History Profile: WTOH

FM Technical Profile: WTOH

Station Name:: Top of the Hill Radio
Frequency:: 105.9
Format:: Progressive, College
Transmitter Location:: [map] - On the campus of Spring Hill College, where Murray Field is today.
Power (ERP):: 10 watts horizontal only
Antenna:: Omnidirectional
Antenna HAAT:: 290 feet
Other Information:: No information available
More Information:: [FCC]
[FCCdata]; [Radio-Locator]; [Wikipedia]
[Website] The "TOH" moniker has been revived for the college's internet radio station.
Owner:: Spring Hill College
History:: This is the second FM station put on the air by Spring Hill College in Mobile, after public radio WHIL-FM. WTOH (Top Of the Hill radio) signed on as a Class D station in the summer of 1979 with 10 watts from a short pole on campus, where the Murray Field baseball diamond now sits. Originally on 90.5 MHz, the station appears to have started off with an AOR (album oriented rock) format run by the students and faculty. It later went progressive in the 80's in keeping with college music trends of the time. The studios were in the back of Kenny Hall originally, but moved in the early 90's moved to Moorer Hall near the Physics Department.

Around 1983-84 the station moved to 105.9 MHz and increased height while remaining at 10 watts. Around 1990, many members of the station were part of a locally known punk band called Vomit Spots. The station only ran when students could staff it. During the late 80's and early 90's the station didn't sign on until 2 pm and would usually run to midnight (or 2 am on Fridays and Saturdays). The station never broadcast in stereo due to the lack of a stereo processor/encoder. In fact, the station reportedly had no processing at all: not on the transmitter, not on the mics, nothing! The station's license was deleted in November of 1997, but it appears to have gone off the air many years earlier, when a Biloxi-market station moved to 105.9 to get a power upgrade.