WNSD-FM, was a non-commercial, educational, student operated radio station, operating from Colerain High School, in Cincinnati, Ohio. It had a 10 watt signal, broadcasting on the frequency 90.1 FM. The station was on the air from November, 1972 until June 1976. [1]
The owner/supervising body of WNSD-FM was the Northwest Local School District, Board of Education. The Board of Education granted student organizers, led by Juniors Mark Haverkos and Denny Albers, $7500 to get the radio station started, and with much effort, these two students were able to get the required FCC broadcast license. A used, 10 watt Collins transmitter was purchased, and a 25 foot tower, with a two bay antenna, was put on top of the Colerain High School building, located at 8801 Cheviot Road, in Cincinnati.
Students, under the supervision of faculty advisor Mr. John Freeman, created all of the broadcast programming. Top 40 music, along with broadcasting of Colerain High School athletic events, and an occasional educational program, were the basis for the station's broadcast format. Students served as disc jockeys, and also did play-by-play for Colerain sports.
News and weather were read at the top of each hour by student announcers. The radio station had an AP teletype wire service printer inside the station, which allowed students to have up-to-date news summaries, to read over the air. The Northwest Board of Education paid the monthly fee for the AP news wire service.
In the summer of 1973, the station was granted permission from the FCC to increase the antenna tower size on top of Colerain High School from 25 feet to 75 feet. This increase did help with creating a further reaching signal.
The station had a range that varied. With a good FM receiver, the signal could be picked up as far as 10 miles away, but with low-end, inexpensive transistor radios, the signal was solid for only two miles in each direction from the station’s antenna.
In its first full year of broadcasting, which was the 1973-74 school year, Chris Heather was the station manager and Bill Snyder, was the chief engineer. Chris Geisen, Steve Librandi, and Terry Burke were the lead student DJ’s, and Ann Fisher served as the station’s programming director. About 20 students were on the staff of WNSD, and at one time, it was the only stereo high school FM radio station in the United States.
Due to funding problems within the Northwest School District, the station was permanently taken off the air at the end of the 1976 school year.
- ^ "The Cincinnati Enquirer from Cincinnati, Ohio on May 21, 1976 · Page 51". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2019-10-12.