WGHR - History

History

Like many other college radio stations, WGHR originally began as a carrier current low-power AM station in 1969, transmitting on 1280kHz from a wire loop antenna run atop the circle of buildings at the center of campus. Although not an officially-assigned callsign, it took the name WSTB, an acronym for Southern Tech Broadcasting. Nicknamed "Stubby", its studio was in a dormitory.

In the mid-1970s, the station applied for a low-power FM station. First trying 91.7, it was initially rejected for being too close to 91.9 (WCLK) and 91.1 (WREK). It then selected 102.5, and was eventually given a construction permit in 1979 for that frequency. Since there was already a WSTB FM in Streetsboro, Ohio, the students selected WGHR to mean "Green Hornet Radio", after the school's mascot. The nickname, likewise, became "Wooger" (later mocked by the station's own promos). After an extra year's delay due to a recalled Harris Broadcast transmitter, it finally began FM broadcasting in 1981, serving most of Cobb County in the northwest metro Atlanta area.

At that time, it shared an office in the student center with The STING, the student newspaper. In 1993, the expansion and renovation of the building was completed, and it moved from the old office to its own studio. While the size of the building doubled, the size of the new station was actually cut in half, which was seen by many as a sign of how the station was viewed by the administration. However, it did include its own restroom (a definite necessity), and a large window into the atrium, right at the main entrance where students and visitors could see into the broadcast studio. This is still the station's current facility.