WMFO is actually 125 watts ERP, but that hardly matters in terms of real-world listening, of course. WMFO also really shot themselves in the foot by applying for their Class D-to-Class A upgrade by using an "off the shelf" directional antenna pattern. It was simpler to do, no doubt, but they really kinda shafted themselves for the future. And yeah, the pattern is so directional it's vastly inferior to the old omni pattern from the Class D days...and, of course, back when the dial was a helluva lot less crowded. 10 watts will go a long way when there's nothing else on the frequency. Still, WMFO comes in great in Chelsea, Revere and Saugus.
However, it beats being a grandfathered Class D! Look how much WRBB gets smacked around by WBOQ, and how badly WBRS got hosed when WWFX moved their transmitter site, and how WZLY's signal barely makes it off-campus. I'm glad those stations managed to stay around, but at what a price...
The place (WMFO) is poorly run, leaving the transmitter on for days at a time with nothing but dead air
No argument from me...I thought it was poorly run when I was one of the people running it!
But the dead air thing should be fixed...after the FCC paid them a visit (2001 or 2002, I think) they finally came up with the money to pay their contract engineer to get the Burk VRC3000 (I think) installed and working. Still, I've been routinely amazed that Tufts doesn't just sell off the license. Between the high cost to operate it (compared to other student activity groups) and the wake of all the FCC NAL's, community member lawsuits, and other various issues that plagued the place in the late 1990's and early 2000's.
