WSDK

WSDK (1550 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Bloomfield, Connecticut, and serving the Hartford metropolitan area. It is owned by Blount Communications and broadcasts a Christian talk and teaching radio format. National religious leaders heard on WSDK include Chuck Swindoll, John Daly, June Hunt, David Jeremiah and John MacArthur. WSDK uses a brokered programming plan, where hosts pay for time on the station and they may use their shows to seek donations to their ministries.

WSDK
WSDK logo
Broadcast areaHartford metropolitan area
Frequency1550 kHz
BrandingWSDK 1550 AM
Programming
FormatChristian talk and teaching
AffiliationsSalem Radio Network
Ownership
Owner
  • Blount Communications
  • (Blount Masscom, Inc.)
WFIF, WVNE
History
First air date
September 6, 1963 (1963-09-06)
Former call signs
WEXT (1963–1977)
WMLB (1977–1986)
WGAB (1986–1988)
WLVX (1988–1993)
WRDM (1993–1998)
WDZK (1998–2011)
Technical information
Facility ID37804
ClassB
Power5,000 watts days
2,400 watts nights
Transmitter coordinates
41°51′47″N 72°44′1″W
Translator(s)95.3 W237EO (Bloomfield)
Links
WebcastAvailable on website
WebsiteOfficial website

By day, WSDK’s transmitter power is 5,000 watts. At night, to avoid interfering with other stations on 1550 kHz (a Canadian clear channel frequency), WSDK reduces power to 2,400 watts.[1] It uses a directional antenna at all times. Programming is also heard on 36-watt FM translator W237EO at 95.3 MHz in Bloomfield.[2]

History

WEXT and WMLB

On October 6, 1963, the station first signed on.[3] The call sign was WEXT, and it was licensed to West Hartford. WEXT was a 1,000-watt daytimer. It had a country and western format.

The studios originally were located at 999 Farmington Avenue in West Hartford Center, and the transmitter and tower were at 99 Grassmere Avenue in West Hartford. Flood control work on Trout Brook adjacent to the transmitting tower resulted in damage to the ground system. In 1972, the studios were moved to the 2nd floor of the Culbro Building at 630 Oakwood Avenue in West Hartford.

In 1977, the station changed ownership and the callsign was switched to WMLB, which was a combination of the first names of the three owners: Mary, Lou and Barry. Soon afterward, WMLB was one of the first stations in the state to install a satellite downlink when the Mutual Broadcasting System, of which WMLB was a network affiliate, agreed to place a 3-meter downlink on the roof of the transmitter building. This site then served as the Connecticut hub for Mutual and also for the Associated Press for the next ten years.

WGAB and WLVX

In 1986, the station changed its callsign to WGAB the following March.[4]

In 1988, the station was off the air for a while. In September 1988, the station returned to the air as WLVX under the ownership of Living Communications, which also owned WLIX in Islip, New York. The new owners brought a Contemporary Christian format to the station, and the studios were moved to the Wintonbury Mall in Bloomfield.

In 1993, the station was sold again, this time to a local group who changed the callsign to WRDM and began programming the station in Italian. The studios were moved to 880 Maple Avenue in Hartford where they shared space with a sister low-power television station, W13BF (which subsequently changed its call letters to WRDM-LP to match the radio station).

WDZK and WSDK

In 1998, the station was sold again, this time to the Hibernia Corporation. The format was switched to "Radio Disney" children's programming and the studios moved to Franklin Avenue in Hartford. The call sign was then changed to WDZK.

The Walt Disney Company purchased the station from Hibernia in 2000 and continued to operate from the Franklin Avenue location until 2004, when the studios were moved to 160 Chapel Road in Manchester, Connecticut. In February 2008 WDZK commenced HD Radio broadcasting.

Disney took WDZK, along with WDDZ in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, off the air on September 30, 2010 and put the stations up for sale.[5] That November, it was sold to Blount Communications.[6]

The call letters changed to WSDK on February 15, 2011.[4] On March 19, the station resumed broadcasting with a Christian talk and teaching format.[7]

Translators
Call signFrequencyCity of licenseFIDERP (W)HAATClassFCC info
W237EO 95.3 MHz FMBloomfield, Connecticut1400733680 m (262 ft)DLMS

References
  1. Radio-Locator.com/WSDK
  2. Radio-Locator.com/W237EO
  3. "WSDK (WEXT)". CT Broadcast History. Retrieved February 24, 2011.
  4. "Call Sign History". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved March 19, 2011.
  5. Fybush, Scott (September 27, 2010). "Disney Shutters AMs in RI, CT". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved September 27, 2010.
  6. "Disney sells off another Radio Disney station - Hartford's WDZK (1550)". Radio-Info.com. November 18, 2010. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
  7. "Manchester's WSKD Launches Saturday". Courant.com. March 18, 2011. Retrieved March 19, 2011.
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