View source for WMHT-FM

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{more footnotes needed|date=March 2015}}
{{Infobox radio station
| name             = WMHT-FM
| logo             = <!-- Deleted image removed:  [[Image:WMHT.jpg]] -->
| city             = [[Schenectady, New York]]
| area             = [[Capital District, New York|Capital District]]
| branding         =
| frequency        = {{Frequency|89.1|[[MHz]]}} {{HD Radio}}
| translator       = {{Radio Relay|106.1|W291BY|[[Albany, New York|Albany]]|HD2}}
| airdate          = {{start date and age|1972|6|8}}
| format           = [[Classical music]]
| subchannels      = HD2: [[Adult album alternative]] ([[WEXT]] [[simulcast]])
| erp              = 6,100 [[watt]]s
| haat             = {{convert|361|m|ft|sp=us}}
| class            = B
| facility_id      = 73266
| callsign_meaning = [[Mohawk River|Mohawk]]–[[Hudson River|Hudson]] Television (from WMHT-TV)
| affiliations     = [[National Public Radio|NPR]]
| owner            = WMHT Educational Telecommunications
| sister_stations  = [[WMHT (TV)]], [[WEXT]]
| webcast          = {{listenlive|https://www.classicalwmht.org}}
| website          = [https://www.classicalwmht.org classicalwmht.org] 
}}

'''WMHT-FM''' (89.1 [[Hertz|MHz]]) is a listener-supported, non-commercial [[radio station]] [[city of license|licensed]] to [[Schenectady]], and serving the [[Capital District, New York|Capital District]] of [[New York (state)|New York]].  It has a [[classical music]] [[radio format]], with most programming originating in-house, but with some shows and news from [[National Public Radio]], [[American Public Media]] and the [[Public Radio Exchange]].   It is the [[sister station]] to [[WMHT (TV)|WMHT]] Channel 17, the [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]] member station for the [[Albany, New York|Albany]]/Schenectady/[[Troy, New York|Troy]] [[media market]].

WMHT-FM has an [[effective radiated power]] (ERP) of 6,100 watts. The [[transmitter]] is located on the [[Helderberg Escarpment]] antenna farm on Pinnacle Road in [[New Salem, New York]].<ref>[https://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/finder?sr=Y&s=C&call=Wmht&nav=home Radio-Locator.com/WMHT-FM]</ref>  WMHT-FM broadcasts using [[HD Radio]] technology.<ref>http://www.wmht.org/radio/classical/hd-radio/ WMHT HD</ref>

WMHT-FM programming is also heard on a part-time basis on FM 88.7 [[WRHV]] in [[Poughkeepsie (city), New York|Poughkeepsie]], which is involved in one of the last radio timeshare arrangements in the United States alongside [[State University of New York at New Paltz]]-owned [[WFNP-FM]]. From October 2005 to March 2006, WMHT-FM programming was also heard on co-owned FM 97.7 [[WEXT|WBKK]] in [[Amsterdam, New York|Amsterdam]].  That station now airs an [[adult album alternative]] format, also heard on WMHT-FM's HD2 [[digital subchannel]].

==History==
From its founding in 1972, WMHT-FM has been a classical music station. The plans for the format came into being in the wake of 92.3 [[WFLY]] leaving the classical format in [[1969 in radio|1969]] and an ensuing protest from prominent members of the community.  Although a number of PBS stations were launching sister NPR news and information stations, the presence of NPR [[network affiliate|affiliate]] 90.3 [[WAMC]] in Albany kept WMHT from such an opportunity.

WMHT decided to go in a different direction by launching a classical station.  WMHT paid [[Siena College]]-owned [[WVCR-FM]] to vacate its 89.1 frequency, switching to 88.3&nbsp;MHz.  On {{start date and age|1972|6|8}}, WMHT-FM officially [[sign-on|signed on]] the air.  Because the WMHT [[call sign]], which stood for "Mohawk–Hudson Television", was already established for Channel 17, the FM station took the same call letters.  The Mohawk-Hudson Council on Educational Television was the original name of the organization that put Channel 17 on the air.

WMHT-FM's signature program is "Bach's Lunch," a program originally conceived by Pam Mittendorff and Chris Wienk of [[WSHU-FM]] in [[Fairfield, Connecticut]].  Wienk brought the program to WMHT-FM after it stopped airing on WSHU-FM.

In July 2007, WMHT launched [[Amsterdam, New York|Amsterdam]]-licensed [[WEXT]] (97.7), branded as "Exit 97.7", after the purchase of the commercial license for WBKK, which removed the station's main competitor in the market. WEXT currently runs a non-commercial [[adult album alternative]] (AAA) format, along with a focus on local Capital Region artists.

==Original programming==
*'''''Bach's Lunch''''': A program of [[Baroque music]]  airing on weekdays at noon. The host is Chris Wienk.
*'''''WMHT Live''''': A full-length concert program featuring recordings of recent classical concerts in the [[Capital District, New York|Capital District]].
*'''''No Ticket Required''''': A program of concert excerpts featuring recordings of recent classical concerts in the [[Capital District, New York|Capital District]].
*'''''Serenade''''': A program of classical music featuring nocturnes, adagios and andantes produced by Wayne Henning.

==RISE==
WMHT also provides an information service for those who are blind and "print-disabled" known as ''RISE'', which has been in operation since 1978. ''RISE'' programming is on the subcarriers of both WMHT-FM and WRHV-FM (even when WRHV-FM is not on the air).

==See also==
*[[WMHT (TV)]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.classicalwmht.org WMHT-FM's website]
{{FM station data|73266|WMHT-FM}}

{{Albany Radio}}
{{NPR New York}}
{{Classical Radio Stations in New York}}

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[[Category:Radio stations in New York (state)|MHT-FM]]
[[Category:NPR member stations]]
[[Category:Classical music radio stations in the United States]]
[[Category:Radio stations established in 1972]]