WDIY
Broadcast areaLehigh Valley, Pennsylvania
Frequency88.1 MHz
BrandingLehigh Valley Public Radio
Programming
Language(s)English
FormatCommunity/Public Radio (Program Schedule)
AffiliationsNational Public Radio
Ownership
OwnerLehigh Valley Community Broadcasters Association, Inc.
History
First air date
January 8, 1995
Call sign meaning
Do It Yourself[1][2]
Technical information
Facility ID36992
ClassA
ERP300 watts
HAAT257 meters (843 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
40°33′54.00″N 75°26′26.00″W / 40.5650000°N 75.4405556°W / 40.5650000; -75.4405556
Translator(s)See § Translators
Links
WebcastListen Live
Websitewww.wdiy.org

WDIY (88.1 FM) is a community-run public radio station licensed to Allentown, Pennsylvania with studios in Bethlehem and a transmitter atop South Mountain. An affiliate of NPR, the station serves the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, as well as parts of western New Jersey.

WDIY has an air staff of over 90 volunteers and a professional staff of six employees, including an executive director. The station is licensed to the Lehigh Valley Community Broadcasters Association, Inc., a nonprofit organization whose mission "is to engage the Lehigh Valley community through a wide-ranging exchange of music, arts, news and culturally diverse information."[3][4]

Background

WDIY began broadcasting on January 8, 1995, operating at 100 watts.[2] Before then, the Lehigh Valley was one of the few areas of Pennsylvania without a locally-based NPR station. WHYY-FM in Philadelphia provides grade B coverage to most of the Lehigh Valley, while WVIA-FM in Scranton has long operated low-powered translators serving parts of the region.

Although WDIY's transmitter power was modest for a full NPR member, its antenna on top of South Mountain enabled the station to reach most of the immediate Lehigh Valley region. In 2015, the Federal Communications Commission approved a request to triple the station's power to 300 watts. Although still operating with modest power for a full NPR affiliate, with the increase WDIY significantly expanded its reach enabling the station to serve a coverage area of over a half-million people. Its full broadcast area now extends 70 miles, from Clinton, New Jersey to the eastern edge of Reading, Pennsylvania.[5][6]

As a public station, WDIY depends on listener support as one of its major sources of revenue. From 2008 through the present, the station's number of listener members has nearly doubled, increasing from 1,100 to around 2,000.[7]

Programming

WDIY's program schedule includes NPR's Morning Edition, Fresh Air with Terry Gross and All Things Considered weekdays, with classical music and adult album alternative music between the news shows. Early evening programming during the week includes locally-produced public affairs programs as well as NPR's TED Radio Hour and On the Media. Weeknights and weekends, the station features an extensive variety of music, including folk, blues, electronic, jazz, world music, alternative rock, classical, avant-garde, and ethnic music. The station also carries NPR's Weekend Edition on Saturday and Sunday mornings, Fresh Air Weekend on Saturday mornings, and Sing Out! Radio on Sunday mornings.[3]

Broadcast area

WDIY began broadcasting on 88.1 FM at 100 watts. Even with its transmitter located atop South Mountain at 843 feet above average terrain, the station's signal was for the most part limited to Lehigh and Northampton counties. Easton, the region's third-largest city, only received a grade B signal.[5][8] To boost its coverage, WDIY installed two translators. The station's translator at 93.9, serves the area around the city Easton, as well as neighboring Warren County in New Jersey. With its increase to 300 watts in 2015, WDIY not only covers the Valley but can now be heard in the surrounding regions of eastern Pennsylvania and western New Jersey.[4]

Call signFrequencyCity of licenseFIDERP (W)HAATClassTransmitter coordinatesFCC info
W230AG 93.9 FMEaston, Pennsylvania369947−7 m (−23 ft)D40°41′53″N 75°12′30″W / 40.69806°N 75.20833°W / 40.69806; -75.20833 (W230AG)LMS

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Call Letter Meanings". American Radio History. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
  2. 1 2 "WDIY History: The Start-Up of WDIY". wdiy.org. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  3. 1 2 "WDIY Schedule". Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  4. 1 2 "WDIY-FM 88.1 MHz". Radio-Locator. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  5. 1 2 Kennedy, Sam (December 15, 2015), "WDIY triples signal strength", The Morning Call, retrieved March 7, 2018
  6. ↑ McGroggan, Shamus (February 9, 2018), "Karen El-Chaar Elected President of WDIY's Board of Directors", Valley Ledger, retrieved March 7, 2018
  7. ↑ Moser, John J. (October 16, 2018), "Veteran in broadcast management chosen to lead Valley NPR station WDIY-FM", The Morning Call, retrieved December 6, 2018
  8. ↑ Bresswein, Kurt (December 16, 2015). "Hear the power: WDIY-88.1 FM triples its signal wattage". lehighvalleylive.com. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
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