First station[]
- Date: ...1970-October 1972
- Previous call letters: KCHY
- Frequency:
- 1590 kHz (...1970) ( NOTE: A 1970 guide shows KCGO at 1590 with the footnote "Not currently on the air," and a construction permit for 1530. Another chart in the same book shows the station already at 1530. This would help explain the note below.)
- 1530 kHz (1970-October 1972) (See note above)
- Location:
- Cheyenne, Wyoming (...1970-October 1972)
- Subsequent call letters: KCHY
Notes added referencing KCGO-AM:
Based on the manufacturer's label found inside a C.C.A. model AM10,000D 10,000 Watt AM transmitter by a station owner who purchased that transmitter used in 2006 to restore his station from total devastation by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and has no affiliation whatsoever with KCGO past or present, the label states that Customer KCGO purchased this CCA AM10,000D Transmitter manufactured January 20, 1972 to broadcast on Frequency 1530KHz. That manufacturer's label with such specific information got me wondering about the history of this 35+ year old transmitter and the online research began.
An article was found through the Georgia State University Library Archives in the "International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers" publication: "The Machinist" Volume XXV, Issue 28, September 3, 1970 entitled "Alaskans Now Hearing IAM Radio Spots" states that the IAM spots can now be heard on a list of stations including KCGO-AM 1590kc/AM in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
An obituary states that in 1968 Richard Gene Lillemoen, "driven by ambition and presented with an opportunity to continue his radio career, undertook a move to Cheyenne, Wyo. where he became the new general manager of KSHY and took it to the new 10,000-watt KCGO. Then in 1972, he decided to change his career and became a broadcast station relations representative with ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers)."
An article for the former U.S. Armed Forces "AFRS-Athens" Radio station in Greece states that "After stints at KCGO and KRAE in Cheyenne, WY. the Nelson's (Bob "R.T." Nelson) moved to Denver where he headed up Mountain Bell¹s consumer advertising division from 1973-1978."
The FCC CDBS shows no record of call letters KCGO in the AM database, nor any matching information for 1590khz at any power or 1530khz at 10kW in Cheyenne Wyoming.
At this time I have chosen to conclude from the limited information listed above that either the author of the referenced IAM article typo'd a 9 for a 3 or KCGO-AM originally broadcast to the Cheyenne, Wyoming area throughout the 1960's and possibly prior to then on 1590KHz but chose to "move" their signal from 1590KHz to the nearby 1530KHz in order to allow for an increase in power to 10,000 Watts which presumably took place in 1972 with the purchase of this transmitter. Originally licensed power and pre/post 10KW upgrade operating hours are unknown. I am assuming that KSHY-AM as mentionned in the above referenced obituary is a totally different facility but was unable to find any information for that call sign.
No further information about what has taken place with the KCGO facility and its' license since the power increase was available at the time of this writing.
Any updates or changes to the above information are welcomed and encouraged!
July, 2014
I am not the original author of this page, but I wanted to list some additional information regarding this call sign. I recently came into possession of a CCA 1000D 1KW AM transmitter. The transmitter has a manufacturers tag with the original call sign of KCGO, and it has the operating frequency stamped as "153KHz". Clearly, the person who stamped the tag was having a bad day, but it seems likely that the intended operating frequency would have been 1530KHz. This transmitter was manufactured on December 21, 1971, and is equipped with a low-power cutback from the factory. My understanding is that it came from a station "out west" and started out life as a standby transmitter. Given that KCGO was apparently licensed for 10KW day time operation, this transmitter may have been used at some power level for night authority, or as a standby transmitter, or both. Hope this information is helpful!
Second station[]
- Date: May 24, 2013... ( NOTE: As of July 2014 the station is listed in the FCC database as "licensed and silent.")
- Frequency:
- 88.3 MHz (May 24, 2013...)
- Location:
- Cottage Grove, Oregon (May 24, 2013...)
- Owner of license:
- Western Oregon Opry, Ltd. (May 24, 2013...)