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| Broadcast area | Worldwide |
|---|---|
| Branding | Family Radio |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Format | Defunct (wasGospel) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| History | |
First air date | October 15, 1927 (1927-10-15) |
Last air date | July 1, 2013 (2013-7-1) (85 years, 8 months and 16 days) |
Former call signs | W2XAL (1927–1929) W1XAL (1929–1939) WRUL (1939–1966) WNYW (1966–1973)[1] |
Call sign meaning | "We're Your Family Radio" |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 20793 |
Transmitter coordinates | 27°27′30″N80°56′0″W / 27.45833°N 80.93333°W /27.45833; -80.93333 |
| Links | |
| Website | Family Radio |
WYFR was ashortwaveradio station located inOkeechobee, Florida,United States. The station was owned by Family Stations, Inc., as part of theFamily Radio network, and used to broadcast traditionalChristian radio programming to international audiences. WYFR ceased all shortwave transmissions July 1, 2013. In December 2013, another shortwave broadcaster,WRMI ofMiami, purchased the WYFR transmission complex.
WYFR was descended from W1XAL, an experimental shortwave station in that was granted its license in 1927 and broadcast fromBoston until 1936 when the station moved toScituate, Massachusetts. In 1939, the call letters were changed to WRUL and initially served as an educational station broadcasting university lectures. DuringWorld War II it became a propaganda station and was leased by the US government from 1942 until the end of the war. The station becameWNYW in 1966.
In 1973, it was purchased by Family Stations, Inc, and began broadcasting as WYFR on October 20, 1973. The call sign stands for "We're Your Family Radio". The station built new transmitters in Okeechobee, Florida in 1977, and closed the Scituate site in 1979. In mid-2013 Family Radio announced it would be permanently closing WYFR on June 30, 2013.[2] The station did in fact close but was purchased byWRMI and brought back to the air in December 2013.[3]
Theinterval signal of WYFR was a brass quintet playing the first eight bars of "To God Be the Glory".[4]
Radio Taiwan International leased broadcast time on WYFR from Family Radio. After 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. until sometime the next morningEastern Time Zone (depending onDaylight Saving Time), WYFR broadcast RTI programming inEnglish,Mandarin,Cantonese,Hakka, andSpanish. These broadcasts also ended on July 1, 2013.[5] Family Radio, however, continued to host RTI's audio service to the Chinese community in theNew York City area on a digital subchannel of Family Radio's television station,WNYJ-TV, until that station ceased operations on October 25, 2017.[6]
Shortwave radio stations located in the United States  | |
|---|---|
| Government stations | |
| Private stations | |
| Defunct stations | |
| See also | |
