WSJO (SoJO 104.9)... How are they doing?

[Soon Yi CIV.V]

SoJO 104.9 just keeps getting better and better. I wish I could hear them clearly in Philadelphia. And I wish they were able to somehow boost their HD signal...or just drop it altogether. In parts of South Jersey, the signal is "fringy" at best so the HD just constantly locks and unlocks. It gets annoying.

Anyway, my question is about how they're doing. I know it's hard to figure out because they target a really odd little slice of the market (or have they abandoned that mission?) but someone MUST know if they're performing well. I really hope they are because I think they're an amazing example of Adult CHR/Hot AC. Anyone here know what's up with them?

Plus... Does anyone think Philly's new Now 97.5 would do itself a favor by modeling itself after SoJO 104.9 as opposed to creating a mirror image of B101?

 

[JH_Radio]

I can get SoJO here in Bensalem, but that may just be my rig/DX setup. I like Craig Allen, reminds me of Star.
SoJo reminds me of WOMX "Mix 105.1" in Orlando. They are different than a lot of Hot AC's out there.
In this area for a SoJO type format, I think WPST (94.5) is a good option.
PST certainly isn't anything like your mainstream CHR , but nor is it Hot AC either. Plays very little urban or hiphop, and doesnt just do a rock-leaning Hot AC either.
They are quick to jump on newer music, too. They are listed as a Hot AC by the arbs, but I think they are more an Adult CHR.
PST is a good bucks county/Trenton NJ and into North Jersey/Northeast Philly coverage. Depending on how good of a car radio you got, they may be heard in Center City and out twoard DE too if they aren't beaten up by 94.7 (Forget the calls/format of 94.7.) I wanna say Country as I don't believe they are "The Roc, of Dellaware" anymore.

John

 

[GSP163]

PST is a good bucks county/Trenton NJ and into North Jersey/Northeast Philly coverage. Depending on how good of a car radio you got, they may be heard in Center City and out twoard DE too if they aren't beaten up by 94.7 (Forget the calls/format of 94.7.) I wanna say Country as I don't believe they are "The Roc, of Dellaware" anymore

94.7 in Dover, DE is Country WDSD.......A little more then a year ago it was Rock-AC WRDX "The River" but that format moved to the weaker 92.9 in Smyrna (94.7 took 92.9's Country format and calls)......94.5 WPST does not put a good signal into North Jersey at all (except for the western part).....50,000 watt 94.7 WFME transmitting from West Orange bleeds all over WPST's signal anywhere North & East of I-287

 

[eyg2181]

you should get sojo 1049 fine in philly. sojo is one of the semilocal signals in lower bucks that come in everywhere with little effort indoors. the big 3 ars sojo, the hawk, and g rock.

 

[nd2023]

Sojo is a little class A that has a huge range because it's near the water. It could be heard on Long Island and anywhere south of 287 consistently during the summer.

 

[Radio411]

Sojo is a little class A that has a huge range because it's near the water. It could be heard on Long Island and anywhere south of 287 consistently during the summer.

Ummm just a few things... ANY attempt at sarcasm should TYPICALLY be substantiated with FACTS and not a wild guess! Anyway moving on, WSJO is actually a wee bit LARGER than a "little class A" according to the FCC specs...its a Class B1 at 10,000 Watts which here in the NE is somewhat of a rareity due to overcrowding and spacing issues. (For the record WCHR-FM, WPUR and WNNJ in Newton are also those "rare" B1's). They cover a large chunk of land because they have the extra power and height that the "little class A's" don't. Also FM's proximity to water has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with its extra range as that would ONLY apply to AM and the salt-water propagation. In theory the closer an FM IS to water the MORE it's coverage area is decreased and/or wasted but SoJO's tower is about 20 miles inland. You ARE however 1 for 3 though as SoJO does come in fairly well during summer tropo as do most of the AC stations namely WFPG (but then again thats a 50kw'er).

I would be in agreeance that it is a unique and well produced Hot AC station especially since its nearly entirely voicetracked to save $$$$... in other words the CC of NJ. :

 

[amfmsw]

More importantly, it's 10Kw at over 500'...a big deal down here. Only WXKW is higher. Class A's are limited to 330' (100 meters) in height before power reduction.

Also, add WZXL to that list of B-1's.

 

[GSP163]

Actually WZXL is a Class B....I believe they would have to downgrade to a B1 if they wanted to move their transmitter closer to AC.

 

[NJ VET]

PD Eric Johnson is doing a first class job and the station sounds great. SOJO is also always "on the street" - all over the region (yes the mission is still the same - to target South Jersey) promotionally. As is the case with big sister New Jersey 101.5 - "not NYC, not Philly"...SOJO does the "not Atlantic City - not Philly" thing well. Check out the photos on the website - these guys are everywhere. www.sojo1049.com. Not entirely v/t. Air personalities are pros - all very solid and even one who shows up on two other Millennium stations. Image and creative production is pretty damn good too. Advertisers, who were slow to arrive in the early days, have bought in and SOJO seems like it's making some serious money now too...in a newly created market area.

 

[amfmsw]

I see Radio-Locator has WZXL listed as a B.

WZXL is only 38kw, and only at 330+ height on WMGM-TV's stick in Swainton. Extremely respectable, but still a B-1.

WAYV, WFPG, WMGM & WXKW are 50Kw Class B's. (or 50kw ERP)

 

[tom]

WZXL is a full Class B. A B-1could only be 25,000 watts at 100 meters (328 feet) and would have to reduce further the higher it went.

WZXL NJ WILDWOOD USA

Licensee: EQUITY COMMUNICATIONS, L.P.
Service Designation: FM 'Full Service' FM station or application

Channel/Class: 264B Frequency: 100.7 MHz Licensed
File No.: BMLH-20060118ADA Facility ID number: 70260
CDBS Application ID No.: 1108886

39° 07' 28.00" N Latitude 74° 45' 56.00" W Longitude (NAD 27)

Polarization: Horizontal Vertical Effective Radiated Power (ERP): 38. 38. kW ERP Antenna Height Above Average Terrain: 101. 101. meters HAAT

 

[MikeF]

WZXL is only 38kw, and only at 330+ height on WMGM-TV's stick in Swainton. Extremely respectable, but still a B-1.

Bill, it isn't what a station is, but how the FCC allocates the channel that determines whether a station is a B or a B1. WNNJ is only 2.3 KW yet it is a B1. Because of shortspacing with WLEV, WZXL can't be a "full" B (yes this does resemble the discussion re 6 KW Class A's on the Philly board awhile ago). But just like less than full B's WAYV and WMGM, it could be 50 KW if Equity wanted to make it a directional. But there would be no significant advantage.

Mike

 

[ccuphl]

WAYV, WFPG, WMGM & WXKW are 50Kw Class B's. (or 50kw ERP)

Keep in mind that WAYV, WFPG, and WMGM are all 50kw at below the 150m "standard" for a class-B. WAYV is 50kw at 101m (about 331 feet).

The 104.9 signal is beautiful, simply because there's nothing else on 104.9 for, in some cases, hundreds of miles (the nearest full-power 104.9s are in Scranton and eastern Virginia). 104.5 and 105.3/Philly, 105.1/NYC, and 104.7 in southern Delaware keep translators and LPFMs away from 104.9.

 

[Up_N_Down_The_Dial]

Sojo is a little class A that has a huge range because it's near the water. It could be heard on Long Island and anywhere south of 287 consistently during the summer.

Ummm just a few things... ANY attempt at sarcasm should TYPICALLY be substantiated with FACTS and not a wild guess! Anyway moving on, WSJO is actually a wee bit LARGER than a "little class A" according to the FCC specs...its a Class B1 at 10,000 Watts which here in the NE is somewhat of a rareity due to overcrowding and spacing issues. (For the record WCHR-FM, WPUR and WNNJ in Newton are also those "rare" B1's). They cover a large chunk of land because they have the extra power and height that the "little class A's" don't. Also FM's proximity to water has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with its extra range as that would ONLY apply to AM and the salt-water propagation. In theory the closer an FM IS to water the MORE it's coverage area is decreased and/or wasted but SoJO's tower is about 20 miles inland. You ARE however 1 for 3 though as SoJO does come in fairly well during summer tropo as do most of the AC stations namely WFPG (but then again thats a 50kw'er).

I would be in agreeance that it is a unique and well produced Hot AC station especially since its nearly entirely voicetracked to save $$$$... in other words the CC of NJ. :

Another great / little known fact about this signal is that the tower was found to be leaning 2 degrees with the antennas up in the direction of Philly... I believe it is due to the guy wires, they have decided to leave it the way it is since it puts a better signal into Philly and they could not find any ruling on the legallity of it.

 

[tom]

Another great / little known fact about this signal is that the tower was found to be leaning 2 degrees with the antennas up in the direction of Philly... I believe it is due to the guy wires, they have decided to leave it the way it is since it puts a better signal into Philly and they could not find any ruling on the legallity of it.

Where did that tripe come from? I put that transmitter site on the air for WRDR
in 1992, and have been Chief for WSJO since Millennium took over, and have never
heard such a silly story. Details ??? Who is "THEY" ??

 

[amfmsw]

T-M...thanks for the correction. Understood.

The 2 degree lean..do you mean WZZO?

 

[8638]

Sojo is a little class A that has a huge range because it's near the water. It could be heard on Long Island and anywhere south of 287 consistently during the summer.

Ummm just a few things... ANY attempt at sarcasm should TYPICALLY be substantiated with FACTS and not a wild guess! Anyway moving on, WSJO is actually a wee bit LARGER than a "little class A" according to the FCC specs...its a Class B1 at 10,000 Watts which here in the NE is somewhat of a rareity due to overcrowding and spacing issues. (For the record WCHR-FM, WPUR and WNNJ in Newton are also those "rare" B1's). They cover a large chunk of land because they have the extra power and height that the "little class A's" don't. Also FM's proximity to water has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with its extra range as that would ONLY apply to AM and the salt-water propagation. In theory the closer an FM IS to water the MORE it's coverage area is decreased and/or wasted but SoJO's tower is about 20 miles inland. You ARE however 1 for 3 though as SoJO does come in fairly well during summer tropo as do most of the AC stations namely WFPG (but then again thats a 50kw'er).

I would be in agreeance that it is a unique and well produced Hot AC station especially since its nearly entirely voicetracked to save $$$$... in other words the CC of NJ. :

Another great / little known fact about this signal is that the tower was found to be leaning 2 degrees with the antennas up in the direction of Philly... I believe it is due to the guy wires, they have decided to leave it the way it is since it puts a better signal into Philly and they could not find any ruling on the legallity of it.

Hmmm...reverse beam tilt?

 

[Up_N_Down_The_Dial]

Another great / little known fact about this signal is that the tower was found to be leaning 2 degrees with the antennas up in the direction of Philly... I believe it is due to the guy wires, they have decided to leave it the way it is since it puts a better signal into Philly and they could not find any ruling on the legallity of it.

Where did that tripe come from? I put that transmitter site on the air for WRDR
in 1992, and have been Chief for WSJO since Millennium took over, and have never
heard such a silly story. Details ??? Who is "THEY" ??

Tom, although i can't proove it, it is what I was told by a CE in Philly who claimed that he had a hand in this stick... I've also retold the story to those who would know and they acknowledged it... but that does not make it 100% fact... but I was not just making it up either... I believe it's true...

 

[tom]

The original owner, Jim Rodio, sat down with maps, and antenna patterns
"cut outs" like people use to arrange furniture, and figured out the best
orientation for the ERI 5 bay antenna, which is on an ERI Lambda section,
which allows you to get the best possible pattern.

We put it up and it performed very well. When Mega came along, they
thought they could do better. They spent thousands of dollars messing
with it ... and in the end ... put it right back where it was.

Anything else you hear is "urban legend" the tower is straight as an arrow.

 

[amfmsw]

RE: my classification mistake.

This is what I referenced 100.7 Wildwood to a B-1. http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2007/octqtr/pdf/47cfr73.210.

My interpretation came from R&R 73.210 (b) The power and antenna height requirements
for each class are set forth in § 73.211. If a station has an ERP and an antenna HAAT such that it cannot
be classified using the maximum limits and minimum requirements in § 73.211,

then subpart: (i) If this distance is greater than 28 km and less than or equal to 39 km, the station is Class B1.

IF I wasn't so lazy and turned the page, I ALSO would have read: § 73.211 Power and antenna height requirements.
(a) Minimum requirements. (1) Exceptas provided in paragraphs (a)(3) and (b)(2) of this section, FM stations must
operate with a minimum effective radiated power (ERP) as follows:

(i) The minimum ERP for Class A stations is 0.1 kW.
(ii) The ERP for Class B1 stations must exceed 6 kW.
(iii) The ERP for Class B stations must exceed 25 kW. (revised Dec 2000)

You are right, WZXL most definitley qualifies as a "B" under iii. I need a new ARRL Handbook. However, the discussion based on frequency allocation went out the window with Docket 80-90.