WYKR-FM

WYKR-FM
Broadcast areaNortheast Vermont & Northwest New Hampshire
Frequency101.3 MHz
BrandingWYKR Country 101.3
Programming
FormatCountry
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
  • Joshua Smith
  • (Yankee Kingdom Media Corp.)
History
First air date
February 19, 1990 (1990-02-19)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID53866
ClassA
ERP3,000 watts
HAAT12 meters (39 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
44°6′49.2″N 71°58′52.3″W / 44.113667°N 71.981194°W / 44.113667; -71.981194
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Websitewww.wykr.com
Simulcast
WTWN
Frequency1100 kHz
Ownership
Owner
  • Joshua Smith
  • (Yankee Kingdom Media Corp.)
History
First air date
October 3, 1976 (1976-10-03)
Former call signs
WYKR (1976–1999)
Former frequencies
1490 kHz (1976–1987)
Call sign meaning
"Twin State"[2]
Technical information[3]
Facility ID53865
ClassD
Power
Transmitter coordinates
44°8′55.23″N 72°4′0.33″W / 44.1486750°N 72.0667583°W / 44.1486750; -72.0667583 (WTWN)
Translator(s)105.1 W286DE (Wells River)
Links
Public license information

WYKR-FM (101.3 FM) is a radio station licensed to serve Haverhill, New Hampshire. It airs a country music format.[4] WYKR-FM's programming is also heard on daytime-only station WTWN (1100 AM) and FM translator W286DE (105.1) in Wells River, Vermont. Both WYKR-FM and WTWN are owned by Joshua Smith's Yankee Kingdom Media Corp.

History

WYKR went on the air October 3, 1976, under the ownership of Eugene and Harold Puffer, doing business as the Puffer Brothers.[5][6] The station's studios were located in the former Wells River Graded School.[5] Harold Puffer left the station in 1981 to return to the insurance business; the following year, Eugene Puffer—who had previously worked at WCVR in Randolph—transferred WYKR's license to a new company, Puffer Broadcasting.[5] WYKR was a 1,000-watt station at 1490 kHz until 1987, when it moved to 1100 kHz and boosted power to 5,000 watts.[5]

In the late 1980s, Puffer Broadcasting obtained a construction permit for an FM station at 101.3 MHz, with the intent of simulcasting WYKR's country music programming.[5] The new station was assigned the WYKR-FM call sign by the Federal Communications Commission on November 10, 1988,[7] and went on the air February 19, 1990.[8] The AM station changed its call sign from WYKR to WTWN, for "Twin State",[2] on April 16, 1999;[9] by June 2000, WTWN was a Christian radio station.[10]

Puffer Broadcasting sold WYKR-FM and WTWN to Joshua Smith, through his Yankee Kingdom Media Corp., for $125,000 in 2023; the stations' towers, which the Puffers had separately held through Mill Street Enterprises, were also concurrently acquired by Smith.[11]

Translator

Broadcast translator for WTWN
Call sign Frequency City of license FID ERP (W) Class Transmitter coordinates FCC info
W286DE 105.1 FM Wells River, Vermont 200081 250 D 44°6′49″N 71°58′52″W / 44.11361°N 71.98111°W / 44.11361; -71.98111 (W286DE) LMS

References

  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WYKR-FM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ a b "Call Letter Changes". The M Street Journal. May 5, 1999. p. 6.
  3. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WTWN". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  4. ^ "Winter 2008 Station Information Profile". Arbitron.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Voices From The Hills" (PDF). Vermont Association of Broadcasters. May 19, 1989. p. 43. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  6. ^ "WYKR (WTWN) history cards" (PDF). CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  7. ^ "WYKR-FM Call Sign History". FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database.
  8. ^ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1999 (PDF). 1999. p. D-280. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  9. ^ "WTWN Call Sign History". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  10. ^ Fybush, Scott (June 23, 2000). "CRTC Picks Three in Toronto". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  11. ^ Venta, Lance (May 26, 2023). "Station Sales Week Of 5/26". RadioInsight. Retrieved May 21, 2024.