WQXA-FM (105.7 FM) is a commercial

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 ...

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 serve

York, Pennsylvania York is a city in York County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located in South Central Pennsylvania, the city's population was 44,800 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in ...

. Owned by

Cumulus Media 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 iHeartMedia, Inc., or CC Media Holdi ...

, it broadcasts an

active rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock stations play a balance of new hard rock songs with valued classic rock favorites, normally with an emphasis on the harder edge o ...

format serving

South Central Pennsylvania Pennsylvania is the fifth-most populous state in the United States. Regions of Pennsylvania include: Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley, located in eastern Pennsylvania, is named for the Lehigh River, which flows through it. It is the state's thir ...

. Its studios are located at 2300 Vartan Way in

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg ( ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,099 as of 2020, Harrisburg is the ninth-most populous city in Pennsylvania. It is the larger of the two pr ...

and the station's broadcast tower is located near York at ().

History

On August 8, 1947, 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 ...

proposed a new station on 105.7 MHz. The Helm Coal Company was granted a construction permit for the new station on May 12, 1948. The station was granted its first license on May 31, 1950, with the WNOW-FM call sign. On August 1, 1957, the station's license was transferred to WNOW, Inc. The station's license was transferred to Rust Communications Group, Inc. on June 22, 1972. The call sign was changed to WQXA effective December 1, 1973. The station was known as "Q106" in the 1970s. On October 17, 1989, at 4p.m., the station's branding changed to "Hot 105.7" along with a format change to

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance musi ...

. On November 1, 1991, the call sign was changed to WQXA-FM. On January 11, 1993, the station performed a format stunt, intermittently switching its branding between "Hot 105.7" and "Q106", later switching to "Q106" with a

hot AC 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. On May 16, 1995, the format changed from

with a branding change to "105.7 The Edge". Later the format changed to

modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college and commercial rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. ...

with a branding change to "105.7 The X". In 1997,

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 ...

purchased the station. In 2011, the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...

approved the purchase of

. The sale was completed on September 18, 2011. Following the sale of WTPA to the

Educational Media Foundation Educational Media Foundation (formerly EMF Broadcasting, abbreviated EMF) is an American nonprofit Christian media ministry based in Franklin, a suburb of Nashville. EMF is the parent company of K-LOVE and Air1—the world's largest contempor ...

, WQXA quietly shifted to a

mainstream rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent a cross between classic rock, active rock and alternativ ...

lean.

Signal

WQXA-FM is extremely short-spaced to

WJZ-FM WJZ-FM (105.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Catonsville, Maryland, and serving the Baltimore metropolitan area. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. through licensee Audacy License, LLC, and it broadcasts a sports radio for ...

''105.7 The Fan'' (licensed to serve

Catonsville, Maryland Catonsville () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County, Maryland. The population was 44,701 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 US Census. The community is a streetcar suburb of Baltimore along the cit ...

and targeting the

Baltimore metropolitan area The Baltimore–Columbia–Towson Metropolitan Statistical Area, also known as Central Maryland, is a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in Maryland as defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB). It is part of the larger ...

) as they operate on the same channel and the distance between the stations' transmitters is as determined by FCC rules. The minimum distance between two Class B stations operating on the same channel according to current

FCC 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 ju ...

rules is . Both stations use

directional antenna A directional antenna or beam antenna is an antenna that radiates or receives greater radio wave power in specific directions. Directional antennas can radiate radio waves in beams, when greater concentration of radiation in a certain directio ...

s to reduce their signals toward each other. Other stations in the Baltimore radio market can be heard clearly in York, the location of WQXA's broadcast tower.

References

External links

* {{Cumulus Media QXA-FM Active rock radio stations in the United States Cumulus Media radio stations