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WVKS
WVKS (92.5 FM) also known as 92.5 KISS-FM is a commercial station in Toledo, Ohio, with a top 40 (CHR) format. It is owned by iHeartMedia with studios at Superior and Lafayette in downtown Toledo. 92.5 KISS-FM carries several nationally syndicated programs including Mojo in the Morning from WKQI Detroit and On Air with Ryan Seacrest from KIIS-FM Los Angeles.
WVKS has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 50,000 watts, the maximum for most Ohio FM stations. The transmitter is off Neiderhouse Road in Perrysburg Township, Ohio. WVKS broadcasts using HD Radio technology. Its HD2 subchannel carries an urban contemporary format known as "94.9 The Beat." That feeds FM translator W235BH, also in Perrysburg.
The station signed on the air on October 14, 1957. The original call sign was WMHE. It was founded by William A. Hillebrand (1917–2005). Though FM broadcasting was still in its infancy at the time, Hillebrand saw FM radio, with its superior sound quality for musical recordings, as an investment that would prove viable in the long run. "He foresaw something that he thought was going to be successful and he was right," his widow, Marvel Hillebrand, told The Toledo Blade after his death in 2005. The call letters stood for "Wired Music Hillebrand Electronics".
WMHE's initial format consisted of "fine arts" music programming, including classical, jazz, and big band music. Hillebrand also used WMHE to transmit the new Muzak subscription service to businesses and restaurants in the Toledo area by using a subsidiary communications authority or SCA. The subcarrier channel can only be heard through special receivers used to distribute Muzak. The station's transmitter was located behind the studio building on Bancroft Street next to Hillebrand Electronics, a store also owned and operated by Hillebrand. Over time, the main channel switched to an automated beautiful music format, playing quarter hour sweeps of mostly soft, instrumental cover versions of popular adult songs.
In the early 1970s, Hillebrand wanted to expand his Muzak coverage area and constructed a taller tower at a new site near Perrysburg, Ohio. The antenna was 550 feet (170 m) high and the transmitter gave WMHE 50,000 watts of power, the maximum for most FM stations in Ohio. With his new transmitter, Hillebrand could now offer Muzak to places as far away as Lima, Ohio, and Fort Wayne, Indiana. The programming on the regular FM channel remained beautiful music.
In 1975, Hillebrand decided to capitalize on the popularity of rock and roll so a new staff was hired to relaunch the station. Disc jockeys included Dave Deppish (mornings), Mark Howell (middays), Mike O'Mara (evenings), and Larry Weseman (nights). In the spring of 1975, Toledo's newest album oriented rock (AOR) station debuted with The Doobie Brothers "Listen to the Music". Within a year, more DJs were hired including Timm Morrison (later of WWWM-FM and WMJC in Detroit) and Bob Crowley.
WMHE, with its unique blend of rock and roll, became a popular Toledo station, scoring its highest ratings during middays. Because of the large coverage area, it became popular in sections of Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana. The station gained in popularity when many of the stores that carried Muzak, would switch over to the main audio channel in order to pull in WMHE. Its primary competition was WIOT, and some of the WIOT jocks joined the WMHE airstaff over the next few years. They included Dorien Pastor (founder of WIOT), John Fisher as the new morning man and program director (now at KHTP-Seattle), and Bob Thomas. Toledo jock Buddy Carr was also part of the airstaff in 1976. Rick Bird was news director for a time with other news personalities Tom Waniewski and Chris O'Connor both from the University of Toledo.
Because of Mr. Hillebrand's fascination with new radio technology, WMHE was partially automated. The automation consisted of a bank of six cartridge "carousels" each holding 24 tape cartridges. All of the music was on these cartridges or "carts" (similar to 8-track tapes), but only one item (a song, a voicetrack, or a commercial) was on each cart. The jocks would record their announcements on individual carts, usually introducing a song or back-announcing a few songs that had just played in the carousel. Portions of the morning and evening shows were performed 'live'.
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WVKS
WVKS (92.5 FM) also known as 92.5 KISS-FM is a commercial station in Toledo, Ohio, with a top 40 (CHR) format. It is owned by iHeartMedia with studios at Superior and Lafayette in downtown Toledo. 92.5 KISS-FM carries several nationally syndicated programs including Mojo in the Morning from WKQI Detroit and On Air with Ryan Seacrest from KIIS-FM Los Angeles.
WVKS has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 50,000 watts, the maximum for most Ohio FM stations. The transmitter is off Neiderhouse Road in Perrysburg Township, Ohio. WVKS broadcasts using HD Radio technology. Its HD2 subchannel carries an urban contemporary format known as "94.9 The Beat." That feeds FM translator W235BH, also in Perrysburg.
The station signed on the air on October 14, 1957. The original call sign was WMHE. It was founded by William A. Hillebrand (1917–2005). Though FM broadcasting was still in its infancy at the time, Hillebrand saw FM radio, with its superior sound quality for musical recordings, as an investment that would prove viable in the long run. "He foresaw something that he thought was going to be successful and he was right," his widow, Marvel Hillebrand, told The Toledo Blade after his death in 2005. The call letters stood for "Wired Music Hillebrand Electronics".
WMHE's initial format consisted of "fine arts" music programming, including classical, jazz, and big band music. Hillebrand also used WMHE to transmit the new Muzak subscription service to businesses and restaurants in the Toledo area by using a subsidiary communications authority or SCA. The subcarrier channel can only be heard through special receivers used to distribute Muzak. The station's transmitter was located behind the studio building on Bancroft Street next to Hillebrand Electronics, a store also owned and operated by Hillebrand. Over time, the main channel switched to an automated beautiful music format, playing quarter hour sweeps of mostly soft, instrumental cover versions of popular adult songs.
In the early 1970s, Hillebrand wanted to expand his Muzak coverage area and constructed a taller tower at a new site near Perrysburg, Ohio. The antenna was 550 feet (170 m) high and the transmitter gave WMHE 50,000 watts of power, the maximum for most FM stations in Ohio. With his new transmitter, Hillebrand could now offer Muzak to places as far away as Lima, Ohio, and Fort Wayne, Indiana. The programming on the regular FM channel remained beautiful music.
In 1975, Hillebrand decided to capitalize on the popularity of rock and roll so a new staff was hired to relaunch the station. Disc jockeys included Dave Deppish (mornings), Mark Howell (middays), Mike O'Mara (evenings), and Larry Weseman (nights). In the spring of 1975, Toledo's newest album oriented rock (AOR) station debuted with The Doobie Brothers "Listen to the Music". Within a year, more DJs were hired including Timm Morrison (later of WWWM-FM and WMJC in Detroit) and Bob Crowley.
WMHE, with its unique blend of rock and roll, became a popular Toledo station, scoring its highest ratings during middays. Because of the large coverage area, it became popular in sections of Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana. The station gained in popularity when many of the stores that carried Muzak, would switch over to the main audio channel in order to pull in WMHE. Its primary competition was WIOT, and some of the WIOT jocks joined the WMHE airstaff over the next few years. They included Dorien Pastor (founder of WIOT), John Fisher as the new morning man and program director (now at KHTP-Seattle), and Bob Thomas. Toledo jock Buddy Carr was also part of the airstaff in 1976. Rick Bird was news director for a time with other news personalities Tom Waniewski and Chris O'Connor both from the University of Toledo.
Because of Mr. Hillebrand's fascination with new radio technology, WMHE was partially automated. The automation consisted of a bank of six cartridge "carousels" each holding 24 tape cartridges. All of the music was on these cartridges or "carts" (similar to 8-track tapes), but only one item (a song, a voicetrack, or a commercial) was on each cart. The jocks would record their announcements on individual carts, usually introducing a song or back-announcing a few songs that had just played in the carousel. Portions of the morning and evening shows were performed 'live'.