Technical Profile: WELB

AM Technical Profile: WELB

Frequency:: 1350
Format:: Classic Country, Southern Gospel
Transmitter Location:: [map] [street view] Six tenths of a mile north of Elba on AL-87.
Power (ERP):: Day: 1 kW; Night: 44 watts
Antenna:: 1 tower
Other Information:: 0.5 mV/m Daytime Groundwave Service Contour from the FCC's Public Files
[FCC]
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Owned by Elba Broadcasting Company
History:: Harold Parrish, Jr. signed this station on in January, 1959. From the beginning, it's always been run 1 kW (first days-only, later with added night service), and always had the WELB calls, which represent Elba, the city of license. The transmitter was a Gates BC 1J series. The station's studio was originally at the transmitter site, six tenths of a mile north of Elba on Highway 87. Less than a year after signing on, the license was voluntarily transferred to James Dowdy and James Wilson, as Elba Broadcasting Company. The station has remained under the company's ownership ever since, albeit through many different people heading the company.

In September 1965, the studios moved to the corner of Court and Davis Streets in downtown Elba. At this time it was known to be running Country & Western music full-time.

By the early 70's, ownership of Elba Broadcasting Company had been in the hands of Jimmy Clark Fullis. He died in 1973, and ownership passed (in '76) to William D. Holderfield.

The station made a change to its antenna system in the fall of 1980, moving from a series-fed vertical steel tower to a shunt-fed folded unipole. This station spawned an FM companion in 1987, when they put on WZTZ on 101.1 MHz. It had the same Country format as the AM for several years.

After several years of sharing or simulcasting a Country format with their FM sister, the AM split off to do Oldies in 1991 or 1992. By the year 2000, the station was doing Classic Country while the FM took on Modern Country. William Holderfield died in 2017.