New England RadioWatch: June 27, 1996

KF2XBF Solved, etc.

by Scott Fybush

• After almost a year, the final questions appear to have been answered about an unusual radio station that had many New England radio folks scratching their heads. I first mentioned KF2XBF in the August 30, 1995, New England RadioWatcher:

  There's a new experimental FM in town. Avis Rent-a-Car is operating, or at least sponsoring, KF2XBF 88.5 FM at Boston's Logan Airport. The station runs a HALF-HOUR long loop of tourism information and Avis ads. Yes, ads. Yes, 88.5 FM. No, I don't have an explanation. At least it doesn't get out too far...15 miles away, here in the western suburb of Waltham, I still get WFCR Amherst MA on 88.5.

  The station stayed on the air for months, and other listeners elsewhere in the country heard similar airport-based operations popping up -- 105.7 at Newark Airport, among others. I heard one in Chicago at 101.5. They all vanished in February, and an article in the June 26 Radio World explains why.

  It seems KF2XBF (the RW article says "KF2XFB," but that was not the call I heard on any of the stations I taped) was an experimental license issued for the purpose of experimenting with "providing live on-site radio broadcasts to attendees at sporting events." Authorized frequencies included 530-1705 kHz with 40 watts and 88.1-107.9 MHz with 10 watts.

  Only problem was, the programming had nothing to do with sporting events or live on-site broadcasts...and that piqued the interest of a few New England broadcasters, including Ed Perry of WATD-FM (95.9) in Marshfield MA, and WERS-FM (88.9, not 89.1 as RW stated) at Boston's Emerson College. They complained to the FCC...and that set the ball rolling towards an FCC letter this past spring that closed down KF2XBF. (The RW article says everyone in town thought the station was an unlicensed Part 15 at first -- I guess they weren't reading New England RadioWatcher!)

  So that seems to be the end of that for now. Curious ears can hear what KF2XBF sounded like by checking out the audio samples here in the Boston Radio Archives.

• Up in the Burlington VT market, the sounds on the dial are about to change a bit. WWGT 96.7 Vergennes VT has been testing with modern-rock, and will reportedly become ''Burlington's Pulse.'' I've heard rumors that the station wants the WBPS calls; in which case it would actually be ''WBPS-FM,'' since WBPS is already on AM 890 Dedham-Boston. 96.7 is co-owned with WCPV 101.3 Essex- Burlington VT, the classic rocker known as "The Champ." Across the lake in Plattsburgh NY, 100kw adult-contemporary FM outlet WGFB 99.9 is being LMA'd to the owners of rocker WIZN 106.7 Vergennes-Burlington VT. Look for the programming to wake up on the sleepy, underperforming ''B100,'' which puts a solid signal into Burlington. WGFB's sister AM, WEAV 960, is reportedly up for sale...it's been simulcasting the FM for years, breaking away only for Montreal Expos games. And M Street reports that WRJT 103.1 in Royalton VT (near White River Junction) is about to sign on simulcasting rocker WNCS 104.7 Montpelier VT.

• Meanwhile back in southern New England, Rhode Island's modern- rocker, ''The Edge,'' is branching out. As reported here a few weeks back, WDGE 99.7 Wakefield-Peace Dale RI is now simulcast on newly co-owned WOTB 100.3 Middletown-Newport RI, and apparently the new 100.3 is being aimed at the New Bedford-Fall River MA area. A billboard seen on I-195 in Fall River declares, ''You can hear us now! 100.3 the Edge.'' Meantime, New Bedford's WCTK 98.1 (''Cat Country'') and WNBH 1340 have both found new homes after vacating their longtime home at 737 County St. WCTK is in Providence now, in the same office building at 75 Oxford St. that's home to WWRX 103.7/WWBB 101.5 (and was once home to WLKW 790/WWLI 105.1), and WNBH is in a new New Bedford facility on Purchase Street. Other newish RI facilities include new homes for WPNW 550 Pawtucket/WWRX 106.3 Woonsocket, at 1110 Central Ave., Pawtucket (moving from the 550 transmitter site on John Street for the AM, and the WARA-1320 facility at 8 N. Main, Attleboro MA for the FM); and for WPMZ-1110 East Providence, at 1270 Mineral Spring Ave., N. Providence. WHIM 1450 West Warwick is now operating from the 49 Pavilion St., Providence, office that used to house 1110 AM when *it* was WHIM Country.

• In business news, commercial classical WBOQ 104.9 Gloucester MA has been sold -- but it's all in the family. Woody Tanger's Marlin Broadcasting is buying the station from Tanger's brother Douglas. The price was $3.2 million, after Woody talked Douglas down from the $4 million asking price. The format will stay classical, like Marlin's other stations, including WTMI 93.1 Miami. (Marlin recently sold its Detroit and Philadelphia stations to American Radio Systems). And in Connecticut, the new Capstar Broadcasting's purchase of Commodore Media includes WEFX/WNLK Norwalk, WSTC/WKHL Stamford, and WINE/WRKI Brookfield- Danbury, as well as an AM and two FMs across the line in New York state.