WRPO-LP (93.5 FM) is a noncommercial low-power

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 ...

licensed to

Russells Point, Ohio Russells Point is a village located in northwest Logan County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,391 at the 2010 census. It is situated on Indian Lake, which had long been a popular summer resort destination. History A post office called ...

, with a

community radio Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popular ...

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as we ...

format billed as "Indian Lake's Greatest Hits". Owned by the village of Russells Point and operated by Gray Fox Broadcasting with studios and transmitter both located in the village, WRPO-LP serves both it, adjacent Lakeview and Indian Lake State Park. In addition to a standard analog transmission, WRPO-LP is repeated full-time over

Huntsville Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in th ...

low-power station WOHP-LP (), which is owned by the Village of Huntsville.

History

WRPO-LP began broadcasting on May 27, 2002, as an all-volunteer station, with studios and offices are located in the Russells Point Village Municipal Building. Founder and station manager Francis "Gene" Kirby began his broadcast career as a teenager using a low-powered AM band "Oscillator" from his home in New Dover. After graduating from Marysville High School in 1950, he served for nearly ten years in the

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

, was the evening on-air personality at WRFD-FM (now

WNCI WNCI (97.9 FM) (branded 97.9 WNCI) is a commercial contemporary hit radio station licensed to Columbus, Ohio, serving the Columbus metro area. Owned by iHeartMedia, it serves as the flagship station for the syndicated "Dave & Jimmy" morning ...

) in Columbus, in addition to work at

WDLR WDLR (1270 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Marysville, Ohio. The station primarily serves the Union County region, with limited coverage in the Columbus market. The station is under ownership of Brent Casagrande through licensee ...

(now WQCD) in

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

. Kirby also began operating a Part 15

micropower Micropower describes the use of very small electric generators and prime movers or devices to convert heat or motion to electricity, for use close to the generator. The generator is typically integrated with microelectronic devices and produces "s ...

AM station in

Marysville, Ohio Marysville is a city in and the county seat of Union County, Ohio, United States, approximately 27 miles (44 km) northwest of Columbus. The population was 22,094 at the 2010 census, a 38.59% increase from 2000. Marysville's longtime slog ...

, when that city's existing commercial radio station, WUCO, was leased out to noncommercial interests based in Columbus, later managing WUCO after a change in ownership. The station switched from

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s an ...

and adult standards to a

smooth jazz Smooth jazz is a genre of commercially-oriented crossover jazz and easy listening music that became dominant in the mid 1970s to the early 1990s. History Smooth jazz is a commercially oriented, crossover jazz which came to prominence in the 19 ...

format on March 8, 2008. Overnight programming also included

from 12 midnight until early morning. A survey of local listeners took place in March and April 2009 by the local low-power station which helped determine the switch to oldies on May 9, 2009. In February 2012, a second studio used for audio production and live programs was constructed. On January 14, 2014, a construction permit was granted by the FCC for WOHP-LP 101.3 mHz in

. The Village of Huntsville is the station's licensee and Gray Fox Broadcasting also manages this station as a repeater of WRPO-LP. The new low-power FM made its on-air debut at 9:00 am local time on August 23 of 2014 to serve the communities of Huntsville and Bellefontaine. WOHP's transmitting tower was installed with transmitting antennas on June 14, 2014. On July 1, 2014, on-air testing began. A netlink was installed on August 9, 2014 to relay audio from the WRPO studios to the WOHP tower, hence WOHP is a simulcast of WRPO's programming. Kirby died on May 30, 2020, at the age of 88.https://underwoodfuneralhome.com/obituaries/gene-kirby/996 Obituary of Francis "Gene" Kirby His wife Barbara joined him in eternity on January 4, 2023. Both are interred at Mount Herman Cemetery located near the rural community of New Dover outside of Marysville.

References

External links

* {{Oldies Radio Stations in Ohio RPO-LP Oldies radio stations in the United States Logan County, Ohio RPO-LP Community radio stations in the United States

History

See also

References

External links