Harrisburg PA Radio: WHYL 960 AM Back On-air

Kirk Wilson, Larry Flood

A Harrisburg-area radio station specializing in adult standards, dating back to 1948, has been revived and is back on the air.

As of Saturday, WHYL 960 AM in nearby Carlisle is back; it went off the air in January 2014, according to the Carlisle Sentinel.

Eric Swidler said it took longer than expected to get the radio station up and running again, and the hurdles that had to be jumped were challenging. Instead of letting the radio station fall to the wayside, Swidler said the community demand was so high, he “felt it was worth it to take the time and painstaking effort to bring it back, because we want to fulfill that particular need and niche in the marketplace.”

Swidler and his father, Harold, purchased WHYL in 2014 after the station’s previous owner filed for bankruptcy and had to be taken off the air. U.S. Bankruptcy Court documents said WHYL claimed its creditors were owed at least $82,880.22.

“We had the entire infrastructure to recreate; it had been dismantled,” Swidler said. “What was involved was all electronic and physical construction, at all ends — the studio, and transmission facility. Everything had to be recreated and reconstructed.”.