WTBI

WTBI-FM/WTBI
City of license Greenville, South Carolina
Broadcast area Upstate South Carolina
Branding "WTBI Radio"
Slogan "The Bright Spot on Your Radio Dial"
Frequency 91.5 FM (also on HD Radio)
1540 AM
First air date 1991 (FM)
1984 (AM)
Format Southern Gospel and Religious
Power 10,000 watts AM day
1,000 watts AM critical hours
ERP 22,500 watts (FM)
HAAT 127.9 meters (FM)
Class C2 (FM)
Facility ID 64496 (FM)
Transmitter coordinates 34°49′51.00″N 82°26′55.00″W / 34.8308333°N 82.4486111°W (FM)
Callsign meaning W Tabernacle Bible Institute
Owner Tabernacle Ministries
Webcast http://tbc.sc/wtbi/live.php
Website http://wtbi.org

WTBI is a non-commercial Religious station serving the Upstate, including Greenville and Spartanburg, as well as Anderson, South Carolina. The station carries Southern Gospel music and various preaching/teaching programs. Its current slogan is "The Bright Spot on Your Radio Dial."

WTBI-FM broadcasts 24 hours a day[1] on 91.5 FM with an ERP of 22.5 kW.

WTBI broadcasts on 1540 AM with a power of 10,000 watts day and 1,000 watts critical hours.

Station history

WTBI is owned by Tabernacle Baptist Church (Tabernacle Ministries) in Greenville, South Carolina. An area exclusive, the station airs a mix of Southern Gospel music and preaching from Fundamental, Independent Baptist churches. Much of the preaching/teaching programming originates the Greenville area, notably the Greenville area, Pickens County, and from various churches in the Appalachian Mountains area. There are also programs produced from other parts of the United States, normally churches affiliated with Tabernacle. Notable programs are the The Bright Spot Hour (which originated at WTBI) and The Gospel Hour.[2] Its tower site is located at the campus of Tabernacle Ministries.

WTBI began broadcasting under Tabernacle's ownership on January 24, 1984, while Dr. Harold B. Sightler was overseeing the ministry. WTBI was the original Tabernacle radio station, and the FM part of the simulcast was added in early 1991.[3] WTBI-FM simulcasts with daytime-only WTBI 1540 AM, which is located in (and primarily serves) Pickens County, South Carolina. WTBI is licensed to Pickens, South Carolina.

Change from 91.7 to 91.5

On December 13, 2007, WTBI-FM changed frequencies from 91.7 to 91.5 and increased its ERP from 3,700 watts to 22,500 watts.[4] This allows for better coverage in the Anderson area, as well as the Spartanburg area (which was previously affected by interference from WSGE in the Charlotte area). With this increase, the purpose for WTBI-AM is virtually eliminated due to the stronger signal in to Pickens County, where the signal was once difficult to receive on 91.7.

HD radio

Also on December 13, 2007 WTBI began an HD Radio simulcast on the frequency 91.5.1.[4]

References

  1. ↑ http://tbc.sc/wtbi/schedule.php
  2. ↑ http://www.thegospelhour.org/radio.html
  3. ↑ http://tbc.sc/wtbi/history.php
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 http://tbc.sc/wtbi/digital.php

External links