Legendary shortwave station WYFR in Okeechobee, Florida, which ceased
transmissions on June 30, 2013, will resume broadcasting in December
as a result of an agreement between Family Stations, Inc, and Radio
Miami International, Inc.
According to the agreement, Family Radio will sell the WYFR facility
t...o Radio Miami International. Family Radio programming for the
Caribbean and South America will return to shortwave via the
Okeechobee site, and Radio Miami's programming currently aired on WRMI
in Miami will switch over to the Okeechobee facility. The station will
also carry programs for other international broadcasters, including
Pan American Broadcasting's Radio Africa network. A target date of
December 1, 2013 has been set for the resumption of broadcasts. The
current WRMI transmission site in Miami will be closed, and the WRMI
call letters will be transferred to Okeechobee.
"We are very grateful to Family Radio for entrusting us with this
magnificent station," said Jeff White, WRMI General Manager. "WYFR is
an important part of the heritage of shortwave broadcasting, and we
are very happy that it will continue to serve shortwave listeners
around the world." The station first went on the air from Okeechobee
in 1977, although the origins of the station and its predecessors go
back to 1927. WYFR/WRMI is the largest shortwave station in the United
States in number of transmitters and antennas. The facility is
comprised of 13 transmitters -- twelve 100-kilowatt and one
50-kilowatt -- and 23 antennas beamed to all of the Americas, Europe
and Africa.
White, who is also Secretary-Treasurer of the National Association of
Shortwave Broadcasters (NASB), said that "many people made this
transition a reality, not the least of whom was our former
Secretary-Treasurer and current board member, Dan Elyea, who had been
the WYFR Station Manager from the time it was built in the late 1970's
until his recent retirement. Dan presented us to Family Radio Vice
President Tom Evans. Tom and the Family Radio Board have given us
their confidence, and we will do our best to keep this station going
for many years to come."
For more information, contact:
Jeff White
E-mail: radiomiami9@cs.com
Tel: +1-305-559-9764
(News Release, Nov. 6, 2013)
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