WBLL

Infobox Radio Station
name = WBLL


area = Bellefontaine, Ohio
branding = The Bell
slogan =
airdate = February 14, 1983
frequency = 1390 (kHz)
format = talk
erp = 500 watts day,
81 watts night
class =
owner = V-Teck Communications
website = [http://www.peakofohio.com/ www.peakofohio.com]
callsign_meaning = W
BeLLfontaine

WBLL (1390 AM) is an American radio station in Bellefontaine, Ohio. It currently broadcasts with Talk programming, along with certain sporting events (Cleveland Indians baseball, local high school sports). The station is owned by V-Teck Communications, and is the sister station of WPKO.

History

WBLL originally signed on the air in the 1950s with the call letters WOHP(for "Ohio's Highest Point") until the late 1960s when it changed to WTOO(for "Top of Ohio")yet again briefly in 1981 to WTCY(for "Top (of Ohio) Country") and later switching back to the WOHP calls on February 14, 1983. On February 19, 1988, the station became WPKO, in recognition of its sister station, WPKO-FM. The call letters became WBLL on May 12, 1989.

Joe Rockhold was a disk jockey at WOHP in the 1950s where he launched his broadcasting career. Shortly before the decade was over he became a staff announcer (and eventualy became best known as children's show host "Uncle Orrie")at Dayton's WHIO-TV where he remained until his retirement in 1969. Rockhold however remained active in broadcasting throughout his retirement at WSRW (AM) in Hillsboro,Ohio before his pasing in 1981.

On January 28, 2004, V-Teck Communications applied for a construction permit for a transmitter in Grandview Heights, Ohio. This transmitter would be well within the Columbus metropolitan area. The FCC acknowledged the CP request on November 17, 2004, and further acknowledged an application for a major modification to a licensed facility on January 21, 2005. This may indicate plans by V-Teck to effectively move the station from Bellefontaine to the Grandview Heights-Columbus area.

While the license location for the newest application is in Grandview Heights, the major modification request is forcoord|39|53|39|N|83|05|30|W, placing the new transmitter (if built) near Grove City, Ohio. This is southwest of Columbus; Bellefontaine and the present transmitter are to the northwest of Columbus.

For a brief time in the mid-1970s, WTOO set trends by breaking several songs before the major stations in Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland. This was under the management of the legendary Program Director David Mark early in his career. In the 1990s, David Mark was the promotionbal voice of many Fox TV network stations across the country.Fact|date=July 2007

External links

* [http://www.peakofohio.com/ Peak of Ohio.com, website of V-Teck Communications]
*AMQ|WBLL