WHAJ
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Broadcast area | |
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Frequency | 104.5 MHz |
Branding | J104 |
Programming | |
Format | Contemporary hit radio |
Affiliations |
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Ownership | |
Owner |
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WHIS, WHKX, WHQX, WKEZ, WKOY-FM | |
History | |
First air date | 1963 |
Former call signs | WHIS-FM (1963–1976)[1] |
Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 504 |
Class | C |
ERP |
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HAAT | 472.2 meters (1,549 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 37°15′5.0″N 81°11′20.0″W / 37.251389°N 81.188889°W |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Webcast | Listen Live |
Website | j104radio.com |
WHAJ (104.5
History
WHAJ began as WHIS-FM in 1948, as the strongest FM station in the world at the time, with an effective radiated power of 186,000 watts. It was the sister station of WHIS.[3] The radio station was not successful, and broadcasting had permanently ceased by 1950. The management of WHIS decided to relaunch the station in 1963, this time with an Effective Radiated Power of 5.8 kW. In 1977 power was increased to 100 kW and the call sign was changed from WHIS-FM to WHAJ-FM to emphasize separate programming from WHIS.
When the radio station was relaunched in 1963, the studios were co-located with WHIS and WHIS-TV (now
Technical
Automation
From the 1970s until 1987, WHAJ used a Shaffer 903 automation system. From 1987 to 1990, WHAJ did not employ radio automation. On March 6, 1990, WHAJ became the world's first radio station to use Computer Concepts' Digital Commercial System (DCS) automation, considered the first commercially successful digital radio automation systems. In 1996, the DCS system was replaced by a first-generation system from Scott Studios. The older Scott Studios system was upgraded to Scott Studios SS32 in 2003.
Transmitter sites
WHAJ's transmitter is located on East River Mountain, overlooking the city of Bluefield. When the station returned to the air in 1963, the transmitter was co-located with
WVVA's transmitter site is unique because the TV transmitter building is in the state of Virginia, but the TV tower and antenna are in West Virginia. This was a problem in 1977 when the management of the station wished to begin operations at 100 kW. In accordance with
In the late 1990s it became desirable to relocate the station's transmitter to a new location for two reasons. Firstly, the TV station had been sold, and the FM station was paying rent to the TV station for use of the transmitter site. Secondly, the site was undesirable from a technical perspective. The 1977 tower was too short and the rocky terrain would make a new, tall tower impractical. A new tower was therefore constructed approximately 1 mile to the west-southwest of the TV tower. WHAJ-FM moved to this site in 2000, using a Broadcast Electronics 25K transmitter. Co-owned
Programming
In the 1960s and 1970s, WHAJ had a
See also
References
- ^ "FCC History Cards for WHAJ".
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WHAJ". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "History of Radio Station WHIS, Bluefield, West Virginia". members.aol.com. Archived from the original on 1999-11-09.
External links
- J104 Online
- WHAJ in the FCC FM station database
- WHAJ in Nielsen Audio's FM station database