WKND (1480

kHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base uni ...

) is a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services ** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money * a dose of advertising ...

AM radio station licensed to the city of

Windsor, Connecticut Windsor is a New England town, town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, and was the first English settlement in the state. It lies on the northern border of Connecticut's capital, Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The town is part of ...

. Both the transmitter site and the studios are in Windsor. WKND is owned by Gois Broadcasting of Connecticut, LLC. WKND operates with 500 watts during the day and 14 watts at night. WKND airs a

R'n'B Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

and

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compo ...

format. Its programming is also heard on

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 tr ...

W248CR (97.5).

History

WKND signed on in 1961, as WSOR, and featured a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

and

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

format. It was a 500-watt daytime-only station. After a couple sales of the station in the mid-1960s, WSOR became WEHW in 1966. In 1969, The KND Corporation purchased the station, and changed the callsign to WKND. A format change to R&B soon followed, and WKND became the first radio station in the state to feature a format targeting the African American community. In 1981, Hartcom Inc. purchased the station. Hartcom was formed by an all-minority group of individuals committed to keeping the station serving the African-American community. Studios eventually moved to the Windsor Parkade Shopping Center. Major transmitter site renovations were undertaken in the mid-1990s, with the replacement of the station's three towers and a retuning of the station's directional antenna pattern.Hartford Radio History's page on WKND
/ref> In 2004, under an LMA with Freedom Communications of Connecticut, WKND's call sign and format moved to Freedom's

WNEZ WNEZ (1230 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a Spanish variety format. Licensed to Manchester, Connecticut, United States, the station serves the Hartford-New Britain- Middletown area. The station is owned by Gois Broadcasting of Connecticut, ...

(1230 AM). With the move to 1230, WKND became a 24-hour station for the first time and got a power boost to 1,000 watts. They ran on-air announcements "The all-new 24 Hour, Twice the Power WKND 1230 AM". The 1480 facility then took the WNEZ call letters from 1230 AM and became

urban gospel Urban/contemporary gospel, also known as urban gospel music, urban gospel pop, or just simply urban gospel, is a modern subgenre of gospel music. Although the style developed gradually, early forms are generally dated to the 1970s, and the genr ...

-formatted "Heaven 1480" for a few months, and then became Spanish oldies "La X 1480". WNEZ soon joined its sister stations

WLAT WLAT (910 kHz, ''La Mega 101.7'') is a commercial AM radio station licensed to New Britain, Connecticut, and serving the Greater Hartford market. WLAT airs a Latin pop, reggaeton and tropical music radio format. Owned by Gois Broadcasting, WL ...

and WKND at 330 Main Street in Hartford. Freedom Communications ended up in receivership, and in 2007, WKND and its R&B oldies format returned to 1480, with 1230, going back to WNEZ and a Spanish-language format. Gois Broadcasting acquired WLAT and WNEZ in 2008, and WKND in 2009. The three stations were moved into new studios on Burnside Avenue in East Hartford shortly thereafter.

Translators

References

External links

* * {{Hartford Radio 1961 establishments in Connecticut KND Radio stations established in 1961 KND Tropical music radio stations