By 1975, WSML had integrated beautiful music into the format and cut back its country music programming; however, after
128-420: A nominal power of 50 kilowatts or more. These were for the most part Class I-A. Stations on the other clear channels, with two or more stations, must use between 10 kW and 50 kW, and most often use a directional antenna so as not to interfere with each other. In addition to the frequencies, the treaty also specified the specific locations where stations on Class I-B channels could be built. Some of
192-411: A "Radio Moving Day", but he refused on the grounds that "My experience has been that proclamations by the mayor mean just exactly nothing and I issue as few as I can.") The frequency changes affected "about a thousand stations in seven countries". The following chart reviews the assignments before and after March 29, 1941, including information about individual U.S. and Canadian stations, and summarizes
256-524: A 750-mile (1,207 km) radius around the transmitter . Stations on those frequencies outside the area of protection were no longer required to sign off or power down after sundown. In 1987 the FCC changed its rules to prohibit applications for new "class-D" stations. (Class-D stations have night power between zero and 250 watts, and frequently operate on clear channels.) However, any existing station could voluntarily relinquish nighttime authority, thereby becoming
320-552: A class-D, and several have done so since the rule change. Download coordinates as: North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement The North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement ( NARBA , French : Accord régional sur la radiodiffusion en Amérique du Nord ; Spanish : Convenio Regional Norteamericano de Radiodifusión ) refers to a series of international treaties that defined technical standards for AM band ( mediumwave ) radio stations. These agreements also addressed how frequency assignments were distributed among
384-511: A clear channel were known as Class I-B. The Agreement assigned six Class I-A frequencies each to Mexico and Canada, and one to Cuba. Reflecting the existence of improved radio design, the Agreement also reduced the "same market" minimum frequency separation from 50 to 40 kHz. (Mexico elected to further adopt a 30 kHz "same market" spacing, unless this was in conflict with an adjoining nation's "border zone" allocations.) This closer spacing
448-769: A combined state and provincial count of their coverage area. One of the most outspoken of the small-town broadcasters, Ed Craney of KGIR in Butte, Montana , went so far as to apply to move his station, then on the 1370 kHz regional channel, to a class I-A signal on 660 kHz, asking the FCC to downgrade the NBC New York flagship , WEAF , to make way for the Butte station. The FCC denied Craney's petition. After 1941, several clear-channel stations applied for power increases to between 500 and 750 kW; with dissemination of national defense information cited as one reason this would be in
512-419: A directional antenna system was installed for nights, in which case the maximum night power was 50 kW. Additionally, one Class B station that had been operating non-directionally with 100 kW days and 50 kW nights was required to reduce power to 50 kW during all hours. In the early days of radio, regulators had difficulty reducing interference between stations. There were two major limitations:
576-445: A lack of good frequency control during the 1920s, resulting in heterodyne tones that were encountered far beyond the range of understandable audio, and no directional antennas or skywave-suppressing vertical antennas until the early 1930s. The problem was much more severe at night, when skywave signals expanded station signal coverage to hundreds of kilometers. However, with most stations located at urban locations, quality skywave service
640-520: A major reallocation went into force in the U.S. on November 11, 1928, following the standards set by the Federal Radio Commission 's (FRC) General Order 40 . At that time, the AM band was defined as 96 frequencies, running in 10 kilocycle-per-second (kHz) steps from 550 to 1500 kHz, which were divided into what became known as "Local", "Regional", and "Clear Channel" frequencies. The only provision
704-666: A sale of the station to Acme Communications (no relation to the current television station owner ) in 1976, it reverted to a full-time country music format. In 1981, the station was sold to Graycasting, Inc. and became WWOK; a year later, Evans Communications Corporation took over the station and reinstated the WSML call sign. By this time, the station had added religious programming to its country music format; religion had become its full-time format by 1987, after having been acquired by Gray Broadcasting Company (unrelated to Gray Television ) two years earlier. WSML moved to 1200 AM in 1991, allowing
SECTION 10
#1732855216992768-516: A scenario, as coastal stations waste energy over the oceans. One complication the FCC considered was the 1938 Wheeler resolution suggestion that stations be limited to 50 kW. One station, KOB in Albuquerque, New Mexico , fought a long legal battle against the FCC and New York's WABC for the right to move from a regional channel to a clear channel, 770 kHz, arguing that the New York signal
832-456: A station's existing vertical radiator towers, an important factor for readjusting directional antenna parameters to accommodate the new frequency. Individual stations were specified to be Class I, II III or IV, with the class determining the maximum power a station could use and its interference protection standards. In all of the participating countries Class I and II stations were exclusively assigned to Clear Channel frequencies, while Class III
896-448: A wide nighttime area via skywave propagation . These frequencies were known as the "clear channels", and the stations on them are thus clear-channel stations. NARBA set aside 37 Class I-A frequencies and 27 Class I-B frequencies. The Class I-N stations in Alaska shared those same frequencies. Where only one station was assigned to a clear channel, the treaty provides that it must operate with
960-472: Is Class D. A great number of these stations use FM translators to continue their broadcasts overnight, and some also broadcast on the internet and have separate streams that air when the station's over-the-air signal has signed off. Daytime-only stations first originated in the late 1920s shortly after General Order 40 was imposed. One of the first to do so was WKEN in Kenmore, New York (now WUFO ). WKEN proposed
1024-697: Is covered by their groundwave signal. Many stations beyond those listed in the treaty have been assigned to operate on a clear channel (and some had been long before NARBA came into effect in 1941). In most cases, those stations operate during the daytime only, so as not to interfere with the primary stations on those channels. Since the early 1980s, many such stations have been permitted to operate at night with such low power as to be deemed not to interfere; these stations are still considered "daytimers" and are not entitled to any protection from interference with their nighttime signals. Another group of stations, formerly known as class II stations, were licensed to operate on
1088-586: Is permitted to use the lower Class B minimum efficiency of 281.63 mV/m/kW at 1 km. There exist exceptions, where a former Class B station was elevated to Class A, yet it maintained its previous antenna system, or made only minor changes thereto. Clear-channel stations, unlike other AM stations in North America, have protection from interference to their nighttime skywave secondary service area . Other stations are entitled, at most, to protection from nighttime interference in their primary service area —that which
1152-454: Is reduced, and medium wave radio signals can propagate much farther. Such stations are allowed three manners of operation after sunset; to sign off the air completely until sunrise, reduce power (sometimes dramatically, to only a few watts), or switch to a nighttime-only frequency (such as the Detroit area's WNZK , which broadcasts on 690 during the day, and on 680 at night). Their broadcast class
1216-442: Is the Alaska table, for the former class I-N stations. Under the most recent treaty, Mexican Class A stations that previously operated with 50 kW or less (but a minimum of 10 kW nights) may increase power to 100 kW days while retaining their 10 kW night operation. This created some anomalies where stations licensed for 10 kW during all hours could increase power to 100 kW days and 10 kW nights, unless
1280-457: The Bahamas being granted use of the 1540 kHz clear channel by the U.S. The interim agreement expired on March 29, 1949, and there was great difficulty in agreeing on a replacement, in particular due to Mexican objections, which led to two failed conferences. A new NARBA agreement, to be effective for five years after ratification, was finally signed at Washington, D.C., on November 15, 1950, for
1344-528: The Bahamas, Canada, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and the United States. Mexico, which had withdrawn from the conference, and Haiti, which did not participate, were to be given a chance to subscribe. (The United States and Mexico made a bilateral agreement in 1957.) This agreement formally added 540 kHz as a clear channel frequency, and also provided for Cuba to share six, and Jamaica two, of
SECTION 20
#17328552169921408-590: The Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, and United States because those countries have not formally abrogated NARBA. The United States also has active bilateral agreements with Canada ("Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Canada Relating to the AM Broadcasting Service in the Medium Frequency Band" (1984) and Mexico ("Agreement Between the Government of
1472-447: The FRC made addressing international concerns was that six frequencies — 690, 730, 840, 910, 960, and 1030 — were designated for exclusive Canadian use. On May 5, 1932, through an exchange of letters, the U.S. and Canada informally endorsed and expanded the 1928 standards, including recognition of Canadian use of 540 kHz. During the 1930s, Canada also began using 1510 kHz, while in 1934
1536-553: The U.S. Senate adopted resolution 294, sponsored by Burton K. Wheeler (D-Montana), which stated that it was the "sense of the Senate... that the Federal Communications Commission should not adopt or promulgate rules to permit or otherwise allow any station operating on a frequency in the standard broadcast band (550 to 1600 kilocycles) to operate on a regular or other basis with power in excess of 50 kilowatts". However,
1600-557: The U.S. and causing significant interference to U.S. and Canadian stations. However, an initial international meeting held in Mexico City in the summer of 1933 failed, primarily due to a lack of agreement over how many clear channel frequencies would be assigned to Mexico. In 1937, a series of radio conferences, this time successful, was held in Havana, Cuba, and the initial NARBA agreement was signed on December 13, 1937 by representatives from
1664-407: The U.S. authorized two experimental high-fidelity stations on each of 1530 and 1550 kHz. By 1939, Cuban stations existed on frequencies as high as 1600 kHz. As other countries, especially Mexico and Cuba, developed their own radio broadcasting services, the need arose to standardize engineering practices, reduce interference, and more fairly distribute clear channel assignments. Moreover,
1728-613: The U.S. clear channel allocations. Some provisions remained controversial, and this version of the treaty wasn't ratified by the United States until early 1960. In 1980, Cuba gave the required one year notification that it was withdrawing from the NARBA treaty. The NARBA treaties have been substantially superseded by the "Regional Agreement for the Medium Frequency Broadcasting Service in Region 2" (Rio Agreement), which covers
1792-472: The U.S., Canada, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Mexico, was held from January 14–30, 1941 in Washington, D.C., in order to coordinate the upcoming changes. With a few exceptions the frequency shifts were scheduled to be implemented at 0800 Greenwich Mean Time (3 a.m. E.S.T. ) on March 29, 1941, which was informally known as "moving day". (Philadelphia stations petitioned mayor Robert Lamberton to declare
1856-578: The United States and Mexico. The last Canadian daytime station, CKOT , signed off on February 17 of that year after converting to the FM band. There were 61 daytimers in Mexico in 2015. The following two tables show all of the class-A stations in North America. First is the Canada, Mexico, and contiguous United States table, for the former class I-A and class I-B stations. General Order 40 allocations are in bold. Second
1920-404: The United States, Canada, Cuba, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The most significant change was the formal addition of ten broadcasting frequencies, from 1510 to 1600 kHz, with the 106 available frequencies divided into Clear Channel (59 frequencies), Regional (41) and Local (6) designations. The official lower limit remained at 550 kHz, as it was not possible to add stations at
1984-532: The WSJS simulcast from WSML on July 15, 2010, replacing it with sports radio programming. Effective February 11, 2019, Curtis Media Group sold WSML and translators W232DT and W236BQ to Alamance Media Partners, Inc. for $ 397,500. Daytimer A clear-channel station is a North American AM radio station that has the highest level of protection from interference from other stations, particularly from nighttime skywave signals. This classification exists to ensure
WSML - Misplaced Pages Continue
2048-575: The adoption of the Regional Agreement for the Medium Frequency Broadcasting Service in Region 2 (Rio Agreement), which covered the entire Western hemisphere. However, current AM band assignments in North America largely reflect the standards first established by the NARBA agreements. Organized AM (mediumwave) radio broadcasting began in the early 1920s, and the United States soon dominated the North American airwaves, with more than 500 stations by
2112-416: The band by "stretching out" the existing assignments, achieved by following a table which in most cases moved all the stations on a common frequency to a new, higher, dial position. This provided gaps of unassigned frequencies, most of which became clear channels allocated to Mexico and Canada. A majority of the frequency shifts were limited to between 10 and 30 kHz, which conserved the electrical height of
2176-439: The bottom of the broadcast band due to the need to protect 500 kHz — a maritime international distress frequency — from interference. (Although operation on 540 kHz was not covered by the Agreement, unofficially it became an additional Canadian clear channel frequency.) Under the Agreement, most existing stations operating on 740 kHz or higher would have to change frequencies. Open frequencies were created throughout
2240-437: The clear channels". The class I-A station owners' proposal to increase power fifteen-fold was not immediately quashed, but the new II-A stations would make it effectively impossible for stations on the duplicated channels to do so, and the owners eventually lost interest. That proposal was finally taken off the FCC's docket in the late 1970s. On May 29, 1980, the FCC voted to limit the protection for all clear-channel stations to
2304-555: The clear-channel licensees argued that a 50,000 watt limit in the U.S. should be lifted. They pointed to successful experiments made by WLW in Cincinnati before World War II , and in later years successful implementation by state broadcasters in Europe and the Middle East, as evidence that this would work and improve the service received by most Americans. Other broadcasters, particularly in
2368-410: The concept to avoid the then-common practice of having to share one frequency between multiple stations; under General Order 40, WKEN would have had to share its frequency with WKBW , and the daytime-only proposal allowed both stations their own frequency. WUFO remains a daytime-only station to the present day, albeit with a 24/7 FM translator introduced in mid-2017. As of 2013, daytimers exist only in
2432-451: The development of better frequency control, and especially directional antennas, made it possible for additional stations to operate on the same or close by frequencies without significantly increasing interference. A key objective for the United States was that, in exchange for receiving clear channel assignments, Mexico would eliminate the high-powered English-language " border blaster " stations that had been directing their programming toward
2496-456: The end of 1922. Due to a change in the ionosphere after the sun sets, nighttime signals from AM band stations are reflected for distances extending for hundreds of kilometers. This is valuable in providing radio programming to sparsely settled areas using high-powered transmitters. However, it also leads to the need for international cooperation in station assignments, to avoid mutually interfering signals. In an effort to rationalize assignments,
2560-468: The entire Western hemisphere, and was signed at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1981, taking effect on July 1, 1983 at 08:00 UTC . The interference protection criteria in the Rio Agreement are significantly different from NARBA's, and the concept of clear channel stations is eliminated. In adopting this agreement, the Bahamas and Canada declared their intent to renounce their adherence to NARBA. However, much of
2624-408: The former "I-B" clear channels with significant power at night, provided that they use directional antenna systems to minimize radiation towards the primary stations. Daytimers (also known as daytime-only stations) are AM radio stations that are limited to broadcasting during the daytime only, as their signals would interfere with clear-channel and other radio stations at night, when solar radiation
WSML - Misplaced Pages Continue
2688-628: The lapse in regulation, some stations relocated to non-standard "split frequencies", increasing heterodyne interference. The Federal Radio Commission (FRC) was formed in March 1927, and one of its key tasks was to reorganize the chaotic broadcast band. A May 1927 reallocation began the process, in part by eliminating "split frequency" operations. A December 1, 1927 report on the FRC's ongoing work reviewed operations on 600 to 1000 kHz, which divided these frequencies into ones that were considered "clear" and "unclear". Its 1928 implementation of General Order 32
2752-410: The most significant changes: A series of modifications would follow the initial treaty, which was scheduled to expire on March 29, 1946. In early 1946, a three-year interim agreement gave Cuba expanded allocations, including the right to share five U.S., three Canadian, and two Mexican clear channel allocations, plus operate high-powered stations on some regional frequencies. The changes also resulted in
2816-597: The number of Canadian clear channel assignments, as well as provide clear channels to Mexico and the Bahamas. Because FM and TV stations did not yet exist, the FCC's main intent for the clear-channel assignments was to provide reliable radio service to the thousands of Americans who lived in the vast rural areas of the United States. As a result, these stations usually reached large portions of North America at night. Radio fans (and staff at those stations) often affectionately call such stations "flamethrowers" or "blowtorches" because of their high power, and boast about their reach by
2880-462: The original NARBA signatories, including the United States, Canada and Mexico, have implemented bilateral agreements that supersede NARBA's terms, eliminating among other things the distinction between the two kinds of clear channel: the original "I-A" and "I-B" classes, and the newer, U.S.-only "I-N" class, which are now all included in class A . Classes "I-A" and "I-B" still mandate a minimum efficiency of 362.10 mV/m/kW at 1 km, whereas Class "I-N"
2944-709: The primary clear-channel stations in the lower 48 states). The term "clear-channel" is used most often in the context of North America and the Caribbean, where the concept originated. Since 1941, these stations have been required to maintain a transmitter power output of at least 10,000 watts to retain their status. Nearly all such stations in the United States, Canada and The Bahamas broadcast with 50,000 watts, with several clear-channel stations in Mexico going as high as 150,000 watts, and XEW in Mexico City having formerly operated with 250,000 watts for over 80 years before moving
3008-425: The public interest. In October 1941 the FCC's engineering department presented a report on a complete reorganization of the clear-channel service; the report considered the possibility of "some 25 superpower stations of 500,000 watts or more, strategically located to provide maximum service" (as Broadcasting described it), and suggested that stations would have to be relocated away from the east and west coasts in such
3072-431: The signatories, with a special emphasis on high-powered clear channel allocations. The initial NARBA bandplan , also known as the "Havana Treaty", was signed by the United States, Canada, Mexico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti on December 13, 1937, and took effect March 29, 1941. A series of modifications and adjustments followed, also under the NARBA name. NARBA's provisions were largely supplanted in 1983, with
3136-492: The station to begin 24-hour operation. By the 1990s, programming consisted of gospel music . What had become Graycasting Media sold WSML to Clear Channel Communications in 1998. Clear Channel converted the station to a news/talk format, largely simulcasting sister station WSJS from Winston-Salem ; this filled in a gap in WSJS' coverage of Greensboro and the eastern part of the Piedmont Triad (especially at night). There
3200-506: The structure introduced by that treaty remained intact. On June 8, 1988 another conference held at Rio de Janeiro, this time under the auspices of the International Telecommunication Union , adopted provisions effective July 1, 1990 to add ten AM band frequencies within Region 2, commonly known as the " expanded band ", and running from 1610 kHz to 1700 kHz. The 1950 NARBA provisions are still in effect for
3264-540: The summer of 1926, when a successful challenge was made to the government's authority, under the Radio Act of 1912 , to assign station transmitting frequencies and powers. This led to unrestricted expansion of the number of stations to 732, and increased the number of stations operating on same frequency. Moreover, previously stations had been assigned to transmitting frequencies of multiples of 10 kHz, which largely eliminated heterodynes from adjacent frequencies. However, during
SECTION 50
#17328552169923328-570: The transmitter and reducing to 100,000 watts in 2016. Cuba was originally included in the plan and had several stations given clear-channel status, but stopped participating after the Cuban Revolution of 1959. Sixty medium wave frequencies were set aside in 1941 under the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA) for use by usually only one, although in some cases two or three, AM stations, covering
3392-501: The viability of cross-country or cross-continent radio service enforced through a series of treaties and statutory laws. Known as Class A stations since the 1983 adoption of the Regional Agreement for the Medium Frequency Broadcasting Service in Region 2 (Rio Agreement), they are occasionally still referred to by their former classifications of Class I-A (the highest classification), Class I-B (the next highest class), or Class I-N (for stations in Alaska too far away to cause interference to
3456-407: The western states, argued to the contrary; that if the special status of the clear-channel stations was eliminated, they would be able to build facilities to provide local service to those rural "dark areas". The clear channel standards were continued by the March 1941 adoption of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement , during which most stations shifted frequencies, in order to increase
3520-466: Was considered to be important for providing nighttime reception to the extensive rural regions. For the U.S., a form of clear channels first appeared in 1923 when the Commerce Department started moving stations which had previously shared three (initially two) frequencies (two for entertainment stations, one for "weather and crop reports") onto a band of frequencies from 550 to 1350 kHz, which
3584-602: Was gradually increased to 50,000 watts: additionally there were some short-lived experiments with 250–500 kilowatt "super-power" operations, most prominently by WLW in Cincinnati, Ohio The Federal Radio Commission was replaced by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1934. There was debate in Washington, D.C. , and in the U.S. broadcasting industry, over whether continuation of the clear-channel system
3648-423: Was justifiable. The licensees of clear-channel stations argued that, without their special status, many rural areas would receive no radio service at all. Rural broadcasters pointed out that most of the clear-channel stations were licensed to serve large cities on the two coasts, which made little sense for a service that was meant to provide radio to the vast rural areas in the middle of the country. On June 13, 1938,
3712-608: Was later extended to 1500 kHz, with 550 to 1070 kHz reserved for higher powered "Class B" stations. Many of the Class B frequencies were assigned to a single station, although a few were used on both the East and West coasts, which were considered far enough apart to limit interference. Class B stations with transmitters located in population centers were limited to 1,000 watts, although stations that operated transmitters at remote sites were permitted to use up to 5,000 watts. Problems intensified in
3776-498: Was only partially successful in reducing the number of stations. On November 11, 1928, the FRC implemented General Order 40 , which classified AM band frequencies as Local, Regional or Clear. Under restrictions imposed by the Davis Amendment , eight clear channels were assigned to each of five U.S. regions. This classification also reserved a small number of frequencies for use by Canada. The maximum power for clear channel stations
3840-406: Was particularly important in the case of the two highest Local frequencies, 1420 and 1500 kHz, as stations on these frequencies were being moved to 1450 and 1490 kHz, a 40 kHz separation. According to the Agreement's provisions, its implementation was to take place within one year after its adoption by the pact's four main signatories — the United States, Canada, Cuba and Mexico. Cuba
3904-596: Was so weak in the mountain west that it served no one there. KOB eventually won the argument in the late 1960s; it and several other western stations were allowed to move to eastern clear channels. (Western clear channels, such as 680 in San Francisco, had been "duplicated" in the eastern states for many years.) These new Class II-A assignments (in places like Boise, Idaho ; Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada ; Lexington, Nebraska ; Casper, Wyoming ; Kalispell, Montana ; and others) began what would later be called "the breakdown of
SECTION 60
#17328552169923968-443: Was some separate programming — predominantly NC State Wolfpack sports and Sunday morning programming. After Clear Channel was forced to divest some of its stations in order to merge with AMFM Broadcasting, WSML and WSJS were sold in 2000 to Infinity Broadcasting Corporation , which also purchased WMFR from AMFM. CBS Radio (which Infinity became in 2005), in turn, sold the three stations to Curtis Media Group in 2007. Curtis dropped
4032-426: Was synonymous with a Regional frequency assignment. In the United States, Class IV stations were only assigned to Local frequencies, although in other countries they were assigned to both Local and Regional ones. A major change was the provision that some clear channels were allocated to be used simultaneously by two stations — those maintaining sole use of a frequency were classified as Class I-A, while stations sharing
4096-414: Was the first to ratify, on December 22, 1937, and was followed by the U.S. on June 15, 1938 and Canada on November 29, 1938. While waiting on Mexico, in 1939 the U.S. and Canada completed a frequency agreement based on the treaty standards. Mexico finally approved the treaty on December 29, 1939, and work commenced on adopting its wide-ranging provisions. An engineering conference, with representatives from
#991008