This audio consolette was made by Radio Corporation of America in Camden, New Jersey, late 1950s. It is a Type BC-5 Audio Consolette, self-contained metal unit with a hinged front panel for access to components and wiring. The front panel is comprised of the following:
8 input selector switches 4 mixer attenuator switches: MIX 1, MIX 2, MIX 3, MIX 4 4 mixer switches 2 remote line selector switches: REM 1 and REM 2 master gain control knob: MASTER monitor input selector switch: MON INPUT monitor gain control: MON GAIN phone selector switch: PHONE VU (Volume Unit) meter phone jack
There are two additional components attached to the right side of the consolette: tape starters and tape audio. This consolette was used by WANN (1190 AM) radio station.
WANN (1190 AM) was a radio station based out of Annapolis, Maryland that primarily served the area's growing African American community. Morris Blum founded it in 1946, and it broadcast to the entire mid-Atlantic region. The station was home to disc jockey Charles "Hoppy" Adams starting in the early 1950s. Adams hosted weekly events at a local African American only beach, Carr's Beach, which were popular with the area's youth population.
WANN continued to program gospel, rhythm and blues, and public affairs features until 1992 when the station changed to a mainstream country format with the catchphrase “Bay Country 1190.” Around 1998, the station changed ownership and became WBIS, broadcasting a News Talk Information format.