107.1 Armadillo(KPUR)?

[bucwhyl]

I do remember The Hawk.  Chip, do you remember when 1440 was KPUR AM, and it was urban?  Man those were the good ol' days.  I was going to Tascosa High School back then.  I think it was "The Rhythm of the City".  That was 1985, 1986?...

[radioaircheck]

Is there no Oldies station in Amarillo now?

[Mediafrog+]

KQIZ-FM 93.1 shifted from CHR "Z93" to "93-1 the Beat" in 2000

KQIZ went on the air around Thanksgiving, 1976.  Very slick AC format at the time, which they screwed up after only two or three years.

96.9 was AC KLSF until it became country KMML-FM in 1993 (picked up from 98.7).  KMML-FM flipped to CHR "Kiss" in 2007, and taking the current KXSS-FM calls in 2008.

96.9 went on the air in the Spring of 1985, with an AC format very similar to what KQIZ had once run.

98.7 also has had a fair number of formats.  It changed from country KMML to hot AC KQAC "Q99" in 1993.  It later picked up ABC's hot AC format as KNSY "Sunny 98.7."  In the late 1990s, it became CHR KPRF "Power 98.7" and then "Kiss." In 2007, it changed to adult hits "Jack FM."

98.7 went on the air in the Fall of 1978 as KYTX "KY99" with an AOR format.  Flipped to country KMML in January 1983 shortly after Mel Tillis bought it and KIXZ.

101.9 was AC KZZQ until it changed to easy listening KESE in 1988.  After a couple months of that, it changed to country.  In 1990, it flipped to rock KATP "Rock 102 the Cat." It went to country in the mid-1990s.

101.9 began in 1976 as KWAS, a religious station with preachers and CCM music.  It flipped around 1986.  Isn't KRGN in some way a lineal descendant of KWAS?

104.3 was rock KDXR until it went silent in 1988.  It came back as country KQFX "the Fox" before the Spanish-language formats.

104.3 was pretty much a Borger local until a signal upgrade placed it in the Amarillo market.  Can't remember if it was the sister to now-defunct KBBB 1600, or KQTY.
 

107.1 was rock KATP until 1988 when it became KHWK.  KHWK ran then-Transtar's 24/7 satellite Niche 29 top 40/rock format as "the Hawk."  It too went silent for a while.  After that it became oldies KPUR-FM.

107.1 went on the air in January 1981 as KHBQ "Q-107".  Fairly nicely done AC format, although the morning show (hosted by the owner and his wife) was awful.

[Kent]

104.3 was pretty much a Borger local until a signal upgrade placed it in the Amarillo market.  Can't remember if it was the sister to now-defunct KBBB 1600, or KQTY.

I believe KDXR was sister to KBBB.
 

[txchipk]

Although not always super accurate, the 1981 Broadcasting Yearbook shows the Amarillo stations as:

KGNC 710 Amarillo: MOR, farm, country
KIXZ 940 Amarillo: country
KDJW 1010 Amarillo: country
KZIP 1310 Amarillo: country
KQIZ 1360 Amarillo: top 40
KPUR 1440 Amarillo: top 40
KHBJ 1550 Canyon: MOR (AC)

KACV-FM 89.9 Amarillo: AOR, classical, jazz
KQIZ-FM 93.1 Amarillo: top 40 (co-owned with KQIZ; "dups AM 20%")
KBUY-FM 94.1 Amarillo: "Contemp." (co-owned with KDJW 1010)
KGNC-FM 97.9 Amarillo: beautiful music (co-owned with KGNC 710)
KYTX-FM 98.7 Amarillo: new, not yet on air (co-owned with KZIP 1310)
KWAS 101.9 Amarillo: Christian

104.3 Borger was top 40 KDKQ then and co-owned with KBBB 1600; at 180' 26 kw, it doesn't look like it had moved in yet. At 10 watts, KWTS 91.1 Canyon wasn't reaching Amarillo either.

[Mediafrog+]

Although not always super accurate, the 1981 Broadcasting Yearbook shows the Amarillo stations as:

That yearbook was way out of date, especially with KYTX 98.7, which had been on the air for three years at the time.  KBUY was Country, not "Contemp."  KZIP had flipped in 1980 to Album Rock, simulcasting sister KYTX during the morning show, but separate the rest of the day.  KZIP was sold in 1981 and flipped to a Spanish language format.

98.7's early history is somewhat interesting: IIRC, in the mid-70's Jimmy Swaggart had the original CP for the station, with the KFRN call.  When KWAS beat them to the punch with the first Christian station in Amarillo, Swaggart sold the FM CP to the owners of KZIP 1310.  The call for the CP was changed to KZIP-FM, and it appeared that the new station would launch with a Country format.  But when it finally hit the air in the Fall of 1978, it was with Album Rock and the KYTX call.

104.3 Borger was top 40 KDKQ then and co-owned with KBBB 1600; at 180' 26 kw, it doesn't look like it had moved in yet.

I recall being able to hear the station with a weak signal in Amarillo in those days, but not at a comfortable level that would draw any listeners.  Basically a Borger local.

Surprised that KOMX 100.3 in Pampa hasn't gone after a big upgrade.  I recall it had a listenable signal in Amarillo when it hit the air around 1980.  Not great, but much better than the Borger station.

At 10 watts, KWTS 91.1 Canyon wasn't reaching Amarillo either.

KWTS would get out around 10 miles...to the north it was listenable up to I-27 @ Bell, then faded out shortly after that.

[Jamey K]

I do remember The Hawk.  Chip, do you remember when 1440 was KPUR AM, and it was urban?  Man those were the good ol' days.  I was going to Tascosa High School back then.  I think it was "The Rhythm of the City".  That was 1985, 1986?...

You're right...1986-87   Rhythm Of The City.

[Rock Oil]

The station vehicle was sighted at the monster truck deal on Saturday.  Most impressive.  A jacked up truck with monster tires.  Probably the most impressive station vehicle in the market now.

With a truck like that you gotta believe some sort of talent/local morning show/etc is coming.  Bold move by Cumulus.  Thought they were going to dry up and go away.  Now the stock has tripled and they're flipping signals.  Sounds like they are far from done.

Wonder if they traded the wheels or if they shelled out for it?  I'm betting trade.

Competition is good.

[marxman]

Folks-

...as most of you know I have been wanting to come back to the market for awhile now and when I heard about the new station I got on the phone right away....here is what I have learned from somebody IN THE BUILDING that knows what is what.....They DON'T plan to hire a staff anytime soon....a voice tracker will be on at some point, but the person may already be in the building....this person also told me that they might not hire any staff at all!

Marxman

[radioaircheck]

Who didn't see that one coming?  (NO AIR STAFF)