The list of W stations west of the Mississippi is about 30, mostly dating back to the earliest years of broadcasting. They were assigned W call letters and still have them today, along with some co-owned FM and TV outlets. Stations like WOAI San Antonio and WHO Des Moines did not get incorrect call signs when they debuted on the air. Until the mid 1920s, the K-W dividing line was in the middle of the Central Time Zone, so those W call signs were appropriate.
But not so east of the Mississippi. The dividing line was never in the East. So how do KDKA, KYW, KQV and KFIZ have those call signs? We know the answer for KDKA but not the others.
The same week the Westinghouse station in East Pittsburgh got its K call letters, that government office also made incorrect K call sign grants for other stations as well, some for broadcasting, some for ship-to-shore communications. All those other incorrect call signs are gone by now, while KDKA remains. And it shares its call sign with KDKA-TV and KDKA-FM.
But there's no good explanation for KYW, KQV or KFIZ. KQV Pittsburgh says it went on the air even before KDKA, as an experimental station in 1919. KFIZ Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, signed on in 1923. Neither can say how it got a K call sign. KYW is an even more complicated story. It went on the air in Chicago in 1921, also owned by Westinghouse. It later moved to Philadelphia, then Cleveland, then back to Philadelphia. But all those cities are well east of the Mississippi. So how did it get a K call sign? It's likely we will never know.
BTW, I am not counting K stations in markets or states that straddle the Mississippi, such as KJMS Olive Branch MS or KUUL East Moline IL. Stations in a handful of markets, such as Memphis and the Quad Cities, as well as the states of Minnesota and Louisiana, can choose whether they want K or W call signs, regardless of which side of the river they are licensed.
But not so east of the Mississippi. The dividing line was never in the East. So how do KDKA, KYW, KQV and KFIZ have those call signs? We know the answer for KDKA but not the others.
The same week the Westinghouse station in East Pittsburgh got its K call letters, that government office also made incorrect K call sign grants for other stations as well, some for broadcasting, some for ship-to-shore communications. All those other incorrect call signs are gone by now, while KDKA remains. And it shares its call sign with KDKA-TV and KDKA-FM.
But there's no good explanation for KYW, KQV or KFIZ. KQV Pittsburgh says it went on the air even before KDKA, as an experimental station in 1919. KFIZ Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, signed on in 1923. Neither can say how it got a K call sign. KYW is an even more complicated story. It went on the air in Chicago in 1921, also owned by Westinghouse. It later moved to Philadelphia, then Cleveland, then back to Philadelphia. But all those cities are well east of the Mississippi. So how did it get a K call sign? It's likely we will never know.
BTW, I am not counting K stations in markets or states that straddle the Mississippi, such as KJMS Olive Branch MS or KUUL East Moline IL. Stations in a handful of markets, such as Memphis and the Quad Cities, as well as the states of Minnesota and Louisiana, can choose whether they want K or W call signs, regardless of which side of the river they are licensed.
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