number of current songs, mainly new material from core artists of the time. In 1988, WQBK/WQBK-FM were sold to Albany Broadcasting. In 1992, WQBK-FM began carrying the syndicated Howard Stern Show from New York City. Stern's show proved to be very popular in the Capital District, unseating the previous top morning show, WGY's Don Weeks, for the next thirteen years. WQBK-FM was limited by its Class A signal that was hard to hear outside Albany, Schenectady, Troy and their close-in suburbs. In 1994, Albany Broadcasting acquired WSHQ, an FM station at 103.5 MHz in Cobleskill, with a full Class B signal, running 50,000 watts, changing the call letters to WQBJ. WQSH could reach communities that were outside WQBK-FM's range, especially to the west of Albany. Modern rock One year later, the stations flipped to mainstream rock and rebranded as 103.5/103.9 The Edge, placed between classic rock WPYX and active rock WZRQ. However, the mainstream rock format only lasted a short time. After several months of faltering ratings, the stations flipped to modern rock, which made the stations a success in the Albany market within a year (scoring in the top 5 ratings and #1 18-34 spot), thanks to the combination of modern rock and Howard Stern. In 1996, Radio Enterprises acquired Maximum Media (then-owners of WQBK-FM, WQBJ, and WQBK). Two years later, Clear Channel Communications purchased Radio Enterprises, and increased voice-tracking and automation at the station as well as leaning towards harder-edged songs. Return to active rock The stations returned officially to active rock on September 17, 1999. Two weeks later, former sister station WHRL flipped to modern rock to fill the void left by WQBK-FM and WQBJ's switch to a harder rock presentation. When AMFM merged with Clear Channel in 2000, Clear Channel had to divest some of its properties because it was over its limit of stations in some media markets such as Albany. WQBK-FM/WQBJ and WTMM (the former WQBK) were then sold to Regent Communications (now Townsquare Media). Shortly after, Regent tweaked the format to a more mainstream active rock direction, and eventually included some alternative rock in the playlist. In December 2005, Howard Stern moved to Sirius Satellite Radio, causing a drop in the ratings for "The Edge." On the morning of December 16, 2005, The Edge format was flipped to album-oriented rock, changing the station's moniker to Q103 and the slogan Where Rock Lives, also