A brokered programming business model has kept the station on the air for 26 years
BY JAMES CARELESS
PUBLISHED: JULY 24, 2024
There are all kinds of shortwave radio stations in the world, but WBCQ seems unique.
Allan Weiner at the foot of the rotatable antenna installed in 2018.
Located in Monticello, Maine, WBCQ is an up-to-500,000 watt shortwave powerhouse that covers the world via 7.490 MHz, 9.330 MHz, 5.130 MHz, 3.265 MHz, and 6.160 MHz — depending on the time of day, to maximize signal propagation by bouncing off the ionosphere.
The same rural broadcasting center and antenna/transmitter site is also home to local stations WXME(AM) — carrying talk and rock music on 780 kHz with a translator on 98.3 MHz — and WBCQ(FM), airing classic country on 94.7.
“WBCQ is probably the only shortwave, AM and FM combination radio station in the United States,” said Allan Weiner, a lifelong radio broadcaster/engineer who has owned and operated it with his wife Angela since 1998. “It’s a ma-and-pa station. I’m Pa, and Ma is sitting next to me right now.”
Additional story at: https://www.radioworld.com/news-and-business/news-makers/wbcq-a-one-of-a-kind-shortwave-radio-station
(Photo/Radio World)