WHTB

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Coordinates: 41°41′23.37″N 71°8′41.16″W / 41.6898250°N 71.1447667°W / 41.6898250; -71.1447667
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WHTB
Broadcast areaNew Bedford, Massachusetts
Frequency1400 kHz
BrandingRádio Voz Do Emigrante
Programming
FormatBrokered Portuguese
AffiliationsSpill-over affiliate of the Red Sox Radio Network, Boston Celtics Radio Network
Ownership
Owner
  • Frank Baptista
  • (RVDE, LLC)
WSAR
History
First air date
May 6, 1948[1]
Former call signs
WALE (1948–1989)
Call sign meaning
"Home Town Broadcasting"[2]
Technical information[3]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID60701
ClassC
Power1,000 watts unlimited
Transmitter coordinates
41°41′23.37″N 71°8′41.16″W / 41.6898250°N 71.1447667°W / 41.6898250; -71.1447667
Translator(s)93.7 W229DC (Fall River)
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Websitewww.radiovozdoemigrante.com

WHTB (1400 AM) is a Portuguese language radio station in Fall River, Massachusetts, operating with 1 kW unlimited hours.

History[edit]

WALE began broadcasting May 6, 1948, on 1400 kHz with 250 watts power (full-time). It was owned by Narragansett Broadcasting Company.[4] The station's first location was at the corner of North Main Street and Central Street in Fall River, Massachusetts, known as the Durfee Theatre Building. The station's "Whale" was a plaster and chicken wire figure atop the building with the words "WALE 1400" on the sides in white paint. The transmitting antenna was on the roof and had a copper screen ground system. There was no real ground connection to the antenna, and the screen created an artificial grounding system, limiting the coverage area.[citation needed]

The WALE call sign moved to 990 AM in Providence, Rhode Island, on July 20, 1989. On that date, SNE Broadcasting Ltd. (owned by local businessmen Robert and James Karam) took ownership of 1400 AM and introduced the WHTB call sign.[2]

In 2018, WHTB signed on FM translator W229DC on 93.7 from the AM tower.[5]

Effective December 30, 2022, SNE Broadcasting sold WHTB and translator W229DC to Frank Baptista's RVDE, LLC for $200,000.

Personalities[edit]

Personalities included Mike "Surfer" Sands (Arthur Lang) and long-time engineer Stephen J. Sorel, who was also an Amateur Radio operator with the call sign K1RFH. Sorel and Lang made the move to WICE in Providence, Rhode Island in the early 1970s. Steve Sorel ended his career as the Chief Engineer of WHTB and sister station WSAR. The North Main Street/Central Street site was also the location of WCFR-FM and WCFR-TV, although it is not known if WCFR-TV ever produced a signal as after World War II the Channel 1 assignment (44-50Mc.) was dropped from television and given to the Business Radio Service. WALE moved to Rock Street in the early 1970s and the transmitter was relocated to the area along Interstate 195 West and Route 24 South at the end of Augustus St. and remains there today. The studios have moved to Home Street in Somerset, Massachusetts, as WHTB and WSAR are still owned by the Karams.

FM translator[edit]

Broadcast translator for WHTB
Call sign Frequency City of license FID ERP (W) HAAT Class Transmitter coordinates FCC info Notes
W229DC 93.7 FM Fall River, Massachusetts 200240 250 0 m (0 ft) D 41°42′43.4″N 71°7′37.2″W / 41.712056°N 71.127000°W / 41.712056; -71.127000 (W229DC) LMS First licensed October 5, 2018.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "WALE reception verification" (PDF). June 19, 1948. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  2. ^ a b "WHTB reception verification" (PDF). February 8, 1990. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  3. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WHTB". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  4. ^ "WALE Dedicated" (PDF). Broadcasting. May 31, 1948. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  5. ^ "FCCInfo Facility Search Results".
  • 1992 Broadcasting Yearbook, page A-164

External links[edit]


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