Karen Dillon

Karen writes about the people and places of Smith Mountain Lake in "Shorelines," published bi-weekly.

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The airwaves around the lake are a little livelier now that WSLK 880 AM is on the air.

The station began broadcasting on May 12 with station owner Tim Ernandes at the helm, producing his own weekday morning show called "Daybreak at the Lake."

Ernandes and his father, Frank, teamed up to form Smile Broadcasting and several months ago purchased WCQV. The station previously was airing a simulcast of WWWR, a religious broadcaster in Roanoke.

After acquiring space in a retail complex on Hendricks Store Road, and installing a new 1,000-watt transmitter and broadcast equipment, WSLK came to life.

Now the station, which operates from sunrise to sunset, plays hits from the 1950s through the 1980s. Songs run the gamut from Johnny Mathis to Kool and the Gang.

"We play the songs that most of our audience grew up listening to on their transistor radios, at home, in the car and at the beach," wrote Ernandes on the station's Web site. "Much of this music has been forgotten over time, and even many 'oldies' stations don't play them any more. We do, and we do it without repeating songs over and over again."

With the exception of his weekday morning show, which airs from 6-10 a.m., WSLK is automated and operated by a computer program, although Ernandes has the capability to jump in at any time for live updates.

The lake entrepreneur, who also owns ComputerEase, and his wife, Jo-Ann, have spent countless hours programming the music, producing spots and selling advertising on the station.

Ernandes' drive to succeed and his love of radio were what compelled him to create the station.

"I'm just bound and determined," he said. "I refuse to give up because I'm a very driven person."

The 51-year-old fell in love with broadcasting as a student when he began working for his college radio station in New York. After graduating from C.W. Post College with a degree in communications, Ernandes continued working in the industry for a number of years, but moving around as broadcasters tend to do was taking its toll.

"The funny thing was, the closer I got to the 'big time,' the less I seemed to enjoy it. I'm kind of a homebody with no real wanderlust," he said.

Now, Ernandes is back on the air doing what he loves, even though he insists it's still a work in progress. Already he's added local elements to the schedule, including a community calendar, and a "Jobcast."

In the future, he'd like to add more live interviews, more features, and of course, more advertisers, he said.

"I'm looking forward to having a very entertaining morning show, a full complement of announcers and being a fixture in this community," said Ernandes, who added he plans to operate his computer business as before.

"I plan to continue to provide the equipment and services that my clients expect. In fact, having the radio station will afford me an office location for ComputerEase that is convenient to the public."

Ernandes said his computer expertise is an added benefit to WSLK.

"I became interested in computers because I wanted to find a way for them to perform the myriad tedious tasks that need to be done in a radio station. Now, I have come full circle and am able to marry two things that I have really enjoyed doing for a living."

WSLK can be found on the radio dial at 880 AM and online at www.wslk880.com. The studio is located on Virginia 655 (Hendricks Store Road) next to the old ShopRite building.