Around the first of August 1927 the trustees of the "Debs Memorial Radio Fund" announced the purchase of AM radio station WSOM, transmitting from Woodhaven in the New York City borough of Queens. WSOM had been on the air since 1926, broadcasting initially at 1040 and 1220 kHz; the station had moved into New York just six months prior. Immediate application was to be made to the Federal Radio Commission for a change of call letters to WDEBS, it was reported, as well as for an increase of transmission power from 500 to 1,000 watts to enable the station to broadcast with less interference from the skyscrapers of New York. The broadcast studio was to be located somewhere in Manhattan, it was reported.