KTHO (590

kHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base uni ...

) was a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services ** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money * a dose of advertising ...

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...

broadcasting a classic hits

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...

Licensed A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...

South Lake Tahoe, California South Lake Tahoe is the most populous incorporated city in El Dorado County, California, El Dorado County, California, United States, in the Sierra Nevada mountains. The city's population was 21,330 at the 2020 census, down from 21,403 at the 20 ...

, it served the

Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; Washo language, Washo: ''dáʔaw'') is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the Western United States, straddling the border between California and Nevada. Lying at above sea level, Lake Tahoe is the largest a ...

Basin- Reno–Sparks metropolitan area. It also

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...

on South Lake Tahoe-based FM

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''trans ...

K241BK on 96.1

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...

. The stations licenses were cancelled by the Federal Communications Commission on November 15, 2021, by letter to the licensee. The station's license was last held by International Aerospace Solutions, Inc., a company owned by long-time

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

broadcaster Darrell Wampler. After he took over operations of KTHO, Wampler retained KTHO operations manager Ed Crook and employed local Lake Tahoe radio personalities Paul Middlebrook as a media consultant, Bill Kingman as a technical advisor and Curtis Fong as on-air personality. Wampler was also heard on the station under his radio air name, "The Insane Darrell Wayne".

History

The station first

signed on A sign-on (or start-up in Commonwealth countries except Canada) is the beginning of operations for a radio broadcasting, radio or television station, generally at the start of each day. It is the opposite of a sign-off (or closedown in Commonw ...

the air on March 17, 1963, broadcasting middle of the road music and local news. On April 12, 1966, an FM

sister station In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...

signed on at 103.1 MHz (today 102.9

KWYL KWYL (102.9 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to South Lake Tahoe, California, and serving the Reno metropolitan area. The station broadcasts in full 5.1 digital surround sound and has a rhythmic contemporary radio format. It i ...

). In March 2009, KTHO changed its format to

classic rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

, using the identification "590 K-Tahoe." After the addition of an

FM translator A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater ( two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tr ...

, making the station available on both FM and AM radio, the format moved to a more mass-appeal classic hits sound, focusing on the top songs of the 1970s and 80s. On November 15, 2021, the FCC notified licensee International Aerospace Solutions (IAS) that the licenses of KTHO and associated translator K241BK had been cancelled. In its letter, the Commission presented information stating that while the AM signal had been off air due to the seizure of transmission equipment (due to nonpayment of rent), the FM translator had been heard on-air. IAS' legal representation had advised in October 2021 that the station had been operating from an unauthorized location. In January 2022 KTHO switched to Ktahoe.com becoming an internet radio station playing rock and talk serving South Lake Tahoe, CA.

References

External links

Facility details for Facility ID 51528 (KTHO)
in the FCC Licensing and Management System * ( Guide to reading History Cards) (covering 1960–1980) THO Radio stations established in 1963 1963 establishments in California Radio stations disestablished in 2021 2021 disestablishments in California Defunct radio stations in the United States THO {{California-radio-station-stub