TN ARCH 1964, WAJR manage-
]. ment requested production and
engineering to (1) develop a new
concept in FM programming; (2)
build a maximum power stereo
station within the confines of the
present staff and physical plant;
(3) produce the end re.sult in a
minimum time; (4) continue
present duties; (5) sign-on with
minimum expenditure but maximum flexibility.
Less than 8 months later,
WAJR-FM signed-on with complete stereo facilities including
locally recorded events—anything
from a basketball game to a
tiddly-winks tournament. Three
million people now have quality
music and news programming 17
hours a day, 7 days a week. One
million of the potential listeners
had never been able to receive
quality FM without more noise
than music. The 'budget to build
these facilities, although sizable,
was squeezed in every possible
way. Over $10,000 was saved by
local design and construction.
When you set out to build an
FM station, you soon learn that
there is not an abundance of
available basic information to
guide you, and there are few sources of paternal counsel to
steer you in selecting equipment
and efficiently operating a stereo
facility. In spite of these conditions, we were on the air in just
a little over seven months after
our CP was granted.
We felt there was a definite
need for WAJR-FM. Adjacent
counties were not being reached
by local radio, and the statewide
Mountaineer Sports Network
needed a feed signal. Then, too,
it was felt that many people were
not completely satisfied by a middle-of-the-road AM outlet and the
other local station.
WAJR-FM came into being in
1947. By 1962 the old transmitter
was outmoded—antique, in fact—
and was taken off the air due to
instability. The operation had
befitted the term experimental"
—a poorly programmed and
staffed AM stepchild. Programming was provided via an automatic record changer or by simulcasting with AM. To replace
and improve the facility, the station applied for, and was granted,
a new channel and a power increase to 25 kw ERP. A new
t ransmitter was ordered and
shipped just in time for the FCC freeze in 1963. The transmitter
made an about face and went back
to the factory.
The matter rested for over a
year while allocation procedures
were ironed out. Finally. in March
1964, WAJR was assigned a frequency of 101.9 me and granted a
('P for a 50-kw FM station. Then.
with the advent of vertical polarization, management felt that the mountainous terrain would be
best served bv vertical as well as
horizontal polarization. FCC approval was then obtained for 50-
kw dual polarized transmission.
As of March 15th. 1961. the
station was a paper tiger It had
received thought as to means and
methods of programming, but
concrete construction plans were
non-existent, even though an on air date of September 1st had
been arbitrarily set.
On March 22nd, 1964, a member of the AM staff was designated as FM Production Director
'and assigned the responsibilities
of developing the physical plant,
the basic administrative structure, and the programming. The
Production Director was also
charged with the promotional aspects of Lne FM station. The AM
Chief Engineer received the additional duties of FM engineering.
His duties were expanded to the
development of technical details,
including wiring, equipment selection, construction procedures,
and the problem of how to set up
a "new concept in radio."
"new concept in radio."
In these opening stages, we established that a "quality" sound
—from both engineering and programming standpoints — was a basic prerequisite. The music
policy was tentatively set—good
music with an upper middle-ofthe-road approach, stressing instrumental music, with all, or as
much as possible, programmed in
stereo. As the market was reasonably open there was no reason to
specialize in any one area of
music. To allow ample room for
error, all steps taken prior to
sign-on were made carefully, with
the idea of a complete middle-ofthe-road format at sign-on. As
comments are voiced on likes and
dislikes, the station expects to
move into new fields. Down to
the initial order of records, we
developed only a framework program schedule. We ordered only
"standards"; i.e., music which
would definitely be used regardless of possible variations in the
final program structure.
Transmitter and
Studio Locations
Since the station already had•
an FM transmitter site, the logical thing was to locate the new
FM transmitter there. The old
FM had been operated by remote
control on a hill within the city
limits. The AM transmitter location-5 miles out of town with
directional 5,000-watt daytime,
500-watt nighttime pattern—could
also serve as an FM transmitter
location, complete with an engineering staff.
We learned during our initial
research that stereo stations encounter difficulty sending the two
audio channels through two pairs
of telephone lines without some phase and separation loss. Therefore, we concluded the best studio
transmitter location would be on
Bethel Hill with the AM transmitter. With this setup the AM
transmitter engineers—then only
reading meters—could run the
FM programming from logged
music sheets, using prerec •rded
commercials, show openint7Q etc.
Since Bethel Hill is some 5 road
miles from the downtown offices
and AM studios, we decided to
build a production studio at the
downtown studio site to redu e
the administrative and announcer
problem. Here we would "build"
the programming material for FM
—record the commercials, show
openings, etc. The engineer at the transmitter studio would play the
records, according to the musicsheet, and insert announcements.
For news, we would merely simulcast with AM.
Studio Design
After establishing the concept
on paper, the next step was to
formulate the studio design and
operations guide. As of that date,
a very limited amount of information was available as to the "best
way" to do anything in stereo
broadcasting or programming.
Thus, all old patterns were
basically scrapped. A design for
the production studio was set up
by a three-man group, the production director, the chief engineer, and the station manager.
These ideals were established:
The studio must serve as a show
room and part-time sales-demonstration room. A demonstration of
equipment and prerecorded sample
spots seems to aid sales. The room
must present a relaxed atmosphere, uncluttered with equipment,
an advantage to both operation and
sales The operation has to be
flexible and semi-moveable in case
of a location change in the future.
Any operation has to be efficient.
If all recording is to be done from
one location, and done inexpensively, a limited amount of wasted
time is of prime importance. With
these mandates in mind, we arrived at our studio design.
Ordering Equipment
As the operational plans were
completed, equipment procurement
began. Again, expense came into
focus as equipment was checked.
The "mail-order" system of obtaining multi-thousand dollar
equipment units was employed.
This proved, at best, a poor means
of spending company money. Too late, the value ot attending one
of the yearly NAB conferences
and equipment displays was discovered. In our particular case,
however, all equipment obtained
ilid perform as hoped, or nearly
onough so, that with local changes
by the Chief Engineer, the station could operate efficiently. Had
we attended a display, though,
some of the equipment purchased would have been overshadowed by
other available units.
An "optimum" list was developed, including everything possible for a "perfect" station. The
use and importance of each item
was then discussed and debated.
If the unit was a luxury item, or one which could be omitted and
still maintain the programming
concept, it was crossed off the
list. By this means no extraneous
equipment was purchased, but
there was no last minute rush to
buy something that had been
forgotten.
STUDIO LAYOUT AND CONS1HUCTION
I N MANY WAYS, our new FM facility was looked upon as an
AM stepchild, so we were left to
our own devious means of building the facilities with a fixed
budget. Thus, we did much of the
work ourselves, and resorted to
many special innovations.
Construction labor was drawn
from local resources—from building the production studio's raised
platform, to painting the ceilings. As a result, we saved about
$6,000-6% of our anticipated
$100,000 total investment. This
saving is mostly in labor; we
found it possible to construct
many items not available in prebuilt form. As an example, an estimate of $600 was given by one
lumber company to construct the
production room console table.
The cost, after minor modification, was less than $150. The finished unit serves better than the
one originally planned, since the
wiring was installed during construction and modifications were
made when "hitches" arose.
Construction of our studios was
initiated as soon as the equipment was on order. At that time
all dimensions and terminal points
of the equipment were known.
The transmitter building had to
be completely remodeled prior to
arrival of the new FM transmitter; thus, it took precedence over
the production studio in most instances. Design and construction,
however, were inaugurated for
the two areas concurrently, so
that similar construction phases
could be tackled simultaneously.
As the transmitter studio is engineer-operated, the engineers were
consulted. Everything had to be
put into a compact, efficient cube
which would allow maximum use
of necessary equipment with as
many time saving innovations as
possible. Due to our almost exclusive use of "student" engineers
(students at the University),
shifts are often long to accommodate class schedules. In spite
of the fact that they are parttime students, they are outstanding and willing workers.
It was decided that a "U"
shaped work area would best suit
the needs of the operators. Three
racks form the left leg of the
"U" while the turntables form
the right leg. The console is
mounted facing the transmitters;
a double-paned window allows all
meters and warning lights to be
viewed. In the racks we mounted
transmitter monitoring equipment for both AM and FM, the
tape deck, and the cartridge playback unit. The room is also provided with a specially built shelf unit immediately behind the "U"
to hcld logs, records for the day,
and necessary programming tapes.
An air-conditioning unit was installed to replace two windows.
(The windows were considered a
detriment to silence, plus, with a
beautiful view of "those West
VirgMia Hills," something of a
work deterent. The window areas
were sealed inside and out with
exterior grade 3/8" plywood sheeting, then treated as regular
wall areas.) .
We foresaw one major problem:
By locating the studio near the
5-kw AM transmitter. a ;10-kw
FM transmitter, the associated
antenna system, and the required
cooling fans, we would undoubtedly swamp the audio equipment
with RF and the studio with
noise. At the outset, the studio
area was stripped to bare floors,joists, and rafters, and a "quadruple" wall system was designed
and constructed.
First, a rock wool insulation
material was stapled between all
joists and rafters and stuffed between door jams and joists. Next,
a copper screen cage (using window screen type material) was
built to completely enclose the
area. It was stapled to all joists
and rafters and laid on the floor.
All seams and joints were then
soldered and the system was connected at appropriate points to
the station ground system. An industrial grade floor covering
was installed over the screening
on double felt mats. All of these
were bonded together and to the
concrete floor through the screen
with mastic. Panels of Celotex
were rough nailed over upper wall
and ceiling screening. Finally,
acoustic tiles were installed on
the upper wall areas and the ceiling. Pegboard was used up to the
4-foot wall level to provide a more
durable surface.
The room turned out to be
"studio quiet," yet still live
enough for quality air work if
an emergency arose and the announcers were forced to work
"live" at the transmitter studio.
