WAGL - AM 1560 - Lancaster, SC

March 2, 1960: Palmetto Broadcasting System, Inc. files application with the Federal Communications Commission for a construction permit to build a new AM station on 1560khz at Lancaster, S. C. March 28, 1962: The Federal Communications Commission issues a grant to Palmetto Broadcasting System, Inc. for the applied for construction ... See more Palmetto Broadcasting System, Inc. for the applied for construction permit. The permit was for 1,000 watts day/500 watts critical hours on AM clear channel 1560khz. August 7, 1962: The new station commences broadcasting at 10:00 AM under the call letters WAGL. While call letters are not required to stand for anything, the call letters of WAGL were chosen to stand for Weaving A Greater Lancaster...denoting the fact that Lancaster, S. C. was, and is today, a predominantly cotton mill town. At the time the Lancaster Plant of Springs Mills, now Springs Industries, was the largest cotton mill in the world under one roof. The local competing radio station that had begun broadcasting 11 years earlier in Lancaster also chose call letters relating to the town's main industry. Their call letters were WLCM to stand for World's Largest Cotton Mill. March 15, 1967: WAGL pushes the button on a new higher power. Having initally come on the air in 1962 with an authorized power of 1,000 watts, the owners saw the need for a greater coverage area and applied to the FCC for a power increase to 10,000 watts. The application was approved by the FCC after hearings were neccessary due to objections by the ownership of WLCM and another competing application in North Carolina. WAGL went onto the new higher power of 10,000 watts at 9:00 AM on March 15, 1967. The authorization was for 10,000 watts day/500 watts critical hours operating on a non-directional antenna. May 10, 1971: WAGL begins operation of a new antenna system, with FCC approval, that permitted operation at 10,000 watts during critical hours. This new antenna system was a two tower directional array that was used during critical hours. At this point WAGL was permitted to operate at 10,000 watts from sign on to sign off each day, using the new two tower array during critical hours and a one tower non-directional antenna during daylight hours. March 26, 1976: Palmetto Broadcasting System, Inc. applies to the FCC to operate WAGL at AM radio's top authorized power of 50,000 watts. The instant application is for a four tower array to operate on two directional patterns...one for critical hours and another for daylight hours. The transmitter site must be moved from the present location (in the same building with the studio/office, with the towers across the street at 101 S. Woodland Dr. in Lancaster) to a new location on Riverside Road in Lancaster County, approx- imately halfway between Lancaster, S. C. and Rock Hill, S. C. The FCC grants said application in April of 1978 and construction begins. June 15, 1979: WAGL begins program service at 12 noon on the new 50,000 watt facillity becoming one ot America's most powerful AM stations. At that time WAGL becomes one of 136 AM stations in the U. S. (out of a total of 5200+) to be authorized to broadcast at the top power of 50,000 watts. May 5, 1985: WAGL begins broadcasting in AM STEREO. Stereo on AM was a relatively new technology, having been approved by the FCC in 1981. There were no less than 5 techinal/engineering formats that a station could use and some of the first stations to do it, such as WBT Charlotte, N. C. chose the Kahn isolated sideband format. After a couple of years went by it became obvious that the format that was the most likely to become the universally accepted one was the Motorola C-QUAM format. WAGL selects this format and becomes one of the early pioneers in AM STEREO broadcasting. It was a few years later that the FCC designated the Motorola C-QUAM format as the industry standard. April 15, 1998: WAGL begins broadcasting on the internet. The technology of computers had snowballed in recent years and the internet was obviously the wave of the future. By this time computer technology was rapidly working it's way into the broadcast industry like all other industries. WAGL was now deep into computer technology with all music and all commercials stored on computer hard drives, and programing was now being done not by turntable to air and not by CD player to air but by hard drive to air. It was a natural next step to broadcast on the internet. The program service on the internet was seperate from the one on the AM station. The internet program format chosen was Southern Gospel Music. The web site domain becomes www.southerngospelwebwide.com and the transmission technology chosen was IP MULTICASTING. At this juncture about 10% of the radio stations in the U. S. were already broadcasting their on air program service on the internet. However, all of these stations were using the old transmission technology of UDP UNICASTING. WAGL chose the new technology, which today is not yet totally in place on the internet. The reason for this choice being made was that under udp unicasting a station is limited to approximately 500 to 1,000 similtaneous listeners. Under IP MULTICASTING similtaneous listenership is totally unlimited. On April 15, 1998 WAGL becomes the first radio station in the United States to program on the internet using the IP MULTICASTING technology. WAGL and www.southerngospelwebwide.com have made history. The Future: No radio station; indeed, no one stands still. Either you make progress or slide backwards. The future belongs to hard workers and progressive thinkers. WAGL and it's people will endeavor to be in this group.

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