We had a hiccup in our e-mailbag and discovered a batch of listener questions that were going unanswered, so we have some catching up to do. One listener wrote to report a problem we hear periodically. “I can no longer listen to WHQR due to interference from neighboring stations. I am in Wilmington. Is it my radio? Your transmitter?” It wasn’t clear from the question which station this listener was referring to, our main channel at 91.3 or our classical signal at 92.7. Sometimes, the answer is the same for both: atmospherics. Weather can impact how far a signal carries, and sometimes warm weather will carry a stronger signal than ours into our area. When that happens, we recommend streaming from the WHQR app or from a smart speaker. In the case of WHQR Classical at 92.7, that signal is not as strong as our main 91.3 signal, so doesn’t cover as much area and is more likely to have interference at the edges of our coverage. Once again, streaming is unaffected by distance or weather, so can be a great way to receive WHQR. I’ll also take this opportunity to mention WHQR HD2, which carries WHQR Classical at the same signal strength as our main channel on 91.3, but you need an HD capable receiver to receive that.
Speaking of WHQR Classical, another listener wrote asking “I'm presently listening to your broadcast of Brahms 3. Where is your playlist so I can know the orchestra?” Soon after, he wrote back saying “I found it under something labeled Classical Radio. It would be easier to understand if it is labeled Playlist.” Because WHQR Classical broadcasts programs from local hosts and from around the country, we try to link to all the shows web pages from our SCHEDULE page. There you’ll find some direct links to playlists, and some links to the show’s web page that hopefully contains the playlist.
We got a question about a commentary recently. The listener asked “I was listening to a commentary from an actress that moved to Wilmington from LA. She spoke hilariously about palmetto bugs and mosquitos. If possible, can you please provide me with a link that that story.” Program Director Ken Campbell replied that the commentary in question was from Laura Levian, and Ken provided a link to the commentary on WHQR’s Archived Broadcasts page. As part of our celebration of 40 years of broadcast, we’ve been digitizing past programs and posting them online for you to enjoy. We’ve also been rebroadcasting some listener favorite commentaries from the past. This week we added a commentary by local author and educator Philip Gerard. This is an ongoing process, so check the Commentaries page on our website at whqr.org/commentaries for new additions.
And there were a number of questions about songs heard on Smooth Landing. One of them came with this glowing review for the program. “I've been a devoted NPR listener since about 1980 and I've depended on some of the best NPR stations in the country from Maine, NH, Mass, Colorado and for over 20 years in the San Francisco Bay area.
Your Smooth Landing program has instantly become one of my absolute favorite daily NPR programs. What a terrific mix of popular music that made up the baby boomer soundtrack of my life! George Scheibner comes through like the best friend with the best record collection ever and an encyclopedic knowledge of who played with whom and when.”
We love to get your questions, comments and criticisms. You can find us on Facebook and Twitter, or X, or email us at feedback@whqr.org. Thanks for your feedback, and we look forward to hearing from you.