Wellsville longest serving radio station has increased its presence on the radio dial. Since October 31, 1955 WLSV has been operating at 790 on the AM dial. Now, the station can also be heard in the immediate Wellsville area on 100.3 FM. It's a low power transmitter authorized by the Federal Communications Commission's AM Revitalization Act. WLSV operates on 1,000 watts of power during the day, but under federal rules it must operate at a significantly lower power when the sun sets. For the Wellsville radio broadcaster, the addition of an FM signal will give it boost, especially when it covers Wellsville Lions athletic events. Bob Mangels, one of the owners, told Wellsville Regional News "we applied for the FM coverage because, WLSV 790 has to reduce power at night and have lower power in the morning before sunrise. This will now have the coverage constant for listeners on 100.3 FM. This will benefit Wellsville High School sports that we broadcast, like regular season football and basketball sectionals, and regular season baseball or sectionals that might be played at night." Mangels said the FM translator, as it's called, went on the air October 4th. The veteran radio host added that "it was done to enhance the opportunity for current WLSV listeners, and expand the following of The Real/Classic Country audience."
The move isn't a magic bullet, but for regular FM listeners, it could reintroduce them to WLSV, Allegany County's original radio station. Robert and Richard Mangels, DBM Communications, Inc., also own and operate WJQZ 103.5 FM in Wellsville. The pair has owned the radio stations since 1998.
