WCST

WCST is a News/Talk/Sports formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, serving Berkeley Springs and Morgan County, West Virginia.[3][1][2] WCST is owned Metro Radio, Inc. and operated by West Virginia Radio Corporation.[9][4][5] WCST simulcasts Martinsburg, West Virginia-based sister-station WEPM.[4]

For the neuropsychological test, see Wisconsin Card Sorting Test.
WCST
CityBerkeley Springs, West Virginia
Broadcast areaBerkeley Springs, West Virginia
Morgan County, West Virginia[1][2]
Frequency1010 AM kHz
BrandingThe Panhandle News Network
SloganThe Voice of the Panhandle
Programming
FormatNews/Talk/Sports[3]
AffiliationsFox News Radio
ESPN Radio
West Virginia MetroNews
Ownership
OwnerMetro Radio, Inc.
(sale to West Virginia Radio Corporation pending)[4][5]
OperatorWest Virginia Radio Corporation[4][5]
WXDC
History
First air date
September 7, 1958[6]
Former call signs
WCST (1958-Present)[7]
Call sign meaning
W Charles Samuel Trump[8]
one of the original owners
Technical information
Facility ID68205
ClassD
Power270 Watts daytime
17 Watts nighttime
Transmitter coordinates
39°37′0.0″N 78°13′3.0″W
Translator(s)W228DU (93.5 MHz, Berkeley Springs)
Links
WebcastWCST Webstream
WebsiteWCST Online

History

WCST signed on the air on September 7, 1958. WCST started with Dale Brooks, Tom Butcher, Kenny Robertson and Gary Daniels. They offered local programming, advertising and rock n' roll music. The call letters of the station were a tribute to Charles S. Trump, a major force behind getting the station on the air.

WCST adopted FM in 1965 and changed its genre to country music with the frequency 93.5. It was sold in the 1980s to Sam and Mary Lou Trump and later to Emmett Capper in 1995.

For many years WCST played country music, 23 hours a day; why they went off the air for just one hour remains a mystery. AM1010 was reported to be dark several times, but is just a tough catch even within town limits due to a bad tower location and tower ground system.

In the Summer of 2006, Berkeley Springs High School games and other local programming, which were heard on sister station WDHC, were moved to WCST when WDHC moved to 92.9.

Also in 2006, WCST and WDHC finally made a presence on the internet of sorts, with a MySpace Group operated by employees of the station. Currently, WCST and WXDC (formerly WDHC) each have an active Facebook page.

In March 2014, WCST changed its format from News/Talk to Country, with the branding "Cat Country 1010AM WCST".

In January 2017, WCST was sold with sister station WDHC (now WXDC) to Metro Radio of Fairfax, Virginia, who owns WTNT in the Washington D.C. radio market. The sale was consummated on March 1, 2017 at a price of $365,000.

In May 2017, WCST began simulcasting the Classic Hits format of WXDC, which flipped to oldies at the beginning of 2018.[10]

WCST was granted a construction permit for FM translator W228DU on January 11, 2018. The translator rebroadcasts WCST on 93.5 FM from the WXDC/WCST transmitter site east of Berkeley Springs.[11]

On May 1, 2019, West Virginia Radio Corporation began operating WCST and sister station WXDC as it begins the process of buying the stations from Metro Radio.[4][5] The local marketing agreement with Diane Smith ended on April 30, 2019.[4] At Midnight on May 1, 2019, WCST's programming shifted from a simulcast of sister station WXDC to a simulcast of Martinsburg-based WEPM's News/Talk/Sports under the branding "The Panhandle News Network".[4]

Translator

In addition to the main station, WCST is relayed by an FM translator to widen its broadcast area.[12]

Call signFrequency
(MHz)		City of licenseFacility
ID		ERP
(W)		Height
(m (ft))		ClassFCC info
W228DU93.5 FMBerkeley Springs, West Virginia199987100 watts376 m (1,234 ft)DFCC

References
  1. "WCST-AM Radio Station Daytime Coverage Map". Theodric Technologies, LLC. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  2. "WCST-AM Radio Station Nighttime Coverage Map". Theodric Technologies, LLC. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  3. "Arbitron Station Information Profiles". Nielsen Audio/Nielsen Holdings. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  4. Venta, Lance (April 30, 2019). "West Virginia Radio Corporation To Acquire WCST/WXDC". RadioInsight/RadioBB. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  5. "WXDC-WCST Broker Agreement" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission, audio division. June 3, 2019. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  6. Broadcasting Yearbook 2010 (PDF). ProQuest, LLC/Reed Publishing (Nederland), B.V. 2010. p. D-586. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  7. "Call Sign History". Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  8. "Origins of Broadcast Call Letters in West Virginia". Jeff Miller. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  9. "WCST Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  10. Shunney, Kate (April 26, 2017). "Smith to run local radio station from downtown Hancock restaurant | www.morganmessenger.com | Morgan Messenger". Morgan Messenger.
  11. "W228DU Facility Data". FCCData.
  12. "W228DU Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
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