WDRE explained

WDRE
City:Susquehanna, Pennsylvania
Area:Binghamton metropolitan area
Branding:Solid Gold 100.5 & 104.5
Translator:See §Translators
Format:Oldies
Subchannels:HD2: 95.1 The Drive (Alternative rock)
Erp:1,600 watts
Class:A
Licensing Authority:FCC
Facility Id:19668
Coordinates:42.0528°N -75.7019°W
Callsign Meaning:Drive (previous format)
Affiliations:Buffalo Bills Radio Network
Owner:Equinox Broadcasting Corporation
Sister Stations:WCDW

WDRE (100.5 MHz, "Solid Gold 100.5 & 104.5") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, and serving the Binghamton metropolitan area. It airs an oldies radio format. WDRE is owned by the Equinox Broadcasting Corporation.[1] [2] In the fall, WDRE carries Buffalo Bills football. Its studios are on Main Street in Johnson City.

WDRE is a Class A station. It has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 1,600 watts. The transmitter is on Anne Road at Sugarbush Road in Windsor, New York.Radio-Locator.com/WDRE Programming is also heard on FM translator W283AG at 104.5 MHz in Binghamton, which is fed by a subchannel of sister station WCDW.[3] WDRE also has a subchannel airing an alternative rock format known as "95.1 The Drive." That, in turn, feeds two translators at 95.1 in Binghamton and 98.7 in Endwell.

History

From 1947 to 1952, 100.5 MHz was the frequency used by WNBF-FM.[4] [5] It was sister station to WNBF, the first radio station in the Binghamton area. In that era few people owned FM radio receivers, and management saw little opportunity to make it profitable, so the station was taken silent. In 1956, WNBF-FM returned to the air, moving to 98.1 MHz (currently WHWK).[6] The 100.5 allocation in the eastern Twin Tiers remained silent for the next 40 years.

The current station on 100.5 signed on the air as WXEJ on July 2, 1992. On April 14, 1995, the station changed its call sign to WMTT, and on April 8, 1996, to WCDW.[7]

On August 16, 2013, WCDW changed its call letters to WDRE, and also changed formats from oldies, back to alternative rock.[8]

On January 1, 2024, WDRE changed its format from alternative rock (which moved to its HD2 subchannel) to oldies, branded as "Solid Gold 100.5 & 104.5" (simulcast on WCDW-HD2, which feeds translator W283AG Binghamton).[9]

Translators

In addition to the main station, WDRE's HD2 subchannel is relayed by additional translators to widen its broadcast area.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: WDRE Facility Record . United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division .
  2. Web site: Radio Stations . equinoxbroadcasting.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20171111223818/http://www.equinoxbroadcasting.com/radio-stations.html . November 11, 2017.
  3. https://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/finder?sr=Y&s=C&call=W283AG&nav=home Radio-Locator.com/W283AG
  4. https://archive.org/details/broadcastingtele43unse/page/n687/mode/1up "FCC Actions: August 11 Decisions"
  5. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiuo.ark:/13960/t4nk9ts9n&view=1up&seq=492 "FM Broadcast Stations: Frequency Assignments"
  6. https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1957/Radio--All-1957-BC-YB.pdf Information
  7. Web site: WDRE Call Sign History . United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division .
  8. Web site: Alternative WDRE Returns On 100.5 The Drive In Binghamton . AllAccess.com.
  9. https://radioinsight.com/headlines/262836/solid-gold-doubles-up-in-binghamton/ Solid Gold Doubles Up in Binghamton