WHTB

WHTB
Fall River, Massachusetts; United States;
Broadcast area	New Bedford, Massachusetts
Frequency	1400 kHz
Branding	Rádio Voz Do Emigrante
Programming
Format	Brokered Portuguese
Affiliations	Spill-over affiliate of the Red Sox Radio Network, Boston Celtics Radio Network
Ownership
Owner	Frank Baptista; (RVDE, LLC);
History
First air date	May 6, 1948
Former call signs	WALE (1948–1989)
Call sign meaning	"Home Town Broadcasting"
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	60701
Class	C
Power	1,000 watts unlimited
Transmitter coordinates	41°41′23.37″N 71°8′41.16″W / 41.6898250°N 71.1447667°W
Translator(s)	93.7 W229DC (Fall River)
Links
Public license information	Public file; LMS;
Webcast	Listen live
Website	www.radiovozdoemigrante.com

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

History

WALE began broadcasting May 6, 1948, on 1400 kHz with 250 watts of 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 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 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] The studios moved to Home Street in Somerset, Massachusetts, when WHTB and WSAR became sister stations.

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

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.

FM translator

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

^ "WALE reception verification" (PDF). June 19, 1948. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
^ ^a ^b "WHTB reception verification" (PDF). February 8, 1990. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
^ "Facility Technical Data for WHTB". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
^ "WALE Dedicated" (PDF). Broadcasting. May 31, 1948. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
^ "FCCInfo Facility Search Results".

1992 Broadcasting Yearbook, page A-164

External links

Facility details for Facility ID 60701 (WHTB) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
WHTB in Nielsen Audio's AM station database

This article about a radio station in Massachusetts is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[nrc-walestart-1] "WALE reception verification" (PDF). June 19, 1948. Retrieved May 17, 2014.

[nrc-whtbmeaning-2] "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".

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