| Simulcast ofWDCX-FM,Buffalo | |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Rochester metropolitan area |
| Frequency | 990kHz |
| Branding | Truth 990 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Religious |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WDCX-FM,WDCZ | |
| History | |
First air date | 1979 (on AM 990) 1947 (on AM 680) |
Former call signs | WRNY (1947–1955) WRVM (1957–1965) WNYR (1965–1988) WEZO (1988–1990) WRMM (1990–1993) WCMF (1993–1997) WDCZ (1997–1999) WLGZ (1999-5/2008) WRCI (5/2008-9/2008) |
Former frequencies | 680 kHz (1947–1979) |
Call sign meaning | Donald Crawford (owner) + X (Christian cross) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 1906 |
| Class | B |
| Power | 5,000watts day 2,500 watts night |
Transmitter coordinates | 43°13′54″N77°52′0″W / 43.23167°N 77.86667°W /43.23167; -77.86667 |
| Translator(s) | 107.1 W296EF (Rochester) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | www |
WDCX (990kHz) is a commercialAMradio stationlicensed toRochester, New York. The station airs abrokeredreligiousradio format. WDCX's license is held by Kimtron, Inc. which is owned byCrawford Broadcasting.[2] WDCX was asister station to 102.7WLGZ-FM (which previously occupied the AM 990 frequency).[3]
WDCX and former sister station WLGZ studios and offices are on Browncroft Boulevard in Rochester. Thetransmitter is off Clarkson Parma Townline Road inBrockport, New York.[4]
WDCX programming originates from co-owned 99.5WDCX-FM inBuffalo, New York. It is alsosimulcast on 970WDCZ in Buffalo. As a brokered time station, nationally known religious leaders pay WDCX for their half hour segments on the station, and appeal to the listeners for contributions. Hosts on WDCX include Dr.Charles Stanley,Jim Daly,Chuck Swindoll andJay Sekulow.
The station now known as WDCX has its roots in an earlier radio station, on a different frequency. In 1947,WRNYsigned on at 680 kHz.[5] It was a low-power (250watts)daytime-only station because it was on the sameclear channel frequency as 25,000–wattCFTR—Toronto, which is only about 100 miles away from Rochesteras the crow flies. (Today, CFTR runs 50,000 watts and can be heard in some areas of Rochester.) WRNY added an FM sister station (FM 97.7, today 97.9WPXY-FM) primarily to give the station a night signal, but in the 1950s, few listeners had FM radios. WRNY-FMsigned off by 1955.
From 1957 to 1965, WRNY ran atop 40 format, switching to the call signWRVM ("Rochester's Voice of Music"). In 1965, the top 40 music was gone and in its place was acountry music format under a new call sign,WNYR. Country music lasted 22 years on the channel. A new sister station, WNYR-FM (nowWRMM-FM), signed on in 1966, this time becoming permanent. The AM station moved from 680 kHz to 990 kHz in early July 1979, allowing the station to broadcast 24 hours a day. In 1987, as country music became more popular on FM radio, 92.5WBEE-FM was established. WNYR lost its advantage to WBEE and gave up on country music.
The station changed call signs, and formats, toadult standardsWEZO on June 21, 1988. (That same year, Malrite Communications sold the station toBoston-based Atlantic Ventures.) On February 26, 1990, the station changed its call sign toWRMM, and began simulcastingthe FM'sadult contemporary format. Then on May 14, 1993, after Atlantic Ventures merged with two other broadcasting companies to formAmerican Radio Systems, WRMM switched toWCMF, and switched to simulcastingtheir FM namesake'sclassic rock format; the following year, the AM adopted asports talk format. On August 1, 1997, after the station was sold from American Radio Systems to its current owner Crawford Communications, it became religious-formattedWDCZ; on December 1, 1999, the call letters changed toWLGZ and the station returned to adult standards. On February 11, 2008, the station's "Legends" format was modified to incorporate moreoldies andsoft adult contemporary material, and officially moved to sister stationWLGZ-FM 102.7 (formerlyWRCI "The Light", aContemporary Christian station).
On May 23, 2008, AM 990 began broadcasting religious programming under the call signWRCI which was previously assigned to WLGZ-FM prior to February 11, 2008, effectively accomplishing a call sign swap between the AM and FM stations.[6]
On September 1, 2008, the call sign was changed again toWDCX to match with sister station WDCX-FM in Buffalo.
