Branding La Grande | ||
City WLLQ: Chapel Hill, North CarolinaWRTG: Garner, North CarolinaWGSB: Mebane, North Carolina Frequency WLLQ: 1530 kHzWRTG: 1000 kHzWGSB: 1060 kHz Power WLLQ: 10,000 watts daytime onlyWRTG: 1,000 wattsWGSB: 1,000 watts day500 watts critical hours | ||
WLLQ is a daytime only AM radio station licensed to Chapel Hill, North Carolina heard at 1530 kHz. The station is part of a simulcast of the regional Mexican music format called La Grande.
Contents
History
Prior to their current Spanish language format with programing from Que Pasa, WLLQ, WRTG, and WGSB broadcast a contemporary Christian format as His Radio WRTP, which now airs from WRTP-FM and WCCE-FM, along with a number of FM translators throughout central and eastern North Carolina.
WLLQ
In 1973, WRBX began life as a jazz-formatted station under the ownership of Stuart Epperson, now the head of national Christian broadcaster Salem Communications.
WRBX's studios were located on Chapel Hill's West Rosemary Street and the daytime-only station had 5,000 watts of power. As the jazz format lost listeners to competitors on the FM dial, WRBX moved towards an inspirational Christian format.
By 1978, WRBX had gone Southern gospel, increased its power to 10,000 watts and moved to studios on Durham-Chapel Hill Boulevard (US 15/501) near present-day New Hope Commons Shopping Center.
In 1979, Epperson sold the station to Hugh Johnston, who changed WRBX to a country format. The country format continued until 1985, when WRBX was then sold to L. L "Buddy" Leathers' Carolina Christian Communications.
Under Leathers' Carolina Christian Communications, an inspirational Christian format was reinstated, the station's studios were moved into Leathers' repair shop and WRBX became WRTP.
The inspirational format soon became a contemporary Christian one. Carolina Christian Communications expanded WRTP to a simulcast with Garner-based WRTG, 1000 AM, in 1994 and to Mebane-based WGSB, 1060 AM in 1995. Between these three stations, the Triangle area was covered, but only during daylight hours, as all three stations were licensed only for daytime operation.
In October 2004, WRTP-AM, WRTG and WGSB were purchased by Estuardo Valdemar Rodriguez and Leonor Rodriguez, owners of WLLN in Lillington, for $1.1 million.
On February 3, 2005, WRTP and its sister AM stations ceased broadcasting the "His Radio WRTP" Christian format on AM, but WRTP still continues on a number of frequencies on FM 24 hours a day. After a day off-air, the three stations resumed broadcasting a regional Mexican format on February 4, 2005, with AM 1530 adopting the new call letters WLLQ.