WHMX (105.7

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 ...

) is a

non-commercial A non-commercial (also spelled noncommercial) activity is an activity that is not carried out in the interest of Profit (economics), profit. The opposite is Commerce, commercial, something that primarily serves profit interests and is focused on bu ...

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

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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 ...

Lincoln, Maine Lincoln is a town in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The town's population was 4,853 at the 2020 United States Census. A statue honoring Medal of Honor recipient Gary Gordon was installed in Lincoln, in 2021. The bronze sculpture fa ...

, the station serves

Penobscot County Penobscot County is a county in the U.S. state of Maine, named for the Penobscot people in Wabanakik. As of the 2020 census, the population was 152,199, making it the third-most-populous county in Maine. Its county seat is Bangor. The county ...

and Downeast Maine. The studios are on Outer Broadway in Bangor and the station is owned by Lighthouse Radio Network, Inc. Lighthouse Radio also owns 88.5

WHCF WHCF (88.5 Hertz, MHz) is a non-commercial educational station, non-commercial FM radio, FM radio station broadcasting a Christian radio music. WHCF has studios on Outer Broadway in Bangor and is owned by Lighthouse Radio Network, Inc. WHCF's ...

, a

Christian talk and teaching Christian radio refers to Christian media radio formats that focus on Christian religious broadcasting or various forms of Christian music. Many such formats and programs include contemporary Christian music, gospel music, sermons, radio dramas, ...

station that plays some

Christian music Christian music is a genre of music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christianity, Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence and lament, and its f ...

, while WHMX has a more contemporary, youthful Christian music format, including

Christian rock Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. This music is typically performed by Christians, Christian individuals. The extent to whi ...

. WHMX and WHCF seek donations on the air and on their websites. WHMX is a Class C2 station. It has an

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would ha ...

(ERP) of 48,000

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. The

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is in

Burlington, Maine Burlington is a town in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. It is part of the Bangor Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 373 at the 2020 census. History The area was originally known as "Hurd's Ridge," named after the first ...

, about northeast of Bangor.

History

WLKN-FM and WGUY-FM

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 . Its 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 WLKN-FM, standing for its

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, Lincoln, Maine. It was the

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 ...

of WLKN 1450 AM (now silent). WLKN-FM's frequency was 99.3 and it was only powered at 1,750 watts, a fraction of its current output. WLKN-AM-FM

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) ...

most of their programming. They had 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 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

format. They were also

affiliate Affiliation or affiliate may refer to: * Affiliate (commerce), a legal form of entity relationship used in Business Law * Affiliation (family law), a legal form of family relationship * Affiliate marketing * Affiliate network or affiliation platfo ...

s of the ABC Information Network. Because WLKN-FM was on a Class A frequency, it was limited to only serving Lincoln and surrounding communities. On September 3, 1987, the station changed its call sign to WGUY-FM, and on June 8, 1989, it became the current WHMX.

Move to 105.7 MHz

The station got permission from the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

(FCC) to move to a better frequency. It relocated to 105.7 in 1991. That allowed it to become a Class C station, with a taller

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

and increased power. With its new strength, it began serving the larger, more lucrative Bangor

radio market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...

. For much of the 1990s, WHMX was known as ''Hot Mix 106''. It was a

commercial radio Commercial broadcasting (also called private broadcasting) is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship, for example. It was the United States' first model ...

station airing a

Hot 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 ...

format.

Christian Radio

In 1997, the station was bought by the Bangor Baptist Church. It was paired with 88.5

, which the church also owned. WHMX began airing Contemporary Christian music. In May 2005, the station changed

slogan A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a clan or a political, commercial, religious, or other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose, with the goal of persuading members of the public or a more defined target group ...

s from ''105-7 The X'' to ''Solution FM''. Over time, the church decided it was best if a professional

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

owned and operated the two full-power radio stations, along with rebroadcasters and translators, around Northern Maine. On September 28, 2012, WHMX and WHCF, along with translators W274AF, W221BO, W227BE, W229AT, and W270BD, were sold. The Lighthouse Radio Network took over control. The deal was consummated at a price of $100.

Translator stations

The station is heard on several

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 ...

References

External links

* {{Bangor Radio Radio stations established in 1975 Lincoln, Maine Contemporary Christian radio stations in the United States

HMX HMX, also called octogen, is a powerful and relatively insensitive nitroamine high explosive chemically related to RDX. The compound's name is the subject of much speculation, having been variously listed as High Melting Explosive, High-velocity ...

1975 establishments in Maine