WFHB FireHouse Broadcasting

WFHB will install a new digital transmitter this Sunday, August 29th, according to station manager Will Murphy. “This weekend marks the realization of more than a year’s work,” he noted, “from the first planning stages, through fundraising, and now to implementation. The new equipment will provide our listeners with a higher-quality signal, and will allow us to expand our programming possibilities.” Murphy said WFHB listeners would still be able to pick up the station’s analog signal, and wouldn’t need a digital radio to receive its programming.

However, the transfer this weekend will require that the station’s main frequency, 91.3 FM, be shut down at noon on Sunday. That primary frequency will remain down for roughly 24 hours, while the new equipment goes through final testing and installation. In addition, translators in Nashville (100.7) and Ellettsville (106.3) will go off-line during the transition. “But our secondary frequency, 98.1 FM, which is based in Bloomington, will remain on for most of the changeover, and the station’s Web stream will continue to function, with only brief interruptions,” Murphy said.

According to WFHB engineer Jeffrey Morris, the station should resume broadcasting on all frequencies at noon on Monday, August 30th.

The station received a $57,000 grant last fall from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to implement the changeover. That grant was dependent upon getting local matching funds of about $26,000. “Supporters of the station really came through for us,” Murphy said, and helped us exceed our goal.” The effort was aided by significant grant support from the Community Foundation of Bloomington/Monroe County, and from the City of Bloomington. “In addition,” Murphy said, “we’d like to thank Congressman Baron Hill, who wrote a letter to the CPB in support of our application.

“This weekend marks yet another milestone in WFHB’s remarkable history,” Murphy said. “The station was conceived 35 years ago, and when the station went on the air in 1993, the equipment we had was already old. So the installation of this state-of-the-art digital transmitter will take us into a new chapter. The technology is next generation, but the mission remains the same: to provide an open forum for diverse intellectual and cultural exchange,” he said.

WFHB is a volunteer-powered, listener supported station, with more than 200 community members giving of their time and talent every day. “We have only three full-time and two part-time employees,” Murphy said, “so we’re a pretty small part of the picture. It’s the volunteers that have kept the station on the air all these years.” The station’s format includes a broad range of musical styles, while the news and public affairs department offers the area’s only half-hour weekday radio newscast, as well as several hours of local, national, and international news programming each day.

People wanting to find out more about WFHB, or wishing to volunteer, can call 323-1200, or stop by the station for its next volunteer orientation session, which is slated for September 11th at 11 a.m.