WHAJ (104.5 FM, "J104") is a

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...

formatted

broadcast Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began ...

radio station licensed to Bluefield, West Virginia, serving

Southern West Virginia Southern West Virginia is a culturally and geographically distinct region in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Southern West Virginia is known for its coal mining heritage and Southern affinity. The region is also closely identified with southwe ...

and Southwestern Virginia. WHAJ is owned and operated by Charles Spencer and Rick Lambert, through licensee First Media Services, LLC.

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 ''Dragon Ball'' is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The franchise features an ensemble cast of characters and takes place in the same fictional universe as Toriyama's other work, ''Dr. Slump''. While many of the cha ...

. The radio station was not successful, and broadcasting had permanently ceased by 1950. The management of

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 WVVA) in what was then the

Bluefield, WV Bluefield is a city in Mercer County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 9,658 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Bluefield WV- VA micropolitan area, which had a population of 106,363 in 2020. Geography Bluefie ...

City Hall. In December 1967, the three stations moved to a new, state-of-the-art facility on East Cumberland Road. The facility was known as Broadcast Center. WHIS-TV was sold to Quincy Newspapers in 1980, and remained in Broadcast Center. WHIS and WHAJ-FM moved to 900 Bluefield Avenue, where they remain today.

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-TV WVVA (channel 6) is a television station licensed to Bluefield, West Virginia, United States, serving the Bluefield–Beckley, West Virginia, Beckley–Oak Hill, West Virginia, Oak Hill media market, market as an affiliate of NBC and The CW Plus. ...

(then WHIS-TV). The antenna was side-mounted on the TV tower. The transmitter was an RCA BTF-5D. 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 FCC rules FM radio stations in West Virginia may not have an Effective Radiated Power greater than 50 kW. This problem was solved by constructing a new tower 80 feet to the east-southeast of the TV tower. This tower was in Virginia, enabling 100 kW operation. A Harris FM-20K transmitter and ERI 12 Bay antenna was installed and 100 kW operation began in 1977. 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 WKOY and WHKX also moved to this site. (The old WHAJ-FM tower at the WVVA site is now used by WVVA-DT.)

Programming

In the 1960s and 1970s, WHAJ had a Beautiful Music format and the station's on-air moniker was "Stereo 104". In August 1981,

-AM's

Contemporary Hit Radio Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...

format was moved to WHAJ, and J104 was born. J104 was an instant success both in terms of ratings and advertiser acceptance. For most of the 1980s, J104 was the most listened-to radio station in West Virginia. Today, J104 continues to be one of West Virginia's most successful radio stations, winning the West Virginia Broadcasters Association "Station of the Year" Award in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017. WHAJ was also named "Legendary Station of the Year" by the WVBA in 2010.

References

External links

J104 Online
* {{Contemporary Hit Radio Stations in West Virginia Radio stations established in 1963

HAJ The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried o ...

Contemporary hit radio stations in the United States 1963 establishments in West Virginia