WOLX-FM
 | |
| City | Baraboo, Wisconsin |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Madison metropolitan area |
| Branding | 94.9 WOLX |
| Slogan | Classic Hits |
| Frequency | 94.9 MHz |
| First air date | 1947 (as WWCF) |
| Format |
Classic Hits Christmas music (Nov.-Dec.) |
| ERP | 37,000 watts |
| HAAT | 396 meters (1299 feet) |
| Class | B |
| Facility ID | 60236 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 43°25′40″N 89°39′14″W / 43.42778°N 89.65389°W |
| Former callsigns |
WWCF (1947-19??) WLVE (19??-1984) WNLT (1984-1985) WILV (1985-1989) |
| Owner |
Entercom Communications (Entercom License, LLC) |
| Sister stations | WMHX, WMMM-FM |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | wolx.com |
WOLX-FM (94.9 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Baraboo, Wisconsin and serving the Madison metropolitan area. The station is owned and operated by Entercom Communications, and airs a classic hits format, concentrating on music from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. From mid-November to December 25, it switches to all-Christmas music. The studios and offices are on Ganser Way in Madison. WOLX broadcasts from a transmitter in Devil's Lake State Park near Baraboo in Sauk County, Wisconsin.[1]
History
The station first started experimental broadcasts in 1945 and was licensed as WWCF in 1947.[2] It was the sister station to WIBU (now WHFA) in Poynette, Wisconsin, which went on the air in 1925. At first, WWCF mostly simulcast WIBU. By the 1970s it separated its programming from WIBU, airing a beautiful music format, using the call sign WLVE with the LVE standing for "Love." It later moved to soft adult contemporary in 1984 as WNLT with the LT standing for "Lite Music."
It later switched to oldies music, initially concentrating on 1950s and 1960s music. In 1989 it took the call sign WOLX-FM, calling itself "Oldies 94.9," with the OL standing for Oldies. Over time it moved to its current Classic Hits approach under the "94.9 WOLX" branding. WOLX airs all-Christmas music, usually from Thanksgiving to Christmas, although in 2009, it started playing holiday music on November 5. Christmas music started on November 25 in 2014.
Superpower status
As one of the oldest FM stations in Wisconsin, WOLX-FM operates at a higher power than would be granted today. It is a grandfathered "Superpower" Class B FM station. Under Federal Communications Commission rules, a Class B FM station using an antenna height of 396 meters would be allowed a maximum power of 6,700 watts, while WOLX-FM operates at 37,000 watts.[3] The station once used the slogan "High atop the Baraboo Bluffs in Greenfield Township". Its signal can reach 33 of Wisconsin's 72 counties, and even penetrates the counties along with Lake Michigan shore on clear days, something usually complicated by the Kettle Moraine hills northeast of Madison even among local stations in that area. With a good radio, WOLX-FM can be heard in sections of Illinois, Iowa and the western suburbs of Milwaukee and into Sheboygan County.
References
- ↑ http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/patg?id=WOLX-FM
- ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1977 page C-231
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on January 6, 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2015.