WTRY-FM
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| City | Rotterdam, New York |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Capital District and Mohawk Valley |
| Branding | 98.3 TRY |
| Slogan | The Capital District's Greatest Hits |
| Frequency | 98.3 MHz (also on HD Radio) 98.3-2 MHz 80s Hits (HD Radio) |
| First air date | 1987 (as WNYJ) |
| Format |
Classic Hits Christmas music (Nov.-Dec.) |
| ERP | 6,000 watts |
| HAAT | 97 meters |
| Class | A |
| Facility ID | 8563 |
| Callsign meaning | TRoY (former call sign of 980 AM, now WOFX, which is licensed to Troy) |
| Former callsigns | WDNZ (1986, not on-air) WERV (1986-1987, not on-air) WNYJ (1987-1989) WSHZ (1989-1992) WTRY-FM (1992-1994) WYSR (1994-1996) |
| Owner |
iHeartMedia (Capstar TX LLC) |
| Sister stations | WGY, WGY-FM, WRVE, WPYX, WKKF, WOFX |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | 983try.iheart.com |
WTRY-FM (98.3 FM, "98.3 TRY"), is a classic hits station licensed to Rotterdam, New York and serving New York's Capital District and Mohawk Valley. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, and broadcasts at 6 kilowatts ERP from a tower in between Altamont and Duanesburg off U.S. Route 20.
Though the 98.3 frequency has only been on the air since 1987 and has offered either an oldies or a classic hits format since 1996, the format was a direct continuation of the oldies format (and the top 40 format from which it evolved) which was previously on 980 kHz, a streak that went back over 40 years. During November and December, the station switches to Christmas music, with the normal classic hits format remaining on its HD2 channel.
The first decade of the frequency's life was quite unstable; a testament of this can be seen even before the air. In its construction permit stage, 98.3 was to become WDNZ with an early dance/rhythmic contemporary format; however, permit owner Dennis Jackson (now a noted community broadcaster in smaller communities throughout the Northeast) was forced to sell the station before it hit the air. Under new owners, another set of call letters (WERV) came and went before the frequency signed on as adult contemporary WNYJ in November 1987. Being a new frequency, completely satellite-fed, and going up against a surging WKLI-FM, the format was changed in late 1988 to oldies as Cruisin' 98.3, still WNYJ.
In mid 1989, WNYJ was sold and became adult contemporary WSHZ SHO-FM, adding a simulcast on WACS-FM in Cobleskill (which became WSHQ). WSHZ/WSHQ's adult contemporary format was not successful, and in late September 1990, the format was flipped back to oldies, still as SHO-FM (though it was known as Super Hit Oldies SHO-FM in 1990). A few days later, WGY-FM flipped to oldies as well, causing major problems for both WSHZ/WSHQ and WTRY.
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