WTOP’s analog simulcast on 103.9 FM in Frederick County, Maryland, ended Aug. 1 when the frequency was leased to K-LOVE, an adult contemporary Christian music station.
Starting Monday, listeners with HD Radio receivers in the area can hear WTOP programming on 103.9-HD2.
WTOP continues to broadcast on 103.5 FM, 107.7 FM and 103.5 HD-1 and remains available for streaming on WTOP.com, the WTOP app, YouTube and Alexa using the command, “Alexa, Open WTOP.”
WTOP’s app is also CarPlay and Android Auto enabled, making it easy to listen to WTOP’s 24/7 coverage when connected to the car dashboard.
Listeners with HD Radio receivers can tune to 103.9 FM and select the HD2 channel to hear WTOP. The 103.9-HD3 channel carries The Gamut.
What is HD Radio?
HD Radio is a digital radio technology used by many stations on the AM and FM dials, allowing them to offer additional channels with improved audio quality, such as 103.9-HD2 and 103.9-HD3, which can be accessed with an HD Radio receiver.
Dave Kolesar, senior broadcast engineer for Hubbard Broadcasting, the company that owns WTOP, said most HD Radios allow the user to save a preset for these channels, “making reception easy,” adding that these are not analog signals that can be received with standard radio receivers.
For those looking to listen at home to 103.9 FM HD-2, you must have an HD-enabled radio.
How to know if you have HD Radio?
The first thing to do is look for an “HD Radio” logo on your vehicle’s entertainment system. Kolesar said it “may have HD capability built in, but switched off. To turn it on, simply navigate to the ‘Settings’ menu and find an option such as ‘HD Radio On/Off.'”
He said details are likely found in your vehicle’s manual or by searching the internet using the term “turning HD Radio on in” and adding the year, make and model of the vehicle in the search field.
WTOP and its partner stations, Federal News Network and The Gamut, are owned and operated by Hubbard Broadcasting. The Minnesota-based, family-owned company purchased WTOP in April 2011.
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