WQHK-FM is an FM

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

located in Huntertown, Indiana, United States, and broadcasting to the

Fort Wayne Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

area. The station operates on the

FM radio FM broadcasting is a method of radio broadcasting using frequency modulation (FM). Invented in 1933 by American engineer Edwin Armstrong, wide-band FM is used worldwide to provide high fidelity sound over broadcast radio. FM broadcasting is cap ...

frequency of 105.1 MHz.

History

Today's WQHK-FM went on the air from

Decatur, Indiana Decatur is a city in Root Township, Adams County, Indiana, Root and Washington Township, Adams County, Indiana, Washington townships, Adams County, Indiana, Adams County, Indiana, United States. It is the county seat (and the largest community ...

, as WADM-FM 92.7 on November 8, 1966. It was owned by Airon, Incorporated, alongside WADM (1540 AM). The WADM stations were purchased outright by WFYC, Inc., owner of the WFYC stations in

Alma, Michigan Alma is the largest city in Gratiot County, Michigan, Gratiot County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 9,383 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It was incorporated as the Village of Alma in 1872 and became a city in 1905 ...

, in 1978. Midwest Communications Company, owned by Richard Sommerville and his son, acquired the pair in 1984; Richard's brother David owned 35 percent of the seller, and other family members were involved in radio holdings in Michigan. The call letters were first changed to WMCZ, but a federal judge ordered a change after

WMEE WMEE (97.3 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a hot adult contemporary format. The station serves the Fort Wayne, Indiana area. The station is currently owned by Federated Media. History The WMEE calls originated in 1971 at 1380 kHz on the ...

(97.3 FM) sued on the similarity of the two call signs' sounds; until it could change to WQTZ, the Decatur station was ordered to include "not to be confused with WMEE FM 97" in all of its station identifications. One of the key developments in the trial was that the WMCZ station manager, when asked to cite WMEE's slogan, gave WMCZ's instead, bolstering the judge's finding of a

likelihood of confusion In trademark law, confusing similarity is a test used during the examination process to determine whether a trademark conflicts with another, earlier mark, and also in trademark infringement proceedings to determine whether the use of a mark infri ...

. It was the first call sign similarity dispute to be mediated by a federal judge; the responsibility for these disputes had rested with the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

until the start of 1984. To coincide with a height increase on the tower and expanded coverage area, a new format was chosen to replace the two stations' adult contemporary programming on FM, and WQTZ flipped to oldies on December 1, 1985. In 1991, the station was approved for an upgrade to 25,000 watts on 105.1 MHz, which required

WQTX WQTX (92.1 FM, "Stacks 92.1) is a radio station broadcasting a Rhythmic Adult Contemporary format to the Lansing, Michigan radio market. Licensed to St. Johns, Michigan, it first began broadcasting in 1972, and has been through a number of dif ...

, then on 105.1 from Roanoke, to move to 94.1; the move also opened up the 92.7 allocation in

Berne german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

now used by WZBD. WQTZ and WADM were acquired by Julia A. Moore of

Lebanon, Ohio Lebanon is a city in and the county seat of Warren County, Ohio, United States. The population was 20,841 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area. History Lebanon is in the Symmes Purchase. The first European settler ...

, in 1992. Moore signed an agreement with Federated Media, owner of WMEE and WQHK (1380 AM), to co-own and manage the FM outlet. Though a simulcast of the classic country AM was originally slated, management felt that the market could support another country station. The format flip and frequency change took effect together on June 29, 1993, when WQHK-FM 105.1 debuted.

References

External links

K105 FM
* {{coord, 41.1109, N, 85.1955, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title QHK Country radio stations in the United States 1966 establishments in Indiana Radio stations established in 1966