WCHQ (Puerto Rico) explained

WCHQ
City:Camuy, Puerto Rico
Branding:Super Q 1360
Frequency:1360 kHz
Airdate:December 23, 1970
Last Airdate:December 24, 2003
Format:Defunct
Power:1,000 watts day
1,000 watts night
Class:B
Facility Id:16417
Coordinates:18.4717°N -66.8617°W
Callsign Meaning:Camuy
Hatillo
Quebradillas
Owner:Aurio A. Matos Barreto

WCHQ (1360 AM, Super Q) was a radio station licensed to serve Camuy, Puerto Rico. The station was owned by Aurio A. Matos (President and General Manager of the station).

History

The station was assigned the WCHQ call letters by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on December 23, 1970. The company has had multiple ownership changes. Camuy Broadcasting Corporation sold WCHQ to Del Pueblo Radio Corporation in 1984. At that time, the station was known as "13-Q AM".

Expanded Band assignment

On March 17, 1997 the FCC announced that eighty-eight stations had been given permission to move to newly available "Expanded Band" transmitting frequencies, ranging from 1610 to 1700 kHz, with WCHQ authorized to move from 1360 to 1660 kHz.[1] A construction permit for the expanded band station was assigned the call letters WGIT on December 14, 2000.[2] WGIT later moved to Canovanas.

Later history

On July 25, 2000, Del Pueblo Radio Corporation announced that it would sell WCHQ to Aurio A. Matos. The deal was completed on July 30, 2000.

An FCC policy for expanded band authorizations was that both the original station and its expanded band counterpart could operate simultaneously for up to five years, after which owners would have to turn in one of the two licenses, depending on whether they preferred the new assignment or elected to remain on the original frequency.[1] On December 24, 2003, after 33 years on the air, WCHQ went silent and was forced to shut down. On April 5, 2004, the station's license was cancelled and the call sign deleted from its database by the FCC.[3]

Notes and References

  1. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uva.x004848309&view=1up&seq=276 "FCC Public Notice: Mass Media Bureau Announces Revised AM Expanded Band Allotment Plan and Filing Window for Eligible Stations"
  2. https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/call_hist.pl?Facility_id=87150 FCC Call Sign History for AM 1660
  3. https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/sta_det.pl?Facility_id=16417 FCC Station Search Details: DWCHQ