WHLS
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| City of license | Port Huron, Michigan |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area |
AM 1450 FM 105.5 |
| Branding | Rock 105.5 |
| Slogan | Port Huron's Alternative |
| Frequency | 1450 kHz |
| Translator(s) | 105.5 mHz W288BT St. Clair |
| Repeaters | WHLX Marine City |
| First air date | August 8, 1938 |
| Format | Active rock |
| Power |
1450 AM 1,000 watts 105.5 FM 49 watts |
| Class | C |
| Facility ID | 73075 |
| Callsign meaning | Wismer & H.L. Stevens (station co-founders) |
| Affiliations | Michigan IMG Sports Network |
| Owner | Radio First |
| Website | whls.net |
WHLS is an American radio station, licensed to Port Huron, Michigan at 1450 kHz on the AM dial. Since 2000 WHLS has simulcasted its programming on 1590 WHLX in Marine City. WHLS also has an FM translator, W288BT, which is licensed to St. Clair at operating at 105.5 MHz which simulcasts the station's signal. [1]
The station currently broadcasts an active rock format branded as Rock 105.5, "Port Huron's Alternative". Rock 105.5 currently competes with K106.3 across the Blue Water Bridge in Sarina. [2]
History
WHLS signed on in August 1938 and was for a time the principal Top 40 music station in the Port Huron/Blue Water area, as well as the very first radio station serving St. Clair County. The station was found by the late John Wismer and H.L. Stevens. Wismer operated the station and FM sister WSAQ until his death on September 30, 1999 at age 85. The station was sold to Liggett Communications (also known as Radio First) in 2000 by Wismer's estate. Liggett had also acquired Wismer's crosstown competitor, WPHM and WBTI that same year from Hanson Communications. [3]
In 2000, WHLS's satellite Oldies was simulcasted over WHLX for the first time. Its format then changed to Adult Standards America's Best Music format in 2001, and back to Oldies using Dial Global's Kool Gold Timeless Classics format in 2009. The return to oldies came after CHOK in Sarnia had gone country.
"The Cruise"
As of July 2011, WHLS/WHLX have dropped the Dial Global Kool Gold format and transitioned to airing a locally automated classic hits/adult hits format. The local format is branded as "WHLS - The Cruise" and is staffed by Radio First personalities. WHLS/WHLX's new format is a more traditional Classic Hit's mix of the late 1960s, and into the 1980s with some classic rock and roll influences, as well as a few tracks from the 1990s and 2000s up to AC recurrents from artists such as Maroon 5 and Katy Perry. The station also aired locally-oriented talk shows on Saturday mornings and church services on Sunday Mornings. The station airs the syndicated program American Standards By The Sea Saturday mornings. WHLS is also the radio home of the University of Michigan football and also used to broadcast conflicting games that usually would air on sister station WPHM.
The Cruise was killed in 2015 on Monday April 20 at 10:55am, with the last song being Don McLean's American Pie.
New Format "Rock 105.5"
WHLS changed their format to active rock on April 20th, 2015 with the first song being Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana. The new station is branded as "Rock 105.5", the frequency of the new FM Translator WHLS acquired the following year. The station continues to broadcast on AM 1450 and WHLX AM 1590 but with little to no reference of the station's AM counterparts. [4]
Technical
WHLS-AM 1450 covers most of St. Clair County, Michigan as well as southern Sanilac County, Michigan with 1,000 watts of power day and night. The transmitter is located on 32nd Street in Port Huron Township, using the same site and same tower as sister station WSAQ.
WHLX-AM 1590 covers the southern portion of St. Clair County and much of Macomb County, Michigan. WHLX broadcasts with 1,000 watts during the day and 102 watts after sunset to protect other larger AM radio stations. WHLX utilizes a two-tower directional pattern pointed towards the north from a transmitter site located along Marine City Highway.
FM Translator
W288BT is a low powered translator at 105.5fm licensed to St. Clair, Michigan. According to the FCC database, the station is owned by Edgewater Broadcasting which previously used the station to broadcast a Christian music format and is currently leased to Liggett Communications as a simulcast of WHLS. [5]
The FM Translator originally started broadcasting on and off beginning in the summer of 2014 from the Radio First studios in Downtown Port Huron with 250 watts. After the switch from "The Cruise" (which never branded itself as being on FM) to "Rock 105.5" (which only brands itself as being on FM), a construction permit was granted to WHLS to move the translator to their parent station's tower on 32nd Street in Port Huron Township. The station currently broadcasts with only 49 watts but from a much higher tower and covers the immediate Port Huron, Fort Gratiot, and Marysville areas. [6]
Sources
External links
- Query the FCC's AM station database for WHLS
- Radio-Locator Information on WHLS
- Query Nielsen Audio's AM station database for WHLS
- Query the FCC's FM station database for W288BT
- Radio-Locator information on W288BT
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Coordinates: 42°58′37″N 82°27′52″W / 42.97694°N 82.46444°W