WDYS (1480

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 ...

) is 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

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

format Format may refer to: Printing and visual media * Text formatting, the typesetting of text elements * Paper formats, or paper size standards * Newspaper format, the size of the paper page Computing * File format, particular way that informatio ...

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 ...

to Somonauk, Illinois, it serves

DeKalb County DeKalb County may refer to one of several counties in the United States, all of which were named for Baron Johann de Kalb: * DeKalb County, Alabama DeKalb County is a County (United States), county in the Northeast Alabama, northeastern part ...

and the Fox Valley, suburbs west of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. It is owned by Nelson Multimedia Inc., with programming coming from

Westwood One Westwood One, Inc. is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1976. The co ...

's "

America's Best Music America's Best Music is the on-air branding of a soft oldies and adult standards 24-hour radio network, formerly known as AM Only. The service is syndicated by Westwood One, a subsidiary of Cumulus Media. It was one of the original Transtar Ra ...

" service. WDYS is powered at 250

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

s by day, and only 10 watts at night. Programming is also heard on 250-watt

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 ...

W268DB at 101.5

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 ...

, licensed to Yorkville. The studios and

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...

are on Frazier Road in Plano.

History

WGSB

The station

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 .
1971 Broadcasting Yearbook
',

Broadcasting Broadcasting is the data distribution, distribution of sound, audio audiovisual content to dispersed audiences via a electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), ...

. 1971. p. B-64. Retrieved August 18, 2018. The original

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...

was WGSB.Ghrist, John R. (1996). ''Valley Voices: A Radio History''. Crossroads Communications. p. 107-115. The call letters stood for

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, St. Charles, Batavia, or "Where Good Sounds Begin". The station was originally owned by the Fox Valley Broadcasting Corporation. Nelda Brickhouse, wife of

WGN-TV WGN-TV (channel 9) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, serving as the local outlet for The CW. It is owned and operated by the network's majority owner, Nexstar Media Group, and is sister station, sister to the company ...

sportscaster

Jack Brickhouse John Beasley Brickhouse (January 24, 1916 – August 6, 1998) was an American sportscaster. Known primarily for his play-by-play coverage of Chicago Cubs games on WGN-TV from 1948 to 1981, he received the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball H ...

, bought into the station 1966, purchasing controlling interest in 1970. For many years, the station was known as the "Voice of the Fox River Valley".
Chicagoland Radio Waves
', MediaTies. Summer 1988. Retrieved August 22, 2018. The station primarily aired

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

music, but in 1964 the station began carrying

Dick Biondi Richard Orlando Biondi (September 13, 1932 – June 26, 2023) was an American Top 40 and oldies disc jockey. Calling himself The Wild I-tralian, he was one of the original "screamers," known for his screaming delivery as well as wild antics on a ...

's syndicated program from the

Mutual Broadcasting System The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Golden Age of Radio, ...

. The station also carried the

Jim Ameche Jim Ameche (August 6, 1915 – February 4, 1983)Cox, Jim (2008). ''This Day in Network Radio: A Daily Calendar of Births, Debuts, Cancellations and Other Events in Broadcasting History''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . Page 29. was an American r ...

Show,WGSB: Voice of the Fox River Valley
. WGSB. Retrieved August 21, 2018. along with community programming including high school sports and local call in program "Party Line". Bill Blough hosted an overnight

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

program on the station from 1967 to 1970, and again in the late 1970s. The station otherwise aired a MOR format throughout the 1970s.
Broadcasting Yearbook 1978
',

. 1978. p. C-65. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
Broadcasting Yearbook 1979
',

. 1979. p. C-66. Retrieved August 22, 2018.

WFXW

In 1980, the station was purchased by Howard Miller, a former disc jockey and talk show host on 560

WIND Wind is the natural movement of atmosphere of Earth, air or other gases relative to a planetary surface, planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heatin ...

.Presecky, William.
Static In Store For Fox Valley Local Radio
, ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

''. July 25, 2000. Retrieved August 19, 2018. In December 1980, Miller changed the station's call sign to WFXW, after being unable to obtain the call letters WFOX. In 1983, the station was sold to Gamel Broadcasting for $580,000. In 1988, Louis Pignatelli purchased a controlling interest in the station. WFXW aired a

full service Full service or Full Service may refer to: Entertainment Books * ''Full Service'' (book), a 2012 memoir by Scotty Bowers * '' Full Service No Waiting'', a 1998 album by Peter Case Music * "Full Service", a song by the New Kids on the Block fr ...

format, with local

talk Talk may refer to: Communication * Communication, the encoding and decoding of exchanged messages between people * Conversation, interactive communication between two or more people * Lecture, an oral presentation intended to inform or instruct ...

programs and a strong emphasis on local affairs, along with

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

music.
Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1985
', Broadcasting/Cablecasting. 1985. p. B-82. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
Chicago Radio Guide
'. Vol. 1, No. 1. May 1985. Retrieved August 21, 2018. The station also aired

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

and

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music. Since 2 ...

programs, as well as farm reports,

Paul Harvey Paul Harvey Aurandt (September 4, 1918 – February 28, 2009) was an American radio broadcaster for ABC News Radio. He broadcast ''News and Comment'' on mornings and mid-days on weekdays and at noon on Saturdays and also his famous ''The Rest o ...

, and

Pacific Garden Mission Pacific Garden Mission is a homeless shelter which is located in the Near West Side, Chicago, Near West Side section of Chicago, Illinois, it was founded in 1877 by Colonel George Clarke and his wife, Sarah. Nicknamed "The Old Lighthouse", it is ...

's radio drama ''

Unshackled! ''Unshackled!'' is a radio drama series produced by Pacific Garden Mission, in Chicago, Illinois, that first aired on September 23, 1950. It is one of the longest-running radio dramas in history and one of a very few still in production in the ...

''.
Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1993
',

Broadcasting & Cable ''Broadcasting & Cable'' (''B&C'', or ''Broadcasting+Cable'') was a telecommunications industry monthly trade magazine and, later, news website published by Future US. Founded in 1931 as ''Broadcasting'', subsequent mergers, acquisitions and ...

. 1993. p. B-110. Retrieved August 22, 2018. By 1998, the station had adopted a classic hits format. In 2001, the station was taken off the air, and its transmitter site was sold for residential development. The station was sold to Nelson Multimedia later that year.

WSPY

The station's call sign was changed to WSPY in 2002, and the station returned to the air under special temporary authority (STA), running 125 watts, using a long wire antenna in

Batavia, Illinois Batavia () is a city mainly in Kane County, Illinois, Kane County and partly in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage County in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located in the Chicago metropolitan area, it was founded in 1833 and is the oldest city in Kan ...

. The station aired an

adult standards Adult standards (also sometimes known as the nostalgia or Big Band format) is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations. Adult standards started in the 1950s and is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly tho ...

format, and was branded "Timeless Favorites", carrying Timeless network programming from

Citadel Broadcasting Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company founded and developed by Larry Wilson. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the count ...

until the network's shutdown in February 2010. The station then adopted a classic hits format, with programming from

Cumulus Broadcasting Cumulus Media, Inc. is a broadcasting company of the United States and is the second largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States ahead of Audacy and behind iHeartMedia. As of June 2019, Cumulus lists ownership ...

's (formerly Citadel Media) Classic Hits network. In late summer of 2011, the station switched back to an adult standards format, with programming from Dial Global's America's Best Music. Until 2020, the station continued to operate under the aforementioned STA.Application Search Details
fcc.gov. Retrieved August 22, 2018. In May 2020, WSPY got a

construction permit Planning permission or building permit refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. House building permits, for example, are subject to bu ...

to move its

city of license In U.S., Canadian, and Mexican broadcasting, a city of license or community of license is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator. In North American broadcast ...

to Somonauk. The studios moved in late 2020. Its call sign was changed to WDYS on May 1, 2021.

References

External links

{{coord, 41, 34, 59, N, 88, 36, 05, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title DYS Adult standards radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1961 1961 establishments in Illinois