City | DeRuyter, New York |
---|---|
Broadcast area | Central New York |
Branding | Family Life Network |
Slogan | A Friend You Can Turn To |
Frequency | 105.1 MHz (also on HD Radio) |
Translator(s) | See § Repeaters and translators |
First air date | June 6, 1948 (as WVCN) |
Format |
Contemporary Christian HD2: Rhythmic Contemporary (WMVN simulcast) HD3: Classic Hits (WSEN-FM simulcast) |
ERP | 33,000 watts |
HAAT | 185 meters (607 ft) |
Class | B |
Facility ID | 22134 |
Former callsigns | WVCN (1948-1954) WRRD (1954-1961) WOIV (1961-1989) WVOA (1989-2001) WVOQ (4/2001-6/2001) WXBB (2001-2003) WWDG (2003-2009) WVOA-FM (5/2009-9/2009) WOLF-FM (2009-2016) |
Owner |
Craig Fox (80%) (Operated by Family Life Network) (Foxfur Communications, LLC) |
Sister stations | WMVN-FM, WSEN-FM |
WCIS-FM is a Contemporary Christian radio station serving the Central New York Region. The station broadcasts at 105.1 MHz with an ERP of 33 kW and is licensed to DeRuyter, New York; it is currently operated by the Family Life Network, a regional Christian broadcaster active in upstate New York and Northern Pennsylvania.
WCIS-FM began operating June 6, 1948 at 105.1 MHz as WVCN, the Central New York outlet of the farm-oriented Rural Radio Network, a six-station group based in Ithaca. This pioneer FM network was the first to employ a direct off-air relay system instead of wire lines, with WVCN serving as the link between Ithaca flagship station WVFC and sister stations WVBN, Turin (which would cease operation in 1951) and WVCV, Cherry Valley. Its original General Electric 250 watt transmitter and four-section RCA FM Pylon antenna provided an ERP of 1.3 kW, horizontally-polarized. A 1 kW amplifier was added in April, 1951, increasing ERP to 5.3 kW, however this proved insufficient to cover the entire city of Syracuse with a predicted 1 mV/m (60 dBμ) signal.
On January 1, 1954, the DeRuyter station's callsign was changed to WRRD. After affiliating with New York City's WQXR, the group's programming began to shift toward classical music and a new identity as the "Northeast Radio Network" was introduced. In January 1961, ownership of the DeRuyter facility and its four sister stations was transferred to the Ivy Broadcasting Company, Inc., prompting a callsign change to WOIV. Five years later, the network changed hands again, this time to the Chenango & Unadilla (C&U) Telephone Company, which added a second 1 kW transmitter and a Collins/ERI model 300-5 dipole antenna to provide 4.9 kW in the vertical polarization. A 1968 merger with Continental Telephone forced divestiture of C&U's broadcast properties, and the entire group of five FM stations, then valued at $600,000, was donated to the Christian Broadcasting Network, headed by Pat Robertson.