Original Call Letters: WQHL

Originally Licensed: Oct 1973

Original City of License: Live Oak

Original Frequency: 98.1

Origin of Call Letters:

Original Power: 50,000 watts

Original Location: 1305 E. Helvenston St.

Original Format: Drake-Chenault Beautiful Music

Network Affiliation(s):

History Of WQHL
Thanks to Marc Tyll for this history of WQHL
North Florida’s WQHL-FM Live Oak, began regular broadcast service on 98.1 MHz in October 1973 serving Live Oak, Lake City and the surrounding North Florida area. The 98.1 full class C frequency was originally assigned to Madison, Florida, but was re-assigned to Live Oak after WNER-AM 1250 Live Oak owner Norman Protsman petitioned the FCC to give Live Oak an FM station, citing Live Oak and the surrounding area was growing at a faster pace than Madison and was in need of an FM service. Although the 98.1 FM frequency was assigned as a full class C allowing 100kw with a maximum antenna height of 2,000 feet in 1973, due to the construction cost factor, WQHL, instead, began broadcasting with 31,000 watts from a side mounted FM antenna located atop the 175 foot WNER-AM tower located directly behind the studio, transmitter and office building at 1305 East Helvenston Street in Live Oak. The original WQHL format was automated beautiful music programmed by Drake-Chenault and was known as “The World’s Most Beautiful Music on Stereo 98” but switched to Drake-Chenault’s automated “Great American Country” in 1978; keeping "The World's Most Beautiful Music" on Sundays only. Following the 1983 FCC’s Docket 80-90, Protsman applied to increase the power to 60,000 watts from a new 500 foot tower constructed next to the older 175 foot AM tower to prevent the station form being downgraded past a class C1 and preserving its potential 100kw status. The year 1988 saw more changes at WQHL when Protsman sold WQHL and co-owned WNER-AM from WNER Radio, Inc. to Day Communications, Inc, headed and owned by WQHL general manager George R. “Puggy” Day for $1.5 million. The Sunday beautiful music was dropped with WQHL going full-time country. Following the acquisition, Day changed the AM call letters from WNER to WQHL and the FM call letters from WQHL to WQHL-FM. WQHL-FM was also voluntarily downgraded from a class C1 to a class C2 operating with 50,000 watts to avoid a short-spacing when the licensee of WUVU Saint Augustine paid Day to downgrade WQHL-FM so WUVU could upgrade from 97.7 class A to first adjacent 97.9 C2. Programming on WQHL-FM remained automated country until 2000 following the death of Day in 1999. Day’s son, Shannon, took over the day-to-day management of WQHL-AM-FM and eventually sold both stations to Southern Broadcast Group, Inc. in 2000 for an estimated $3 million. Programming changed from automated country to a live presentation with local live personalities in studio. The station moniker also changed from “Great American Country” to “The BIG 98.1”. In 2001 Southern Broadcast Group, Inc. sold WQHL-AM-FM to RTG Radio, LLC, headed by former WNDD Ocala owner Robert T. Ganzak. RTG is a subsidiary of Daytona Beach based Black – Crow Broadcasting which acquired WQHL for $2.375 million. WQHL-AM/FM is co-owned with RTG stations WCJX-FM 106.5 Lake City, WXHT-FM 102.7 Madison, both Florida; and WVLD-AM 1450; WQPW-FM 95.7; WKAA-FM 99.5; WSTI-FM 105.3; WVGA-FM 105.9; WWRQ-FM 107.9; all Valdosta, Georgia.