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About WDSO

General Information

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If you are experiencing interference on your television from WDSO please visit our interference page.

 

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Contact WDSO 88.3 FM

Address:

2125 S. 11st Street
Chesterton, IN 46304
Phone:
219-983-3777
Fax:
219-983-3775

Supervisors of WDSO
Radio Station Manager:
Emily Fletcher
Radio Instructor:
Matthew Waters 
 

History of WDSO

Early WSCB Group Picture (1975)


In the early 1970’s the first radio broadcasting was done as an in-house station. The call letters were WSCB and it was only broadcast through the halls at Chesterton High School. Mr. Dan Beckley, Audio-Visual Director, helped assemble all the equipment and was responsible for getting the station up and running.

FM Studio (1979)
The original idea for having a radio station at CHS came from Greg Odle, a student at the high school. He thought it would be a good idea for CHS to have its own radio station. So he approached Mr. William Crockett, CHS Principal, with his suggestion and Mr. Crockett pursued the possibility.

 

It took about 2 years of planning and working with the Federal Communications Commission before the current station went on-the-air. WDSO-FM, Chesterton High School’s non-commercial, educational station was a 10-watt station and was located at FM 89.1. Mr. William Crockett was still the Principal of CHS when WDSO went on-the-air in 1976. John Corso, Duneland School Audio-Visual Coordinator, and Dan Beckley were in charge of the technical aspects of the station.
Under the direction of CHS English teacher, Mr. James Cavallo, the station went on-the-air on Wednesday, November 24th, 1976 for the first time. Full programming started on Monday, November 29th. The station was on-the-air from 6:00 AM - 4:30 PM weekdays with some special programming in the evenings. The station was off-the-air during school vacations. Mr. Cavallo was the Station Manager and Faculty Advisor from 1976 to the end of the school year in 1984. He helped develop much of the programming that we still broadcast today. This included local, state and national news coverage, programs like the Community Bulletin Board, sports coverage, live broadcasts from town meetings, the Duneland School Board, Election coverage and more.
 
Cavallo was responsible for coordinating the power increase that was granted in 1985. He was assisted by his Instructional Aide Miss Michele Stipanovich. During the 1985-86 school year, WDSO went on-the-air with a power increase. The signal was now stereo at 88.3 FM and operated at 410 watts from 100 feet above the high school. Station Manager and Radio Instructor Brent Barber took over managing WDSO in 1989.
 
Construction of new studios and completed FM studio
During the summer of 2000, WDSO moved to new facilities at the new Chesterton High School. The new station includes the main broadcast studio, three production studios as well as an Engineering room and Music Library which also contains WDSO’s Archives. Included in the area is a TV production studio and control room.The WDSO transmitter remains at the old high school building (now Chesterton Middle School).
 
March 2004 marked the start of WDSO broadcasting on the internet. You can hear WDSO through the tune in radio app or ask google home or alexa to "Play WDSO."
 
 
45 Years
WDSO has been honored by the Indiana General Assembly several times:
2002 - for 25 years of broadcasting - Author of the Resolution was State Representative Ralph Ayres from Chesterton also a Social Studies teacher at Chesterton High School at the time.
2007 - for 30 years of broadcasting.
2017 - for 40 years of broadcasting.
2022 - for 45 years of broadcasting - Author of the Resolution was State Senator Rodney Pol from Chesterton also a WDSO Alumni.
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