WFSO
Encyclopedia
WFSO is a Christian
radio station
licensed to Olivebridge, New York
in north central Ulster County at the foothills of the Catskill Mountains
. The station broadcasts on 88.3 MHz FM with 100 Watt
s from a tower in Olivebridge. WFSO is the full-service NCE
flagship of Redeemer Broadcasting, Inc., a not-for-profit Christian radio ministry based in Olivebridge. Redeemer also owns translators W266BX serving Catskill
on 101.1 MHz FM, W287BG serving Kingston
/Poughkeepie on 105.3 MHz FM, and W212CC serving Newburgh on 90.3 MHz FM.
(and was the last new non-owned station to affiliate with the network).
The 2002 statement by Family Radio president Harold Camping
that criticized local churches and urged listeners to abandon churches and their tenants led to a fallout with the owners and supporters of the station, and the larger network. In 2003, WFSO began decreasing the amount of Family Radio content with its own, consistently Christian
, programming. The first program that was produced was mostly soft praise and worship music and has developed into what is now known as Reflections. As time went on, more and more programs were added to the broadcast day, some of which restored the better of the Family Radio programs that had been discarded by Family Radio.
In 2004, part of Christian Media Associates would reincorporate as Redeemer Broadcasting, a tax-exempt non-profit organization (501 (c)(3)) that would produce their own programming for WFSO as well as the potential of syndicating programming in the future. This process became complete on December 8 of 2005 when WFSO eliminated the last few hours of Family Radio programming from their station. The station works largely on a volunteer basis (with some paid contractors) and has persons on site at all times. Alongside the mix of local and syndicated programming are some unique public affairs shows during weekend hours.
The staff at Redeemer Broadcasting is growing the number of locally created programs. A key program heard each week night at 9:00 PM (EST), is Proclamation. Earlier in the evening at 7:00 PM, hosts Dan and Deb Elmendorf present The Covenant Home, a program intended to support Christian homes with excellent book readings and music tailored to the home.
The number of listeners to WFSO has substantially grown since the station converted its programming to 100% Redeemer Broadcasting. In August 2006, WFSO also began streaming audio 24 hours a day on the Internet. This audio stream is accessible from the station's website. A number of former Family Radio listeners in the Hudson Valley have been attracted to the new format because of its support for the church and slight upgrade of music. Financial support is growing steadily and the station is able to stay on the air simply with listener donations and without any underwiters.
Coverage of WFSO's signal was expanded February 2007, when the Rhinebeck translator formerly on 105.7 FM, moved sites and changed frequency to 105.3 FM. Now the signal can be heard in Hyde Park, Pleasant Valley and Poughkeepsie. More coverage was realized in December 2007 when the Newburgh translator at 90.3 FM was placed on the air.
An interesting tidbit regarding the Redeemer Broadcasting infrastructure is that the Redeemer control studio is partially powered by solar power using active solar panels. The panels used are made by Seimens, and the inverters are Trace units. When the sunlight is strong, the power generated by the panels is almost sufficient to run the entire control studio.
The station management continues to look for another FM station to purchase in a larger market.
Christian radio
Christian radio is a category of radio formats that focus on transmitting programming with a Christian message. In the United States, where it is more established, many such broadcasters play popular music of Christian influence, though many programs have talk or news programming covering...
radio station
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
licensed to Olivebridge, New York
Olive, New York
Olive is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 4,579 at the 2000 census.The Town of Olive is an interior town of Ulster County. The town is west of Kingston, New York and is inside the Catskill Park.- History :...
in north central Ulster County at the foothills of the Catskill Mountains
Catskill Mountains
The Catskill Mountains, an area in New York State northwest of New York City and southwest of Albany, are a mature dissected plateau, an uplifted region that was subsequently eroded into sharp relief. They are an eastward continuation, and the highest representation, of the Allegheny Plateau...
. The station broadcasts on 88.3 MHz FM with 100 Watt
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
s from a tower in Olivebridge. WFSO is the full-service NCE
Non-commercial educational
The term non-commercial educational applies to a radio station or TV station that does not accept on air advertisements , as defined in the United States by the Federal Communications Commission . NCE stations do not pay broadcast license fees for their non-profit uses of the radio spectrum...
flagship of Redeemer Broadcasting, Inc., a not-for-profit Christian radio ministry based in Olivebridge. Redeemer also owns translators W266BX serving Catskill
Catskill (town), New York
Catskill is a town in the southeast part of Greene County, New York, United States. The population was 11,775 at the 2010 census. The western part of the town is in the Catskill Park....
on 101.1 MHz FM, W287BG serving Kingston
Kingston, New York
Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, USA. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. It became New York's first capital in 1777, and was burned by the British Oct. 16, 1777, after the Battles of Saratoga...
/Poughkeepie on 105.3 MHz FM, and W212CC serving Newburgh on 90.3 MHz FM.
Translators
Much of WFSO's audience comes from its translators:History
WFSO first went on the air on December 27, 1996 and was originally owned by Christian Media Associates, Inc, another locally-based ministry. The station originally began as an affiliate of Family RadioFamily Radio
Family Radio, also known by its licensee name Family Stations Inc., is a Christian radio network based in Oakland, California, USA, founded by Lloyd Lindquist, Richard H. Palmquist and Harold Camping...
(and was the last new non-owned station to affiliate with the network).
The 2002 statement by Family Radio president Harold Camping
Harold Camping
Harold Egbert Camping is an American Christian radio broadcaster. He served as president of Family Radio, a California-based radio station group that broadcasts to more than 150 markets in the United States, since 1958. In 2011 he retired from active broadcasting following a stroke, but still...
that criticized local churches and urged listeners to abandon churches and their tenants led to a fallout with the owners and supporters of the station, and the larger network. In 2003, WFSO began decreasing the amount of Family Radio content with its own, consistently Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
, programming. The first program that was produced was mostly soft praise and worship music and has developed into what is now known as Reflections. As time went on, more and more programs were added to the broadcast day, some of which restored the better of the Family Radio programs that had been discarded by Family Radio.
In 2004, part of Christian Media Associates would reincorporate as Redeemer Broadcasting, a tax-exempt non-profit organization (501 (c)(3)) that would produce their own programming for WFSO as well as the potential of syndicating programming in the future. This process became complete on December 8 of 2005 when WFSO eliminated the last few hours of Family Radio programming from their station. The station works largely on a volunteer basis (with some paid contractors) and has persons on site at all times. Alongside the mix of local and syndicated programming are some unique public affairs shows during weekend hours.
The staff at Redeemer Broadcasting is growing the number of locally created programs. A key program heard each week night at 9:00 PM (EST), is Proclamation. Earlier in the evening at 7:00 PM, hosts Dan and Deb Elmendorf present The Covenant Home, a program intended to support Christian homes with excellent book readings and music tailored to the home.
The number of listeners to WFSO has substantially grown since the station converted its programming to 100% Redeemer Broadcasting. In August 2006, WFSO also began streaming audio 24 hours a day on the Internet. This audio stream is accessible from the station's website. A number of former Family Radio listeners in the Hudson Valley have been attracted to the new format because of its support for the church and slight upgrade of music. Financial support is growing steadily and the station is able to stay on the air simply with listener donations and without any underwiters.
Coverage of WFSO's signal was expanded February 2007, when the Rhinebeck translator formerly on 105.7 FM, moved sites and changed frequency to 105.3 FM. Now the signal can be heard in Hyde Park, Pleasant Valley and Poughkeepsie. More coverage was realized in December 2007 when the Newburgh translator at 90.3 FM was placed on the air.
An interesting tidbit regarding the Redeemer Broadcasting infrastructure is that the Redeemer control studio is partially powered by solar power using active solar panels. The panels used are made by Seimens, and the inverters are Trace units. When the sunlight is strong, the power generated by the panels is almost sufficient to run the entire control studio.
The station management continues to look for another FM station to purchase in a larger market.