FM Technical Profile: WBHJ

Station Name:

95-7 Jamz

Frequency:

95.7

Format:

Urban Contemporary

Transmitter Location:

Red Mountain, just off Ishkooda Rd.

Power (ERP):

12.2 kW.

Antenna:

Directional

Antenna HAAT:

1,004 feet.

Other Information:

60 dBu protected contour map, from the FCC.

HD-2: WAY-FM

// W210CA Birmingham

// W222BK Birmingham (Pelham)

:PS-95.7 JAMZ Time-[?] Text-Birmingham's number one for Hip Hop and R & B - 957jamz.com PTY-Easy

How's the Signal?

Well, it's nothing like it was during the WFFX days in Tuscasloosa, or the days when it broadcast from Vance and covered most of both markets.  It's pretty weak in Tuscaloosa now, but still manages to show up in the ratings quite well.  The signal is adequate for the immediate metro area only.

More Information:

[FCC]

[RECnet]

[Radio-Locator]

[Wikipedia]

[Bhamwiki]

[RDS] RDS display from Jamz on a GMC Yukon's radio.

[HD-2] HD-2 display.

Owner:

Cox Broadcasting

How's it sound?

Clean and crisp.  One of the better sounding properties in Birmingham.

History:

Was originally a Tuscaloosa station, with transmitter on 15th Street across from Taco Casa. Came on the air in 1958 as WTBC, companion to WTBC-AM 1230. Later had a seperate identity as WUOA (University of Alabama), as an adult contemporary station. As WTBC-FM, the station was just a placeholder for the AM station, playing a stack of MOR format LP's on a turntable. A contributor who worked at WTBC-AM notes that when the stack of records was finished, it just started playing over! Station IDs weren't done regularly as they were done by the AM jocks, who often forgot. The program director would go live for a few hours each night and was probably the only live person on the air daily.  Later, changed calls to WFFX (The Fox) and added a more upbeat mix of music. Shortly before moving to the Birmingham market, the station went modern rock. It was during that period the transmitter moved to a taller tower near Vance, where it eventually became urban-flavored Jamz in July 1996.

 

In June 2005 the station completed a move to boost its signal in the Birmingham market by getting relicensed to the Birmingham suburb of Midfield and moving their transmitter site from rural Bibb County (near Vance) to the Red Mountain, where the other high-power Birmingham stations are located.  Although they've had to reduce their power from 100kW to just 12.2kW, the in-town location will provide a good signal to listeners in the immediate area. The move has been made just in time as they now have competition from "Hot 107.7", formerly a rock station, with a much bigger signal in and out of the metro area.

 

The station, along with all other Cox radio stations in Birmingham, were put up for sale in the summer of 2012.  In September of that year, the morning show (Roy Wood, Nu York and B. Money) was terminated while the host was in Los Angeles filming a television program.  He and the others found out about it via social networking.  In November 2012 the station's HD broadcasts resumed, adding Contemporary Christian-themed WAY-FM to its HD-2 subchannel.  WAY-FM is being heard on Birmingham translator W210CA, at 89.9 MHz and should be heard on Pelham-area W222BK at 92.3 MHz soon as well.