WAPE (defunct)

WAPE (AM), 690 kHz, Jacksonville, Florida, was a Top 40 radio station with a powerful signal, covering a large area along the East Coast of the United States, during daylight hours. Its 690 kHz 50-kW daytime/25-kW nighttime frequency is now occupied by WOKV, owned by Cox Radio.

The station, known as The Big Ape, debuted March 1, 1958 with 25,000 watts, operating sunrise to sunset only. WAPE’s almost unequaled daytime coverage area was a result of several factors... the frequency (AM stations on lower frequencies cover far more territory than those on higher frequencies during the day), the location of the tower near the coast (AM signals travel much greater distances over salt water than over land), and the power. The result was a station with strong coverage from Daytona Beach, Florida, to Charleston, South Carolina, and a very audible signal from Cape Canaveral, Florida, to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. In the mid '60s, WAPE further solidified its position by increasing daytime power to 50,000 watts and began broadcasting 24 hours a day.

WAPE was owned by Brennan Broadcasting, a group behind three other high-powered stations in Alabama and Tennessee. These included WVOK, Birmingham (50,000 watts, daytime only and also on 690), WBAM, Montgomery (50,000 watts, daytime only on 740, known as Big Bam, now 10,000 watt WMSP) and Chattanooga’s WFLI, located at Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, (originally 10,000 watts, later 50,000 watts on 1070, known as "JET-FLI" - pronounced as "Jet-Fly"). The Brennan brothers included Bill Brennan, who, to a great extent oversaw the stations from a business end while providing major contributions from a technical perspective, Program Director Dan Brennan (also a strong air talent in his own right) and engineer Cyril Brennan. Partner Billy Benns, Jr., a man with strong engineering skills, was an important part of this team, as well. While the Brennans were mostly responsible for WAPE, WVOK and WBAM, Benns was more responsible for the overall operation of WFLI (the only station among the group that operated both day and night, from the outset). The Brennans actually built the tower sections for both WVOK and WAPE’s 500-foot (150 m) towers and for WBAM’s 750-foot (230 m) tower. They also designed and built the transmitters and created the very contemporary building designs of the WAPE, WBAM and WFLI studio buildings.

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Wikipedia