KQV now in the hands of BCI
May 22, 2018The license for KQV (1410) has been handed over from Calvary, Inc. to Broadcast Communications, Inc. effective May 22. Many radio enthusiasts have reported hearing the station on in recent days and weeks. Part of that was to test and maintain the equipment as required by the FCC. All broadcasting heard on KQV is still being done from the 70+ year old 5-tower site in Ross Township. A “resumption of operations” was filed with the commission on May 15 and the station has been airing the old time radio programs 24/7.
A station can be “dark” for up to a year after filing a “silence authority” after which a license is cancelled. Originally, the one year mark would have been December 31, 2018, but with the May 15 resumption, that date will change to a year from the day a new silence STA is filed. It seems that the resumption allows BCI more time to take some necessary steps to continue the life of KQV.
As the 5-tower site has not been included in the sale, BCI has to move the transmitter and has filed to do so with the FCC. It takes time for such moves to be approved by the commission and then it will take time to build at the new site. The plan is to diplex on the WEDO Tower in North Versailles with a 5000 watt non-directional daytime signal, dropping to 75 watts at night. There is no word if Calvary, Inc. would reconsider selling the tower site to BCI as it is believed that the land could rake in more cash if the land is sold for other purposes. (Many AM sites are being sold for their land value… one of the most recent examples being WMAL in Washington, DC.)
Radio enthusiasts have been watching this sale closely given the station’s age and history. KQV signed on as experimental station 8ZAE in November, 1919 and the FCC maintains the commercial license wasn’t issued until January, 1922. Thus a long-time debate continues as to which truly came first… KDKA or KQV.
Thanks for the concise explanation, since there are lots of rumors floating around (even in my own head).
KDKA has always taken a media leadership position, so it’s no surprise that they’d want to be seen as the first broadcaster, even though history shows there were a number of stations, run by radio amateurs, that did regularly scheduled transmissions of gramophone records and voice to the public, even before 1919.
Boomer
As far as the land being sold for other purposes, apparently there is much opposition in Ross Township to opening this land for more housing development. That is what would provide the greatest return to Calvary. Ultimately I think developers would prevail, given local government’s endless thirst for more property tax revenue. But it might take months or even years to fend off all of the challenges. Would Calvary be willing to entertain a lower offer from BCI now, rather than wait years for a bigger return? I suppose we shall see.
Given the same issue with an adjacent piece of property that St. Sebastian Parish tried to sell to developers, don’t give in to the developers just yet. Added to which, the site is landlocked by North Hills Village to the front and the narrow and steep Oak Glen Drive to the rear – the site’s only access. The site is zoned residential and cannot be accessed from commercial property (NH Village).
I Wish KQV 1410 reformat to AC/Oldies format or Full-Service format just like KDKA from the 60’s to the early 90’s