Waterville community radio station WMHB-FM will be back on the airwaves on Saturday, October 2, but at a new frequency, 89.7 FM. WMHB has been granted special temporary authority to broadcast at 10 watts at 89.7 FM while the stationšs application for a frequency change from 90.5 to 89.7 is being reviewed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Once the frequency change is complete, WMHB will remain at 89.7 FM and can resume broadcasting at its full power of 110 watts. The approval process can take six to 12 months. On Saturday WMHB will solely broadcast the Colby-Middlebury football game at 1 p.m. The station will resume 24 hour broadcasting on Sunday, October 3.

WMHB voluntarily went off the air at 2 a.m. Saturday, July 10, after it was found that the station was broadcasting at 90.5 when it was licensed to broadcast at 91.5. Only when the Maine Public Radio network filed for the 90.5 frequency to fill in a weak sector in its coverage was the problem discovered.

In the 1980s WMHB had filed to change its frequency from 91.5 to accommodate Maine Public Radio when it began broadcasting on 91.3 in the Waterville area. Stations managers learned this summer that, due to a lack of continuity in the largely student-run station, no one ever followed up on the application and the change was never approved. The station hired a lawyer and engineer to complete and file the appropriate paperwork with the FCC, says Lee L'Heureux '03 of Waterville, WMHB's summer station manager.

WMHB is a college-community radio station that serves the greater Waterville area with a diverse blend of music including rock, rap, metal, jazz, blues, world beat, folk and country. It is a non-profit educational radio station run jointly by Colby College students and local residents.