East Halls Radio is moving up to FM, but won't abandon laid-back format

East Halls Radio will crackle and hiss no more, WEHR is finally moving from the AM dial to an FM frequency -- 93.7 FM.

With the cooperation of Housing and Food Services, WEHR will be getting hooked into the new TCI of Pennsylvania, Inc. cable system, currently installed in East and Pollock Halls, said Jim Eppink, general manager of WEHR.

Although Eppink said he wants to have everything up and running by March 1, there is some confusion about the opening date.

WEHR's alumni adviser Russell Rossman Jr. said the station was ready three months ago and it has been waiting for TCI's approval. The station and the University Office of Telecommunications have been pushing the cable company to provide the hook-up, Rossman said.

"TCI has yet to give housing the OK," Rossman said. "We were planning for March 1 but it's at the mercy of TCI."

But Jeffrey B. Fisher, TCI general manager, said he is waiting for the telecommunications office to give him the go-ahead.

"We will get it on the schedule of the Office of Telecommunications and TCI not on WEHR . . . we're close," Fisher said. "I don't think that Mr. Rossman should be picking dates."

The telecommunications office could not be reached for comment.

Although the date is still in question, Rossman said the new WEHR will be up and running before the end of the spring semester, adding that the plans for the move have been going on since last spring.

North and South Halls and both Atherton and McKee will have the TCI cable service -- as well as WEHR -- installed this summer, said Fred Fotis, Housing and Laundry Services director.

The cable system will be installed in the remaining dorms during the 1994 summer, Fotis said.

Housing and the telecommunications office will pay for the installations and the station, through donations and advertisements, will pay for upgraded equipment, Rossman said.

Fotis said installation costs were small,but could not give the specific amount.

When the station -- which has been closed since last semester -- opens, it will be student-run. WEHR will maintain its free-form programming because it will not be licensed by the Federal Communications Commission, Rossman said.

It will sound like traditional college radio, said WEHR's music director Kathy Kazmierski.

Though the station's laid-back style will remain a constant, its hours may be expanded from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m., past its usual midnight sign off, Eppink said.