FM broadcasting in the United States began in the 1930s at engineer and inventor Edwin Howard Armstrong's experimental station, W2XMN. The use of FM radio has been associated with higher sound quality in music radio.
The FM broadcast band is a range of radio frequencies used for FM broadcasting by radio stations. The range of frequencies used differs between different parts of the world. In Europe and Africa and in Australia and New Zealand, it spans from 87.5 to 108 megahertz (MHz) - also known as VHF Band II - while in the Americas it ranges from 88 to 108 MHz. The FM broadcast band in Japan uses 76 to 95 MHz, and in Brazil, 76 to 108 MHz. The International Radio and Television Organisation (OIRT) band in Eastern Europe is from 65.9 to 74.0 MHz, although these countries now primarily use the 87.5 to 108 MHz band, as in the case of Russia. Some other countries have already discontinued the OIRT band and have changed to the 87.5 to 108 MHz band.
WJR is a commercial radio station in Detroit, Michigan, owned by Cumulus Media, with a news/talk radio format. Most of WJR's broadcast studios, along with its newsroom and offices, are in the Fisher Building in Detroit's New Center area. A tower atop the Fisher Building relays WJR's audio to the transmitter site, and at one time WJR-FM also used this tower. There is an additional satellite studio in the Wintergarden of the GM Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit.
KALW (91.7 MHz) is an educational FM public radio station, licensed to the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), which serves the San Francisco Bay Area. Its studios are located at Phillip and Sala Burton Academic High School off Mansell Avenue in San Francisco, and its transmitter tower is on Twin Peaks.
WWJ is a commercial AM radio station licensed to serve Detroit, Michigan, featuring an all-news radio format known as WWJ Newsradio 950. Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station services Metro Detroit, is the market affiliate for CBS News Radio, and the flagship station for the Michigan Sports Network. Operating on a regional broadcast frequency, its studios are in the Panasonic Building in Southfield.
WNYE is a non-commercial educational FM radio station licensed to New York, New York. The station is operated, along with WNYE-TV, by NYC Media, a division of the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment. Studios are located at the City University of New York's Graduate Center at 365 Fifth Avenue, and the transmitter is at the former Condé Nast Building.
WASH is a commercial FM radio station owned and operated by iHeartMedia and located in Washington, D.C. Known on-air as "WASH-FM", the station airs an adult contemporary radio format. Studios and offices are on Rockville Pike in Rockville, Maryland. The station has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 17,500 watts, broadcasting from a tower at 242 metres (794 ft) in height above average terrain (HAAT). The transmitter site is on Chesapeake Street NW off Wisconsin Avenue in the Tenleytown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. With a good radio, WASH coverage extends from Baltimore to Fredericksburg, Virginia.
WRVE is a commercial radio station licensed in Schenectady and serving the Capital District and Upper Hudson Valley in New York. It broadcasts a hot adult contemporary radio format and calls itself "99.5 The River", referring to the Hudson River. The station is owned by iHeartMedia as one of seven radio stations owned by the company in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy radio market.
WUKY is a listener-supported, public radio station in Lexington, Kentucky. Owned by the University of Kentucky (UK), it has an Adult Album Alternative radio format, airing more than 100 hours of music per week. Some news and informational programming is supplied by National Public Radio (NPR), Public Radio International (PRI), American Public Media (APM) and the BBC. The station broadcasts from state of the art radio studios in northwestern Lexington at the intersection of Greendale Road and Spurr Road.
WXYT-FM is a commercial radio station in Detroit, Michigan, serving Metro Detroit and much of Southeast Michigan. It airs a sports radio format and is owned by Audacy, Inc. Its studios and offices are located in the nearby suburb of Southfield.
WXYT is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Detroit, Michigan. It airs a betting-oriented sports radio format known as "The Bet Detroit". Most programming comes from the BetQL Network and Infinity Sports Network. During College football season, WXYT airs live play-by-play from the Central Michigan University Chippewas football team. Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station serves Metro Detroit and much of Southeast Michigan. The studios and offices are on American Drive off 11 Mile Road in Southfield.
Apex radio stations was the name commonly given to a short-lived group of United States broadcasting stations, which were used to evaluate transmitting on frequencies that were much higher than the ones used by standard amplitude modulation (AM) and shortwave stations. Their name came from the tall height of their transmitter antennas, which were needed because coverage was primarily limited to local line-of-sight distances. These stations were assigned to what at the time were described as "ultra-high shortwave" frequencies, between roughly 25 and 44 MHz. They employed amplitude modulation (AM) transmissions, although in most cases using a wider bandwidth than standard broadcast band AM stations, in order to provide high fidelity sound with less static and distortion.
WHCN is a commercial radio station licensed to Hartford, Connecticut. It broadcasts a classic hits radio format for the Hartford, Waterbury and New Haven areas, and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. It is branded "The River 105.9", a reference to the Connecticut River. Its studios and offices are located on Columbus Boulevard in Hartford.
W8XH was a Buffalo, New York radio station, authorized by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as an "experimental audio station", which was owned by the Buffalo Evening News, and which operated from 1934 to 1939. It was the first apex band station, i.e. the first to transmit programming intended for the general public over what was then known as "ultra-high short-wave" frequencies. W8XH primarily simulcast programming originating from a co-owned AM radio station, WBEN, but it also aired some original programs. It ceased broadcasting in July 1939, after the newspaper began to focus on operation of an experimental facsimile broadcasting station, W8XA, which in turn shut down shortly prior to World War II and was succeeded after the war by the establishment of an FM station.
W4XA was an "experimental audio broadcasting station" operated by The National Life and Accident Insurance Company in Nashville, Tennessee, from 1939 to 1940. It was part of a group of stations informally referred to as "Apex" stations, because it transmitted programming intended for the general public over what was then known as "ultra-high short-wave" frequencies. Although co-owned with AM station WSM, it primarily originated its own programs. W4XA ceased broadcasting in 1940, as station management prepared to inaugurate a new FM station, W47NV.
W2XMN was an experimental FM radio station located in Alpine, New Jersey. It was constructed beginning in 1936 by Edwin Howard Armstrong in order to promote his invention of wide-band FM broadcasting. W2XMN was the first FM station to begin regular operations, and was used to introduce FM broadcasting to the general public in the New York City area. The station, in addition to being a testing site for transmitter and receiver development, was used for propagation studies and as an over-the-air relay station for distributing network programming to other FM stations in the region.
WGTR was a pioneer commercial FM radio station, which was the first of two mountain-top stations established by the Yankee Network. It began regular programming, as experimental station W1XOJ, in 1939. In 1941 it was licensed for commercial operation from studios in Boston, initially with the call sign W43B, which was changed to WGTR in 1943. In 1947, its designated community of license was changed to Worcester, Massachusetts.
WMNE was a pioneer commercial FM radio station, which was the second of two mountain-top broadcasting stations established by the Yankee Network. It began regular programming, as experimental station W1XER, in December 1940. In 1941 it was licensed for commercial operation from studios in Boston, initially with the call sign W39B, which was changed to WMTW in 1943. In late 1946 the station's designated community of license was changed to Portland, Maine, and its call letters became WMNE.
WTMJ-FM was a pioneer commercial FM radio station, owned by the Journal Company, publishers of The Milwaukee Journal, and located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In the late 1940s, it was one of the first FM stations in America and among the most powerful. Although heavily promoted, the station was unprofitable and ceased operations in April 1950. Management foresaw a limited future, especially in contrast to recently introduced television broadcasting.
WMLL was an FM radio station in Evansville, Indiana, that began broadcasting, as W45V, in 1941. It was the first commercial FM station authorized in the state of Indiana. WMLL suspended operations and was deleted in 1956.
