Radio History Cards were used by the FCC (and before that, the Federal Radio Commission, 1927-1934) to keep track of broadcast radio station application transactions and changes. Use of these cards was gradually discontinued around 1980 when the Commission moved to its first computerized broadcast database, the Broadcast Application Processing System (BAPS). Over the next several years, the History Cards -- well over 100,000 of them -- were converted to microfiche, and the original cards were disposed of.
Today, the History Cards images have been extracted from the microfiche, and most can be found under station records in the LMS electronic filing system and through the AM Query, FM Query, or TV Query. (The call sign today may differ from call signs used in earlier years.) Not all stations will have History Cards, and no station authorized after 1981 will have them.
On this page, we provide links to several now-deleted stations with History Cards that do not have a corresponding station Facility ID number. The usual practice was to remove the cards when a station license was permanently deleted (cancelled), but in some instances deleted stations were missed (the cards may have been misfiled). In some cases, the station licenses were cancelled during the 1979-1980 license renewal cycle, possibly after the microfiche images had been made. The links below provide easy access path to these additional records.
KLYD-FM, Bakersfield, CA -- Deleted 1961
KCHC-FM, Central Point, OR - Deleted about 1980
KDHS, Modesto, CA - Deleted around 1980
KEPH, Ephraim, UT - Deleted around 1980
KGVH, Gunnison, UT - Deleted around 1980
KLME, Battle Mountain, NV - Deleted 1980
KLX-FM, Oakland, CA - Deleted October 10, 1955
KLZ-FM, Denver, CO - Deleted September 7, 1955
KMTP, Mt. Pleasant, UT - Deleted 1980
KOMR, St. Louis, MO - Deleted around 1980
KSME, Manti, UT - Deleted around 1980
WRSB, Weston, MA - Deleted around 1981
WSZE-TV, Saipan, Northern Marianas Islands - Final status uncertain
A list of the Radio History Cards available is located at https://www.fcc.gov/sites/default/files/facility_historycardlinks.txt . This text file is intended for programmers and other interested parties, and contains information about how to link to the FCC Broadcast History Cards for various stations.
For more information on AM and FM radio broadcasting, please visit the Audio Division website, and the Broadcast Radio Links page.
FCC > Media Bureau > Audio Division, (202) 418-2700.