WCHZ (1480 AM) was a

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radi ...

broadcasting a

classic hip hop Classic hip hop is a music radio format focusing primarily on hip hop music from the 1980s, 1990s, and the early to mid-2000s. Although stations with such a format date back as far as 2004, the format was first popularized in October 2014, after ...

format, simulcasting

WCHZ-FM WCHZ-FM (93.1 FM, "Hot 95.5/93.1") is a radio station broadcasting a classic hip hop format. Licensed to Warrenton, Georgia, the station goes by the name "Hot 95.5/93.1" and is owned by Beasley Media Group. History The station was assigned th ...

93.1 Warranton, Georgia. Licensed to

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Georgi ...

, United States, the station was owned by

Beasley Media Group Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc., based in Naples, Florida, is an owner/operator of radio stations in the United States. , the company owned 63 stations under the Beasley Media Group name. History The company was founded in 1961 by George G. Beasl ...

. The transmitter was located along River Watch Parkway northwest of downtown Augusta.

History

The station was first licensed in 1930 to Warren C. Davenport's Musicove, Inc., at 309 Eighth Street in Augusta, for 100 watts on 1370 kHz. The original call letters of WRDW were randomly assigned from an alphabetic list of available call signs, and a later slogan was adopted of Where Radio Does Wonders. Singer James Brown subsequently became the station's owner.

Expanded Band assignment

On March 17, 1997, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that eighty-eight stations had been given permission to move to newly available " Expanded Band" transmitting frequencies, ranging from 1610 to 1700 kHz, with WRDW authorized to move from 1480 to 1630 kHz."FCC Public Notice: Mass Media Bureau Announces Revised AM Expanded Band Allotment Plan and Filing Window for Eligible Stations"
(FCC DA 97-537), March 17, 1997. In 2003 this new station, also in Augusta, was assigned the historic WRDW call letters.Call Sign History
(Facility ID: 87174) The FCC's initial policy was that both the original station and its expanded band counterpart could operate simultaneously for up to five years, after which owners would have to turn in one of the two licenses, depending on whether they preferred the new assignment or elected to remain on the original frequency, although this deadline was extended multiple times.

Later history

On October 3, 2003, the station call sign on 1480 kHz was changed to WTEL, which was changed ten days later to WGUS. On May 28, 2012, the station switched to WCHZ. On January 21, 2015, WCHZ began simulcasting WHHD-HD2, and

95.5 FM, branded as "Hot 95.5/93.1" with a classic hip-hop format. The station's program director was Jay "Baby J" Jones and could be heard weekday afternoons during "Traffic Jammin' with Baby J". Beasley Media surrendered WCHZ's license to the FCC on February 5, 2015, which cancelled the license on the same day. The new expanded band WRDW, on 1630 kHz, was deleted on February 13, 2020.FCC Station Search Details: DWRDW
(Facility ID: 87174)

References

External links

Hot 95.5/93.1 websiteFCC Station Search Details: DWCHZ
(Facility ID: 537)
FCC History Cards for WCHZ
(covering 1930-1982 as WRDW) {{Augusta Radio CHZ Defunct radio stations in the United States Radio stations disestablished in 2015 Beasley Broadcast Group radio stations Radio stations established in 1930 1930 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) 2015 disestablishments in Georgia (U.S. state) CHZ