WYLF (850

kHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that on ...

) is a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

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 ...

Penn Yan, New York Penn Yan is an incorporated village and the county seat of Yates County, New York, United States. The population was 5,159 at the 2010 census. It lies at the north end of the east branch of Keuka Lake, one of the Finger Lakes. Penn Yan, New York ...

, serving the

Finger Lakes The Finger Lakes are a group of eleven long, narrow, roughly north–south lakes located south of Lake Ontario in an area called the ''Finger Lakes region'' in New York, in the United States. This region straddles the northern and transitional ...

region of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and the Rochester metropolitan area. The station airs a

soft adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet sto ...

fed by Local Radio Networks, and airs the syndicated ''Intelligence For Your Life'' with

John Tesh John Frank Tesh (born July 9, 1952) is an American pianist and composer of pop music, as well as a radio host and television presenter. He hosts the ''Intelligence for Your Life'' radio show. In addition, since 2014, he has hosted ''Intelligen ...

program at night. The station also features news updates from

ABC Radio News ABC News Radio is the news radio service of ABC Audio, a division of ABC News in the United States. Formerly known as ABC Radio News, ABC News Radio feeds, through Skyview Networks, five minute newscasts on the hour and news briefs at half-pas ...

. The station is owned by Brian McGlynn's Genesee Media Corporation, through licensee WYLF Radio LLC.

Transmitter

By day, WYLF is powered at 1,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...

s. But because

AM 850 The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 850 kHz: 850 AM is a United States clear-channel frequency. KOA and KICY share Class A status of 850 kHz. In Argentina * La Gauchita in Morón, Buenos Aires In Mexico * in ...

is a clear channel frequency, the station must greatly reduce power at night to 45 watts to avoid interfering with longer-established stations. It uses a

non-directional antenna In radio communication, an omnidirectional antenna is a class of antenna which radiates equal radio power in all directions perpendicular to an axis (azimuthal directions), with power varying with angle to the axis (elevation angle), declining ...

at all times. The

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which i ...

is located on East Sherman Road (Route 22) at Sutton Road in Penn Yan. WYLF is also heard on

FM translator A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tran ...

W230CZ at 93.9

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...

in Penn Yan.

History

The station got its

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 ...

(FCC)

construction permit Planning permission or developmental approval refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. It is usually given in the form of a building perm ...

on November 11, 1981. The station took several months to build and

signed on Signing may refer to: * Using sign language * Signature A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on do ...

the air in 1982. It was owned by MB Communications. At first it was a

daytimer A clear-channel station is an AM radio station in North America that has the highest protection from interference from other stations, particularly concerning night-time skywave propagation. The system exists to ensure the viability of cross-coun ...

, required to go off the air at sunset. It transmitted with 500 watts and aired a middle of the road music format. In the 1990s, the power was boosted to 1,000 watts. In the 1990s, the FCC granted WYLF nighttime authorization to broadcast after sunset at 47 watts.Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2000 page D-312
/ref> During the 1980s, it had different

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...

s: WOZO and WQKA. In 1988, it returned to its original WYLF call letters. For a time, WYLF carried the syndicated Oldies/Standards format from

Citadel Media Cumulus Media Networks was an American radio network owned and operated by Cumulus Media. From 2011 until its merger with Westwood One, it controlled many of the radio assets formerly belonging to the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), which w ...

's "

Timeless Timeless (or atemporal) or timelessness (or atemporality) may refer to: * Agelessness, the condition of being unaffected by the passage of time * Akal (Sikh term), timelessness in Sikhism * Eternity, timeless existence or infinite duration * Immo ...

" satellite feed. When Timeless was discontinued, WYLF began providing local content from its own music library. It later joined the "

America's Best Music America's Best Music is the on-air branding of a soft oldies and adult standards 24-hour radio network, formerly known as AM Only. The service is syndicated by Westwood One, a subsidiary of Cumulus Media. It was one of the original Transtar Ra ...

" network from

Westwood One Westwood One is an American radio network There are two types of radio network currently in use around the world: the one-to-many (simplex communication) broadcast network commonly used for public information and mass-media entertainment, and ...

. On April 29, 2022, Tim Stratton sold the station and its FM translator to Brian McGlynn's Genesee Media Corporation for $260,000, pending FCC approval. In early May 2022, Genesee Media began operating the station and flipped it to

as "Fresh Lake Air WYLF". The sale was consummated on March 9, 2023.

References

External links

* 1981 establishments in New York (state) Radio stations established in 1981

YLF Neodymium-doped yttrium lithium fluoride (Nd:YLF) is a lasing medium for arc lamp- pumped and diode-pumped solid-state lasers. The YLF crystal (LiYF4) is naturally birefringent, and commonly used laser transitions occur at 1047 nm and 1053&nbs ...

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