One of its closing forms in 2012–2014 formed Eagle Extra occupying 1566 MW following an internal split between older and newer music/features into two allied stations in 1988 and an incomplete takeover by Mercury FM then sale leaving a third station, that of Mercury, with enhanced coverage of this area and its successor Heart Sussex and Surrey.

County Sound Radio was launched on 4 April 1983 by Frank Muir on 203 MW and 96.6 FM based at The Friary Shopping Centre in Guildford.

It mainly used an FM transmitter on the Hog's Back section of the North Downs west of Guildford.

The original line-up included Phil Miles at Breakfast, Paul Owens, Sarah Lucas "after lunch" and Simon Cummings during the afternoon.

The County Sound Radio theme was written by board member Les Reed (writer of hits including Delilah, The Last Waltz) with the slogan "The One and Only One for You".

In 1989, the station moved most of its departments from its purpose-built studios on top of Guildford's "Friary Shopping Centre" to a new building in Chertsey Road, Woking.

The FM frequences carried the West Surrey variant of Radio Mercury mainly programmed from the Friary Shopping Centre studio (Monday to Friday, 6am until 6.30pm).

The Haslemere area received additional frequency 97.1FM, enabling its own show 7am-11am, interspersing the main hours of broadcast.

UKRD won the franchise - set to go on air in April 1996 - brought forward by seven months by agreement.

UKRD, led by Mike Powell, wanted to revive the station - and from 1 September 1995 it resumed broadcasting, as a skeleton service, on 96.4FM and 1476 AM to assist in a full launch.

In its last years, the MW station became increasingly a jukebox with 'Steve Dean' on a Sunday morning, and the main live presenter 'Dave Johns' who both left before Christmas of 2011.