WGSP (1310

kHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one h ...

) is a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radi ...

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

, known as ''Latina 102.3 y 107.5''. It is owned by Norsan Media and broadcasts a

Spanish-language Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a global language with more than 500 million native speakers, mainly in the Am ...

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when radio was compelle ...

. Programming is

trimulcast In broadcasting, a trimulcast is a cluster of three radio stations and/or translators that play the same feed. Normally this is done in order to have full coverage of a certain area. Some stations use this technique to provide rimshot coverage in ...

on WGSP-FM 102.3

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one h ...

and

FM translator A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tra ...

W298CF at 107.5 MHz. Programming is also heard on

1060 AM 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

WXNC WXNC (1060 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Monroe, North Carolina, serving the Charlotte metropolitan area. It broadcasts a Spanish language adult contemporary radio format, originating on WGSP 1310 AM.Franco Ordoñez, "City's Top Span ...

Monroe Monroe or Monroes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Monroe (surname) * Monroe (given name) * James Monroe, 5th President of the United States Places United States * Monroe, Arkansas, an unincorporated community and census-designate ...

and its translator at 97.3 MHz. By day, WGSP is powered at 5,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...

s non-directional. But to protect other stations on

1310 AM The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 1310 kHz: The Federal Communications Commission classifies 1310 AM as a regional frequency. In Argentina * LRA42 in Gualeguaychú, Entre Ríos. * LRG379 in Piedra del Aguila, Neuquén. ...

, it greatly reduces power at night to 240 watts and switches to a

directional antenna A directional antenna or beam antenna is an antenna which radiates or receives greater power in specific directions allowing increased performance and reduced interference from unwanted sources. Directional antennas provide increased performan ...

. The

radio studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large en ...

s are on East Independence Boulevard in Charlotte. The

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to ...

is off Bellaire Drive, near West Brookshire Freeway (

North Carolina Highway 16 North Carolina Highway 16 (NC 16) is a 143.8-mile (231.4 km) primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Traveling in a north–south direction, it connects the cities and towns of Charlotte, Newton, Conover, Tayl ...

) in Charlotte.

FM Translator

In addition to the main station on 1310

, WGSP programming is relayed to an

History

On August 23, 1958, the station

signed on Signing may refer to: * Using sign language * Signature, placing one's name on a document * Signature (disambiguation) * Manual communication, signing as a form of communication using the hands in place of the voice * Digital signature A dig ...

as WKTC as a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...

station. It was a

daytimer A clear-channel station is an AM radio station in North America that has the highest protection from interference from other stations, particularly concerning night-time skywave propagation. The system exists to ensure the viability of cross-co ...

station, required to go off the air at night. WKTC

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...

Johnny Jacobs demonstrated that a person could live in a

fallout shelter A fallout shelter is an enclosed space specially designated to protect occupants from radioactive debris or fallout resulting from a nuclear explosion. Many such shelters were constructed as civil defense measures during the Cold War. Durin ...

for a long period of time (which people during the Cold War feared they would have to do), spending a week there and contacting the station by phone. 1310 AM became Charlotte's first full-time

Christian radio Christian radio is a Christian media radio format that focus on programming with a Christian message. Many such broadcasters play contemporary Christian music, though many programs include sermons, radio dramas, as well as news and talk prog ...

station, WHVN, in August 1971 around the time George H. Buck Jr. bought the station. As of 1980, about 65 percent of programming was "spoken word". When the

1240 Year 1240 ( MCCXL) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * May 24 – Duke Skule Bårdsson, claimant to the Norwegian throne, is defeated by King H ...

frequency became available early in the 80s, allowing 24-hour broadcasts, WHVN moved from 1310, which only allowed a daytime signal. WGSP ("Great Sounds of the Past") returned to the air as one of Charlotte's first

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as wel ...

stations, playing a wide variety of standard pop hits and "

beach music Beach music, also known as Carolina beach music, and to a lesser extent, Beach pop, is a regional genre of music in the United States which developed from rock/ R&B and pop music of the 1950s and 1960s. Beach music is most closely associate ...

." In 1985, with no other area stations playing

classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prim ...

this small AM station became one of the first in the country to shape a format around vintage rock and roll from the 1960s and 1970s. WGSP became the second most listened to AM station in the market. At its peak, the WGSP air staff included Program Director Paul Ingles, Rick Ballew, Fielding Spicer, David Appleford, Phil England and Darby James. After a couple of years of growth by WGSP, other FM stations in the region adopted the "Classic Rock" format and, with their better signals, WGSP lost audience and was sold to religious broadcasters. WGSP became a

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

station and this format continued until 2004, when the switch was made to the current format. During 2006 and 2007, WGSP's programming aired on WGSP-FM, at 102.3 FM. Programs included "La Voz del Immigrante" ("The Voice of the Immigrant").Franco Ordoñez, "The Local News en Español - Spanish-Language Media Growing to Meet Needs of Charlotte's Burgeoning Latino Community, ''The Charlotte Observer'', December 29, 2005. WGSP has simulcast the La Tremenda Network with

References

External links

Listen To The Story Of WGSP as a Classic Rock Station
http://www.paulingles.com/ramFiles/WGSPCLIP1.ram]
website
{{Charlotte Radio Radio stations in the Charlotte metropolitan area, GSP (AM) Regional Mexican radio stations in the United States GSP (AM) Radio stations established in 1965