Technical Profile: WLPR

AM Technical Profile: WLPR

Frequency:: 960
Format:: Southern Gospel
Transmitter Location:: [map] Prichard, north of Mobile, co-located with WBHY-AM. (Two tower site: WBHY uses one, WLPR the other.)
Power (ERP):: Day: 6 kW; Night: 32 watts
Antenna:: 1 tower
Other Information:: 0.5 mV/m Daytime Groundwave Service Contour from the FCC's Public Files
[FCC]
[FCCData.org]; [Radio-Locator]; [Wikipedia]
[Image] A picture of the former transmitter site for translator W295BB, which rebroadcasted the station's programming the Daphne area.
[Audio] Top of the hour ID audio, recorded 9 March 2021. M4A format. 85 kb, 5 seconds.
// W295BB Spanish Fort, AL
History:: Was Mobile's first R&B station in 1952 as daytimer WMOZ, by Edwin Estes. Went silent due to license revocation in 1964. Frequency was sought by numerous applicants and was tied up in hearing for 20 years. Returned to air in the late 80's as WGRR, fulltimer with nostalgia format. Changed to WLPR (Living Presence Radio) when those calls were surrendered by an easy listening FM station in the area. Went silent again in 1992. Returned to air several years later as WLPR, airing Christian music. Co-owned with WBHY-AM. Station suffers heavy interference from WERC Birmingham at night.; Since Mobile has two Christian stations by the same owner, this station was switched from its previous format to southern gospel on September 27^th of 2000. Up until late summer of 2009, the station had run 5,000 watts days and 1,000 watts night, with nights directional to the south with two towers. They upped power by a thousand watts and dropped to omnidirectional nighttime service with just 32 watts. The site had operated in an unusual way with co-located WBHY. During the day, each used separate towers. But at night when WBHY signed off, WLPR used both towers on site for directional operation. By the looks of things, it appears both stations are sharing just one tower for day and night operations.

In the summer of 2017, Goforth began relaying this station on translator W295BB in Daphne. That translator had previously relayed WBHY-AM from the WABF tower in Fairhope, before that property was sold and the tower removed. The translator was relocated to a site adjacent to the intersection of Graham Street and US-98 in the Montrose community.

The translator was reported off the air in March 2021 after Hurricane Sally destroyed the pole the antenna was mounted on. In July 2021, the station filed an application to move the translator to the WBHY-FM tower in Spanish Fort. That facility was reported on the air in mid-September 2021, and the station was officially re-licensed to Spanish Fort thereafter.