WBPB

WBPB
Broadcast areaUpstate South Carolina
Frequency1540 AM
BrandingRadio La Voz
Programming
FormatSpanish Religious
Ownership
OwnerBerea Baptist Broadcasting, Spanish
History
First air date
1967
Former call signs
  • WKKR (1966–1977)
  • WTGF (1977–1980)
  • WPKZ {1980–1984)
  • WTBI (1984–2022)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID64496
ClassD
ERP10,000 watts day
(1,000 watts critical hours)
HAAT127.9 meters
Transmitter coordinates
34°49′51″N 82°26′55″W / 34.83083°N 82.44861°W / 34.83083; -82.44861
Links
Public license information
Webcasthttp://www.radiolavoz.net
Websitehttps://radiolavoz.net/listen/

WBPB is a non-commercial Religious station serving the Upstate, including Greenville and Pickens County, South Carolina. The station broadcasts on 1540 AM with a power of 10,000 watts day and 1,000 watts critical hours.

History

1540 signed on as WKKR in 1967[2] serving Pickens, South Carolina. The station became WTGF in 1977 and then was sold in 1979, becoming WPKZ in 1980. On January 24, 1984, the station was sold to Tabernacle Christian School in Greenville, with the call sign changed to WTBI. An FM station simulcast, WTBI-FM, licensed to Greenville was added in early 1991, later upgrading its power in 2007, covering all of the area covered by the AM signal.[3] 1540 only provided coverage to the local Pickens County area, and B grade coverage to much of neighboring Greenville County. As WTBI, both stations aired a mix of Southern Gospel music and preaching from Fundamental, Independent Baptist churches. Much of the preaching and teaching programming is produced by churches in the Greenville area, in Pickens County, and from various churches in the Appalachian Mountains area. Other churches from other parts of the United States also produce programs. The station also featured Sunday, Wednesday, and other special worship services from Tabernacle Baptist Church.

In 2020, the simulcast was broken after 30 years and 1540 AM became a Spanish religious station known as “Radio La Voz, 1540.” After broadcasting via lease agreement for two years, it was donated by Tabernacle Christian School to Berea Baptist Broadcasting, who had been leasing it.[4] The donation was consummated on September 12, 2022, and its call sign was changed from WTBI to WBPB, effective November 1, 2022. [5]

References

  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WBPB". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getimportletter_exh.cgi?import_letter_id=66318 FCC History Card
  3. ^ "Home | Tabernacle Baptist Church".
  4. ^ file:///Users/christopherjaynes/Downloads/WTBI(AM)_Donation_Agreement_-_Executed.pdf
  5. ^ https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/views/public/amDraftCopy?displayType=html&appKey=25076ff3836d9d6e018389ea1bd31acd&id=25076ff3836d9d6e018389ea1bd31acd&goBack=N