WJLS-FM in Beckley, WV turns 80 today. A reunion party is planned for tonight for former employees, clients, and community members. WJLS was launched back in 1939 by Joe L. Smith, which is how the station became WJLS. The 80th anniversary party will be held this evening from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the station offices in Beckley. The station is owned by The West Virginia Radio Group.
They came on the air only about a year after Major Armstrong put his experimental W2XMN on the air in Alpine, NJ! Since FM stations were not allowed to operate commercially until 1940, that would make WJLS one of the experimental pioneers in the old 42-50 Mc (yes, they were called megacycles back then) FM band. What was the experimental callsign of WJLS and what was its early commercial callsign? When FM stations were first allowed to operate commercially, their callsigns looked like translator callsigns do today, with a W or K, a two-digit number related to the station’s frequency, and one or two letters. For example, WOR’s FM outlet in New York operated on 47.1 Mc and had the callsign W71NY.
Congratulations to WJLS, a pioneer that is still going strong!
Do any of you remember the dual-band FM receivers that came out after World War II, with both the 42-50 and 88-108 bands on them?