WRNR-FM

WRNR-FM
City Grasonville, MD
Broadcast area Annapolis, MD
Frequency 103.1 (MHz)
First air date 1979 (as WAQA)
Format Adult Alternative
ERP 6,000 watts
HAAT 100 meters
Class A
Facility ID 70351
Callsign meaning W-Rock N Roll
Former callsigns WAQA (1979-1981)
WBEY (1981-1991)
WHVY (1991-1992)
WXZL (1992-1994)
Owner Empire Broadcasting
Webcast WRNR-FM Webstream
Website WRNR-FM Online

WRNR-FM is a commercial radio station located in Grasonville, Maryland, broadcasting mainly to the Annapolis / Anne Arundel County area on 103.1 FM. WRNR-FM airs an adult album alternative music format.

WRNR-FM has its studios in Annapolis on Admiral Cochrane Drive and they transmit from Grasonville, on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. They are a "Class-A" radio station, meaning that they transmit at 6,000 watts from a 300-foot tower. Normally that signal would go approximately 28 miles in a circle, but due to the location of WRNR's transmitter site, they cover a much larger area shooting across the open Chesapeake Bay. WRNR-FM mainly focuses on the Annapolis area, as well as the rest of Anne Arundel, Queen Anne's, and Talbot Counties, although the signal covers Baltimore, Annapolis, the Eastern Washington D.C. suburbs, and many other densely populated areas.

The official music format for WRNR-FM is "Adult Album Alternative", but the station adds a lot to that format musically with deep tracks of classic rock, new alternative rock, vintage alternative rock, reggae, roots rock, and more. They are credited as one of the radio stations that helped launch the bands "Wilco" and many others. WRNR-FM is owned by Empire Broadcasting and is one of the few independent radio stations in the Baltimore-Washington area.

WRNR-FM afternoons are hosted by Carrie and feature the "Main Street Cafe'". Afternoon Drive is hosted by longtime radio personality Bob Waugh (formerly at WHFS, New York's "K-Rock," and WDRE). Mornings are hosted by WHFS veteran Rob Timm. Weekends include specialty shows like "Little Steven's Underground Garage," Craig Bailey's "Floydian Slip" Pink Floyd program, and local music show "Voices of the Chesapeake Bay" with Michael Buckley. Longtime 98 Rock personality Mike Ondayko can be heard weekends as well.

History

Early Years (1979-1981)

WAQA signed on the air in 1979 as a Hot AC/Top 40 station, known as Super Q103 with 3,000 watts from a tower at Kent Narrows, MD. The studio and tower were co-located.

Bay Country 103 (1981-1991)

In 1981, the call letters were changed to WBEY and the format changed to Country. The station was known as Bay Country 103.

103.1 The Underground (1991-1992)

In early 1991, Vision Broadcasting purchased 103.1 and changed the call letters to WHVY and the format to Active Rock with an emphasis on Heavy Metal. The WHVY call letters and format were moved from low-power night-time-only non-commercial 96.7 in Baltimore (97 Underground) to 103.1. The studio was moved to Annapolis with a secondary studio maintained at the transmitter site.

Rock 103XZL (1992-1994)

In December 1992, the Active Rock format was tweaked some and the call letters were changed to WXZL. The station also increased its power to 6,000 watts from a new tower about 4 miles east of the original tower location.

References

    Coordinates: 38°56′38″N 76°10′41″W / 38.944°N 76.178°W / 38.944; -76.178


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