WZQS
| Broadcast area | Jackson and Haywood counties in western North Carolina |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 90.5 MHz |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| History | |
First air date | 1977 |
Former call signs | WWCU (1977–2021) |
Former frequencies | 91.7 MHz (1977–1981) |
Call sign meaning | Variation of WCQS, WYQS |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 71766 |
| Class | A |
| ERP | 240 watts |
| HAAT | 289.0 meters |
Transmitter coordinates | 35°26′23.00″N 83°7′11.00″W / 35.4397222°N 83.1197222°W |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
WZQS is a radio station on 90.5 FM in Cullowhee, North Carolina, broadcasting to Jackson and Haywood counties in the western part of the state. It is owned by Blue Ridge Public Radio (BPR).
The facility is currently silent as a result of its acquisition by Blue Ridge, effective February 1, 2021, from Western Carolina University, under which it had operated as WWCU from 1977 to 2021. The university is in the process of rebuilding WWCU on a newer and higher-power license at 95.3 MHz. WZQS is being relocated to a new site.[2]
On October 31, 2022, WZQS is scheduled to begin airing the programming of WCQS-HD2.[3]
History
In 1977, Western Carolina University, which had maintained a carrier current station on campus since 1947, built and signed on WWCU at 90.5 FM. This student radio station broadcast from a main site on Cutoff Mountain, but the region's rough terrain impeded any expansion of the station's coverage area. After applying in 2010, WCU was awarded a construction permit to build a 95.3 FM station, licensed to Dillsboro and broadcasting from Brown Mountain, in 2015. This station began temporary service as WWOO, a simulcaster of WWCU, using a temporary 90-foot (27 m) fiberglass mast, in 2018, and work began on the construction of a new permanent tower after that.[4]
The 95.3 frequency had been used by a translator of BPR's WCQS, which was forced to move to another frequency.[5] The university sold the WWCU facility to BPR in 2020 for $97,000, excluding the station's former booster.[6]
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WZQS". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "Silent STA". Federal Communications Commission. February 2, 2021. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
- ^ "BPR's Big Switch". Blue Ridge Public Radio. Archived from the original on October 19, 2022. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
- ^ "Turn It Up - WWCU-FM has growth spurt". WCU Stories. November 19, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
- ^ Johnson, Becky (September 9, 2015). "WCU moving up on the dial: Winners and losers in the shifting world of radio frequencies". Smoky Mountain News. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
- ^ "Asset Purchase Agreement". Federal Communications Commission. July 16, 2018. Retrieved March 12, 2021.