KHCB (AM)

KHCB
KHCB (AM) and KHCB-FM offices
Broadcast areaGreater Houston
Frequency1400 kHz
BrandingRed de Radio Amistad
Programming
Language(s)Spanish
FormatSpanish Christian
Ownership
OwnerHouston Christian Broadcasters, Inc.
KHCB-FM, KHCH
History
First air date
1923 as KFLX Galveston
Former call signs
KFLX (1923–1933)
KLUF (1933–1957)
KILE (1957–1991)
Call sign meaning
K Houston Christian Broadcasters (owner)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID27703
ClassC
Power1,000 watts
Translator(s)101.5 K268CW (Houston)
Links
Public license information
Websitewww.radioamistad.net
and
www.khcb.org

KHCB (1400 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station owned by Houston Christian Broadcasters, Inc. It is licensed to League City, Texas, and serves Greater Houston. KHCB airs a Spanish-language Christian radio format. The studios and offices are on South Boulevard in Houston.[2]

KHCB is powered at 1,000 watts, using a directional antenna. The transmitter is off Crews Road in League City.[3] Its programming is also carried by an FM translator station, K268CW at 101.5 MHz.[4]

History

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KHCB is believed to be the oldest continuously licensed radio facility in the Houston-Galveston area, as well as the oldest Texas Gulf Coast station.[5]

The station's first license, with its sequentially assigned call sign KFLX, was granted on November 28, 1923, to George R. Clough. The original studios were at 1214 40th Street in Galveston.[6] (Some accounts trace its history to an earlier station, WHAB, which was licensed to Fellman's Department Store on June 29, 1922, and deleted in June 1924.)[5]

On November 11, 1928, as part of a major reallocation enacted by implementation of the Federal Radio Commission's General Order 40, KFLX was assigned to 1370 kHz. In 1933 the call letters were changed to KLUF, after another Galveston station using a similar call sign, KFUL, signed off the air.[7] As a result of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA) of 1941, KLUF moved to 1400 kHz.

In 1957, after George Roy Clough sold the station, the call letters were changed to KILE, and the station became Galveston Island's legendary "Big 14 KILE" with the adoption of a Top 40 format on September 2, 1957.

In 1991, the station was sold to Houston Christian Broadcasters, which changed the call sign to KHCB and adopted a Spanish Christian format. After nearly 80 years of broadcasting from Galveston Island, the facility was relocated to the mainland, near Texas City, Texas in 2009.[8]

FM Translator

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In addition to the main station on AM 1400, beginning on August 15, 2016, KHCB is heard on an FM translator on 101.5 MHz.

Broadcast translator for KHCB
Call sign Frequency City of license FID ERP (W) Class Transmitter coordinates FCC info
K268CW 101.5 FM Houston, Texas 144563 250 D 29°35′34″N 95°24′44″W / 29.59278°N 95.41222°W / 29.59278; -95.41222 (K268CW) LMS

References

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  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for KHCB". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ Contact
  3. ^ Radio-Locator.com/KHCB
  4. ^ Radio-Locator.com/K268CW
  5. ^ a b "1923 - KFCV, Houston, and KFLX, Galveston, the oldest surviving radio station in the Houston-Galveston area" May 10, 2007 (houstonradiohistory.blogspot.com)
  6. ^ "New Stations", Radio Service Bulletin, December 1, 1923, page 3.
  7. ^ "KTSA Gets Full Time", Broadcasting, May 15, 1933, page 10.
  8. ^ "KHCB Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
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