1 of 1- RadioActive
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Touring WUFO, Buffalo’s First Black Radio Station
To mark Black History Month, WKBW-TV takes viewers on a tour of one of Buffalo's most unique radio stations - WUFO.
It used to be on 1080 only with a fairly weak signal that barely reached the GTA. Now it's added a low power FM repeater, but that only makes the confines of Western New York. Which is why I find this statement in the story curious.
"The AM station can be heard across Western New York and all the way down into Geneseo, Jamestown, and across the border into Mississauga in Canada. The FM reaches the Western New York region."
Is this true? The 1080 signal gets into Mississauga? Because I know here in northern North York, I can barely hear them at all over-the-air.
Either way, it's a heritage radio station that co-exists with its much more powerful and better known WBLK. But both seem to be doing just fine.
Touring WUFO, Buffalo’s First Black Radio Station
- mace
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Re: Touring WUFO, Buffalo’s First Black Radio Station
As a kid growing up in Oakville, I could pick up WUFO on my first transistor radio [1965] with a listenable [to a dxer] signal. These days, with all the increased electrical interference, driving around the GTA you can hear it with a lot of static. Zero chance of receiving the FM repeater on 96.5. If I get anything on that frequency, it will be Rochester's WCMF on tropo.
- RadioAaron
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Re: Touring WUFO, Buffalo’s First Black Radio Station
RadioActive wrote:
Either way, it's a heritage radio station that co-exists with its much more powerful and better known WBLK. But both seem to be doing just fine.
Touring WUFO, Buffalo’s First Black Radio Station
Interestingly, both stations sort of brand as "POWER" on their websites, but clearly go by their call letters primarily. Anyone know the history there?
- mace
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Re: Touring WUFO, Buffalo’s First Black Radio Station
The 1080 frequency in Western New York has had a number of call letters over the past number of decades. WKEN, WMAK, WXRA, WINE, WYSL and finally WUFO. As WINE, it became Buffalo's first top 40 station in October 1957, almost 8 months before WKBW. The station owner moved WINE from 1080 to 1400 and changed the call letters to WYSL. He then sold the 1080 frequency to Dynamic Broadcasting in 1961 and WUFO was born.