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48-410: The station signed on in 1938 as WTOL, founded by former Toledo prosecutor Frazier Reams (whose family would continue to own the station all the way until 1996). Originally licensed for daytime operations only, WTOL was granted authority for around-the-clock operations in 1939 and affiliated with NBC's Blue Network (later to become ABC Radio) shortly thereafter. Programming on WTOL, until the mid-1960s,

96-460: A broadcast transmitter , a transmitter used in broadcasting , as in FM radio transmitter or television transmitter . This usage typically includes both the transmitter proper, the antenna, and often the building it is housed in. A transmitter can be a separate piece of electronic equipment, or an electrical circuit within another electronic device. A transmitter and a receiver combined in one unit

144-472: A frequency modulation (FM) transmitter, it is added by varying the radio signal's frequency slightly. Many other types of modulation are also used. The radio signal from the transmitter is applied to the antenna , which radiates the energy as radio waves. The antenna may be enclosed inside the case or attached to the outside of the transmitter, as in portable devices such as cell phones, walkie-talkies, and garage door openers . In more powerful transmitters,

192-429: A radio frequency signal which when applied to the antenna produces the radio waves, called the carrier signal . It combines the carrier with the modulation signal, a process called modulation . The information can be added to the carrier in several different ways, in different types of transmitters. In an amplitude modulation (AM) transmitter, the information is added to the radio signal by varying its amplitude . In

240-597: A radio receiver . The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current , which is applied to the antenna . When excited by this alternating current, the antenna radiates radio waves. Transmitters are necessary component parts of all electronic devices that communicate by radio , such as radio (audio) and television broadcasting stations, cell phones , walkie-talkies , wireless computer networks , Bluetooth enabled devices, garage door openers , two-way radios in aircraft, ships, spacecraft, radar sets and navigational beacons. The term transmitter

288-518: A high voltage spark between two conductors. Beginning in 1895, Guglielmo Marconi developed the first practical radio communication systems using these transmitters, and radio began to be used commercially around 1900. Spark transmitters could not transmit audio (sound) and instead transmitted information by radiotelegraphy : the operator tapped on a telegraph key which turned the transmitter on-and-off to produce radio wave pulses spelling out text messages in telegraphic code, usually Morse code . At

336-399: A much larger audience, even topping the ratings of local station WSPD, which remains as a news/talk station, and Detroit stations like WJR and CKLW . WCWA then went through many format changes in the early 1970s, causing it to be jokingly known as "which way radio". In the early 1980s, WCWA Manager, Dan Dudley, took the station in another direction with help from consultant Jim Felton, who

384-413: A radio wave. A radio transmitter is an electronic circuit which transforms electric power from a power source, a battery or mains power, into a radio frequency alternating current to apply to the antenna, and the antenna radiates the energy from this current as radio waves. The transmitter also encodes information such as an audio or video signal into the radio frequency current to be carried by

432-586: A variety of license classes depending on use such as broadcast , marine radio , Airband , Amateur and are restricted to certain frequencies and power levels. A body called the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) allocates the frequency bands in the radio spectrum to various classes of users. In some classes, each transmitter is given a unique call sign consisting of a string of letters and numbers which must be used as an identifier in transmissions. The operator of

480-457: Is also the home of several spoken-word religious shows covering many different faiths. Some of these religious shows have been on WCWA since its inception. All or most of these programs survived the format switch, and can mainly be heard on weekends. 41°38′13″N 83°33′52″W  /  41.63694°N 83.56444°W  / 41.63694; -83.56444 Frazier Reams Henry Frazier Reams Sr. (January 15, 1897 – September 15, 1971)

528-425: Is called a transceiver . The purpose of most transmitters is radio communication of information over a distance. The information is provided to the transmitter in the form of an electronic signal called the modulation signal, such as an audio (sound) signal from a microphone, a video (TV) signal from a video camera, or in wireless networking devices, a digital signal from a computer. The transmitter generates

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576-654: Is the flagship station for Toledo Mud Hens baseball, with all regular season games, playoffs and the Triple-A All-Star Game broadcast. Jim Weber is the play-by-play voice of the Mud Hens, having called the team's games since the mid-1970s. Matt Melzak joins when home and not working his Walleye job at the same time as the Mud Hens game. WCWA is also the flagship of the Toledo Walleye , which played its inaugural season in 2009-2010. Matt Melzak

624-605: Is the play-by-play announcer for the Walleye. WCWA also carries University of Toledo women's basketball, with Jim Heller calling the plays courtside. Since 1969, the station engineer at WCWA and WIOT (named Chief Engineer in 1974) has been the legendary Dennis Moon. WCWA was known for having a clearer, fuller sound than most AM stations that offered music programming. This has been attributed by many who have worked there to Moon's decades-long devotion to WCWA's audio quality. The "Moon-unit" updated WCWA to digital HD Radio (IBOC) in

672-411: Is usually limited to equipment that generates radio waves for communication purposes; or radiolocation , such as radar and navigational transmitters. Generators of radio waves for heating or industrial purposes, such as microwave ovens or diathermy equipment, are not usually called transmitters, even though they often have similar circuits. The term is popularly used more specifically to refer to

720-708: The House from 1951 to 1955, during the 82nd and 83rd Congresses, and represented the ninth congressional district of Ohio . However, in 1954, Reams was unsuccessful in his bid for a third term in Congress, losing his seat to a fellow Democrat, Thomas Ludlow Ashley . In 1951, Reams served as a delegate to the Council of Europe . In 1953 and 1954, he was a delegate to the Interparliamentary Union Conference. From 1937 to 1960, Reams served on

768-640: The UHF and microwave ranges, using new active devices such as the magnetron , klystron , and traveling wave tube . The invention of the transistor allowed the development in the 1960s of small portable transmitters such as wireless microphones , garage door openers and walkie-talkies . The development of the integrated circuit (IC) in the 1970s made possible the current proliferation of wireless devices , such as cell phones and Wi-Fi networks, in which integrated digital transmitters and receivers ( wireless modems ) in portable devices operate automatically, in

816-518: The "cowboy" fad faded, and WCWA with program director Mike Sheppard, took on another format change, "Nostalgia". The "Music of Your Life" format was making ratings headway across the country as baby boomers began to feel their age. WCWA kept this format in both live and satellite delivered versions until 2002. The last live version of WCWA in the nostalgia format originated from the Fort Industry Square studios, (designed and maintained by

864-685: The 1920s. All these early technologies were replaced by vacuum tube transmitters in the 1920s, which used the feedback oscillator invented by Edwin Armstrong and Alexander Meissner around 1912, based on the Audion ( triode ) vacuum tube invented by Lee De Forest in 1906. Vacuum tube transmitters were inexpensive and produced continuous waves , and could be easily modulated to transmit audio (sound) using amplitude modulation (AM). This made AM radio broadcasting possible, which began in about 1920. Practical frequency modulation (FM) transmission

912-712: The Anthony Wayne Trail. WCWA also streams its signal and available on the IHeartRadio app WCWA is the Toledo affiliate of Fox Sports Radio . On March 1, 2021, WCWA rebranded as "Fox Sports 1230 The Gambler", adding programming from the Vegas Stats & Information Network (VSiN), following in the footsteps of iHeart Fox Sports sister stations in Cleveland , Youngstown , and Philadelphia . WCWA

960-517: The Democratic nomination for Governor of Ohio , but he placed fourth in the contest that was won by Frank Lausche . Once Lausche won the governorship, he appointed Reams to the office of state director of public welfare, where Reams served from 1945 to 1946. In 1950, Reams, according to his New York Times obituary, split with the Democratic organization in Toledo and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as an independent. He served in

1008-465: The Toledo cluster are: WSPD 1370 AM, WVKS 92.5 FM (KISS FM), WRVF 101.5 FM (The River), WCKY-FM 103.7 FM, and WIOT 104.7 FM. WCWA transmits at a power of 1,000 watts , from studios located atop the Fort Industry Square building on Summit Street in downtown Toledo. The station's advertising offices are located at Superior and Lafayette. The transmitter is located near the intersection of Hawley & Whittier Streets and can be easily seen from

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1056-563: The US, these fall under Part 15 of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations. Although they can be operated without a license, these devices still generally must be type-approved before sale. The first primitive radio transmitters (called spark gap transmitters ) were built by German physicist Heinrich Hertz in 1887 during his pioneering investigations of radio waves. These generated radio waves by

1104-610: The antenna may be located on top of a building or on a separate tower, and connected to the transmitter by a feed line , that is a transmission line . Electromagnetic waves are radiated by electric charges when they are accelerated . Radio waves , electromagnetic waves of radio frequency , are generated by time-varying electric currents , consisting of electrons flowing through a metal conductor called an antenna which are changing their velocity and thus accelerating. An alternating current flowing back and forth in an antenna will create an oscillating magnetic field around

1152-461: The background, to exchange data with wireless networks . The need to conserve bandwidth in the increasingly congested radio spectrum is driving the development of new types of transmitters such as spread spectrum , trunked radio systems and cognitive radio . A related trend has been an ongoing transition from analog to digital radio transmission methods. Digital modulation can have greater spectral efficiency than analog modulation ; that

1200-710: The board of the Community Broadcasting Co. (the operator of WTOL and WCWA radio and WTOL TV), which he had founded in 1928. In 1955, Reams was one of the founding directors of the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority . From 1948 to 1957, he was a trustee of Bowling Green State University . From 1965 until his death, he was chairman of the board of Reams Broadcasting Corp. After his retirement, Reams moved to San Mateo, California . He died in Oakland, California in 1971 and

1248-453: The call sign for a modest payment. The easy listening format continued. In 1969, Station Manager Garry Miller persuaded Former WCWA DJ Jim Felton to leave CKLW in Detroit and return to program the station. The new format included PAMS jingles, and a slightly more Top 40 approach, while still avoiding the "harder rock'. The playlist contained the biggest variety of music available, and gained

1296-419: The conductor. The alternating voltage will also charge the ends of the conductor alternately positive and negative, creating an oscillating electric field around the conductor. If the frequency of the oscillations is high enough, in the radio frequency range above about 20 kHz, the oscillating coupled electric and magnetic fields will radiate away from the antenna into space as an electromagnetic wave,

1344-523: The current sports-talk format was adopted in May 2004; although this change also did nothing to help the station's ratings. The format change away from music also brought much heated protest within the community, specifically from an organization known as CORRAL. WCWA is owned by iHeartMedia , and is part of that company's Toledo cluster. WCWA (and its predecessor WTOL) was owned by Frazier Reams for many years prior to radio deregulation in 1996. Other stations in

1392-470: The dismissal of the grand jury and Reams filed an "affidavit of prejudice," which prevented Stuart from hearing any criminal matter until the accusation of prejudice could be heard. In 1936, Reams sought the Democratic nomination for the office of Ohio Attorney General , but he lost to Herbert S. Duffy . In 1937, Reams formed the law firm Reams, Bretherton & Neipp. His partners were Thomas A. Bretherton and Morton Neipp, both of whom had worked for him in

1440-530: The firm Tracy, Chapman & Welles. He practiced as a lawyer while participating in Democratic politics, serving as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1928, 1932, 1936, 1940, 1944, 1948, and 1956. From 1933 to 1937, Reams served as prosecutor of Lucas County, Ohio . During this time, Reams led a campaign to clean up Toledo and rid the city of the many gangsters and bootleggers who resided and did business there. Reams

1488-573: The infamous Denny Moon) from 1997 until 2002. The staff included the legendary Bob Martz, program director Jim Felton, Suzanne Carroll, Bill Charles, Michael Drew (Mike) Shaw, and Dennis Williams. The ratings increased with the live programming, but sales and management claimed they couldn't sell advertising time easily on a station which catered to "old people". After two decades playing nostalgia/standards, WCWA changed format to talk radio in November 2002. The station's ratings subsequently crashed, and

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1536-421: The output frequency. Older designs used an oscillator at a lower frequency, which was multiplied by frequency multipliers to get a signal at the desired frequency. Modern designs more commonly use an oscillator at the operating frequency which is stabilized by phase locking to a very stable lower frequency reference, usually a crystal oscillator. Two radio transmitters in the same area that attempt to transmit on

1584-513: The prosecutor's office. In 1938, Reams founded Toledo's second radio station, WTOL. He added an FM sister in 1949, WTOL-FM. In 1957, he signed on Toledo's second television station, WTOL-TV . He sold the television station in 1966, but his family kept the radio stations well into the 1990s. From 1939 to 1945 he served on the Toledo Port Commission . From 1942 to 1944, he was collector of internal revenue. In 1944, Reams sought

1632-400: The radio waves. When they strike the antenna of a radio receiver , the waves excite similar (but less powerful) radio frequency currents in it. The radio receiver extracts the information from the received waves. A practical radio transmitter mainly consists of the following parts: In higher frequency transmitters, in the UHF and microwave range, free running oscillators are unstable at

1680-486: The receiver, these pulses were sometimes directly recorded on paper tapes, but more common was audible reception. The pulses were audible as beeps in the receiver's earphones, which were translated back to text by an operator who knew Morse code. These spark-gap transmitters were used during the first three decades of radio (1887–1917), called the wireless telegraphy or "spark" era. Because they generated damped waves , spark transmitters were electrically "noisy". Their energy

1728-475: The same frequency will interfere with each other, causing garbled reception, so neither transmission may be received clearly. Interference with radio transmissions can not only have a large economic cost, it can be life-threatening (for example, in the case of interference with emergency communications or air traffic control ). For this reason, in most countries, use of transmitters is strictly controlled by law. Transmitters must be licensed by governments, under

1776-509: The summer of 2007. With just 7 watts of digital power, the station could be received in hybrid digital all the way to the Michigan border. WCWA has also featured a large schedule of ethnic and religious programming for most of its history. This includes shows devoted entirely to Polish , German , Mexican , and Irish music, as well as immensely popular Polka , Jazz , and Gospel programs. In addition to these specialty music programs, WCWA

1824-512: The transmitter usually must hold a government license, such as a general radiotelephone operator license , which is obtained by passing a test demonstrating adequate technical and legal knowledge of safe radio operation. Exceptions to the above regulations allow the unlicensed use of low-power short-range transmitters in consumer products such as cell phones , cordless telephones , wireless microphones , walkie-talkies , Wi-Fi and Bluetooth devices, garage door openers , and baby monitors . In

1872-586: The war, Reams finished his degree at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville , earning a bachelor's degree in 1919. In 1922, he received a law degree from Vanderbilt University . In 1920, Reams was licensed to practice law in Tennessee. In 1922, he moved to Toledo, Ohio , where his brother Glenn was a medical resident at the Toledo Hospital . Reams was admitted to the bar and practiced law with

1920-568: Was a family of three broadcast stations which included TV-11 and FM-104.7 . The call letters were changed in 1965, when the two radio stations split from Channel 11. The call sign "WCWA," or "seaway," was meant to pay tribute to the St. Lawrence Seaway, of which Toledo is a major port (and the seaway itself a major boon to the city's economy. The call sign was originally assigned to a German merchant ship (the MS Karl Trautwein) which gave up

1968-445: Was a full-service format of news, information, sports, ABC network programs and various types of music, including pop , country , jazz , and, by the early 1960s, some rock and roll . The station started broadcasting 24 hours a day in 1962 with the new format "Demand Radio 123". The tight format wore out in less than two years. In 1964 WTOL became a personality driven full service facility, and played popular music. For many years, WTOL

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2016-622: Was an American lawyer and politician of the United States Democratic Party from Toledo, Ohio . Reams served as a U.S. Congressman from Ohio from 1951 to 1955. Reams was born in Franklin, Tennessee in 1897. His father was a Methodist minister. Reams served in the United States Army , with the 58th Field Artillery, during World War I , in 1918–1919. He was discharged at the rank of lieutenant. After

2064-472: Was benefitting from at the Ohio Penitentiary resulted in the dismissal of the warden. In 1935, Reams got into a public dispute with Lucas County Common Pleas Court Judge Roy R. Stuart. A grand jury convened by County Prosecutor Reams had issued indictments of two brothers of Toledo Mayor Addison Q. Thacher, a Republican, on charges related to welfare payments and bank closings. Judge Stuart ordered

2112-503: Was buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery (Toledo, Ohio) . Reams's son, Frazier Reams Jr. , was the Democratic nominee for Ohio governor in 1966. Transmitter In electronics and telecommunications , a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna with the purpose of signal transmission up to

2160-440: Was invented by Edwin Armstrong in 1933, who showed that it was less vulnerable to noise and static than AM. The first FM radio station was licensed in 1937. Experimental television transmission had been conducted by radio stations since the late 1920s, but practical television broadcasting didn't begin until the late 1930s. The development of radar during World War II motivated the evolution of high frequency transmitters in

2208-419: Was most well known for leading the prosecution of Thomas "Yonnie" Licavoli , who controlled bootlegging and illegal gambling operations in Detroit, Michigan and Toledo. Licavoli was sentenced to life in prison and served a 37-year sentence at Ohio Penitentiary starting in 1935. Gov. Martin L. Davey appointed Reams to investigate easy prison conditions and Reams's investigation of the luxuries that Licavoli

2256-498: Was spread over a broad band of frequencies , creating radio noise which interfered with other transmitters. Damped wave emissions were banned by international law in 1934. Two short-lived competing transmitter technologies came into use after the turn of the century, which were the first continuous wave transmitters: the arc converter ( Poulsen arc ) in 1904 and the Alexanderson alternator around 1910, which were used into

2304-610: Was working at CFTR in Toronto at the time. They mixed the oldies with country music cross-over songs. The Urban Cowboy craze was in its heyday, and the fit worked very well. They also brought veteran newsman Don Edwards in to run the news department. Mornings were handled by John Mack Brown, a controversial host, who was counterbalanced by the impressive image of Don Edwards. Deejays were Larry Fletcher, Jay Richards, Larry Weseman and radio legend Don King who hosted Sports Talk every evening. The format did extremely well for about two years, but

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