WEXT (97.7

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 ...

) is a listener-supported,

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...

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 radi ...

broadcasting an

adult album alternative Adult album alternative (also triple-A, AAA, or adult alternative) is a radio format. See pages 9 and 10Mills, Joshua. "A New Radio Music Format: Rock for Prosperous Adults" New York Times, Feb 28 1994, p. 2. ProQuest. Web. Accessed September 4, 2 ...

format.

Licensed A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

Amsterdam, New York Amsterdam is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in Montgomery County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 18,219. The city is named after Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The City of Amste ...

, the station serves the Capital District and Mohawk Valley. The station is owned by WMHT Educational Telecommunications and features programming from

American Public Media American Public Media (APM) is an American company that produces and distributes public radio programs in the United States, the second largest company of its type after NPR. Its non-profit parent, American Public Media Group, also owns and o ...

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

and

Public Radio Exchange The Public Radio Exchange (PRX) is a non-profit web-based platform for digital distribution, review, and licensing of radio programs. The organization is the largest on-demand catalogue of public radio programs available for broadcast and internet ...

. WEXT holds periodic

fundraiser Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

s on the air to support the station. WEXT has an

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would h ...

(ERP) of 1,600

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 ...

s. The

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

is off New York State Route 30 in Perth, New York. Programming is also heard on an

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 tra ...

in Albany, 106.1 W291BY and on the HD Radio digital subchannel of co-owned 89.1

WMHT-FM WMHT-FM (89.1 MHz) is a listener-supported, non-commercial radio station licensed to Schenectady, and serving the Capital District of New York. It has a classical music radio format, with most programming originating in-house, but with some s ...

-HD2.

History

In 1975, WCSS-FM first signed on, airing a

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

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 ...

format. It was the FM counterpart to WCSS

1490 AM The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 1490 kHz: 1490 AM is a Regional ( Class B) outside the coterminous 48 United States (Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico & U.S. Virgin Islands), and a Local ( Class C) frequency within the conti ...

. In 1979, the call letters changed to WMVQ, carrying a Middle of the Road (MOR) format. In 1984, WMVQ changed formats to

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 ...

, which was known as ''Magic 97.7''. In late 1988, the format was changed to

with the call letters WKOL-FM, which was known as ''Cool 97.7''. In late 1989, the station flipped to

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, quie ...

. During the holidays in 1994, the station switched to all Christmas music. That would signal the end of the AC format. On December 26, 1994, the station flipped to classical music as WBKK ''W-Bach''. As a commercial station, the station originally ran using the

KDFC KDFC (90.3 FM) is a non-commercial radio station in San Francisco, California, that broadcasts classical music 24 hours daily. It is owned by the University of Southern California. KDFC is the radio home of the San Francisco Symphony and the San ...

DAT service, switching to the now-defunct SW Classical network and eventually to a service provided by

WCRB WCRB (99.5 FM) is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Lowell, Massachusetts, which serves the Greater Boston area. It broadcasts classical music. Its studios are located in Brighton, and its transmitter is located west of Andover. WCRB wa ...

in Boston, Massachusetts. On August 4, 2005, the station became a simulcast of

after GEM Associates sold the station to WMHT Educational Telecommunications for $1.5 million. In April 2006, WBKK split off from the simulcast of WMHT-FM with a classical music format carrying shorter pieces than its sister station. On July 7, 2007, WMHT-FM dropped their classical service on WBKK and launched a new

format under the ''Exit 97.7'' branding and the WEXT calls. The station highlights a lot of local music, calling it "Local 518" (in reference to the station's area code). Featured programs include the children's rock and roll program called ''The Peanut Butter Jam'' and the Latin music show ''The Latin Alternative''. On December 21, 2018, the program content of WEXT, which is also on WMHT-FM HD-2, was added to the translator at 106.1 with call sign W291BY.

References

External links

* EXT Adult album alternative radio stations in the United States NPR member stations Radio stations established in 1975 1975 establishments in New York (state) {{NewYork-radio-station-stub