WDSO

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WDSO
WDSO 88.3 FM logo.jpg
CityChesterton, Indiana
Broadcast areaPorter, Lake and LaPorte counties
Frequency88.3 MHz
Branding88.3 FM, The Rock
Programming
Language(s)English
FormatHigh School
Ownership
OwnerDuneland School Corp.
(Duneland School Corp)
OperatorChesterton High School
History
First air date
August 1976
Former frequencies
89.7 MHz
Call sign meaning
Duneland School Organization
Technical information
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID17731
ClassA
ERP400 watts
HAAT41 meters (135 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
41°36′29″N 87°03′37″W / 41.60806°N 87.06028°W / 41.60806; -87.06028
Links
Public license information
Profile
LMS
WebcastListen Live
Websitewww.duneland.k12.in.us/wdso

WDSO (88.3 FM, "The Rock") is a non-profit high school radio station located at Chesterton High School, in Chesterton, Indiana, with the transmitter at Chesterton Middle School. All its disc jockeys are high school students, who are also responsible for the station's music selection and programming.

Format[]

WDSO's radio format is variety, with the majority of its programming being rock music. Outside of rock music, WDSO also broadcasts local news and covers high school sports.

History[]

During the summer of 2000, WDSO moved to new facilities at the new Chesterton High School. The new high school radio station includes the main broadcast studio, four production studios as well as an Engineering room and Music Library which also contains WDSO's Archives. It also included a News Room, however, in the Spring of 2019 it was converted into the fourth production studio. The studio also includes a TV production studio and control room, from which the High School student news broadcasts are recorded. The WDSO transmitter remains at the old high school building (now Chesterton Middle School). WDSO became one of the first radio stations in the world to utilize fiber optic cable to transport the radio signal over a mile-and-a-half (2.4 km) from the studio to the transmitter.

On November 17, 2001, WDSO celebrated its 25th year of broadcasting with a Reunion/Celebration. Over 100 former and current students attended. The evening included a short program in the CHS Auditorium, refreshments and tours of the new WDSO facilities.

On February 19, 2002, WDSO was honored at the Indiana General Assembly in Indianapolis. House Resolution 38 recognized WDSO for its 25 years of broadcasting. Author of the Resolution was State Representative Ralph Ayres from Chesterton also a Social Studies teacher at Chesterton High School. State Representatives Duane Cheney from Portage and Charlie Brown from Gary were also sponsors of the bill. All three legislators represent the Duneland School area. In the Senate, sponsors of the bill were Senators Rose Ann Antich from Merrillville and Bill Alexa from Valparaiso.

March 2004 marked the start of WDSO broadcasting on the internet. In 2005 WDSO brought in their new Station Manager and Instructor; former WDSO student Matthew Waters. Matthew helped students run the station alongside Operations Manager, Michele Stipanovich.

In 2006, WDSO celebrated its 30th year on air.[1]

In the fall semester of 2014, WDSO purchased a brand new Nautel VS-1 Transmitter to replace their old one, which was from 1985 when WDSO was permitted to change their power from 10 watts to 410 watts. This allowed for broadcast 24/7, 365 days per year, with 2015 being the first year the station broadcast continuously.

During the fall of 2018, WDSO purchased and installed an RDS unit, allowing listeners to see the song title and artist of the song currently playing, in their car.

In July 2020, WDSO's long time Operations Manager, Miss Michele Stipanovich died, after working at the station for 39 years, being succeeded by Mrs. Emily Fletcher the following school year.[2]

References[]

  1. ^ Duneland
  2. ^ "Services Thursday for Michele Stipanovich". chestertontribune.com. Retrieved 2020-11-02.

External links[]

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