UWindsor Campus Radio Station Set To Quadruple Signal Power

Hello time traveller!!
This article is 3673 days old.
The information listed below is likely outdated and has been preserved for archival purposes.

Workers install a new antenna for CJAM in this 2009 file photo

UWindsor campus radio station CJAM FM will be reaching new markets this summer when the station’s signal strength increases to reach parts of Detroit and Gross Pointe, Michigan.

Station Manager Vernon Smith says the plan to boost the station’s signal comes after a Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission decision that allows the transmitter’s power to increase from 500 watts to 2084 watts using a directional antenna system.

“First and foremost, it means our 125 voices will carry further and expand our listening community,” says Smith. “But more than anything, the decision positions CJAM to strengthen its foothold as a cultural and ethnocultural leader that still has to compete for media consumers.”

CJAM’s last major change happened in 2009 when the station switched from 91.5 FM to 99.1 FM. The change became necessary for the campus station after a Detroit broadcaster was given the go ahead to create a new radio station on the same frequency.

Smith says the changes this time will expand the station’s reach to 15 to 20 km away from the transmitter depending on the quality of the FM receiver being used and periodic interference from other stations. The signal will reach into Detroit to the north and northeast, including Gross Pointe, Michigan, and will improve in Belle River. Smith says CJAM will be a much easier station to pick up on its current terrestrial real estate in Windsor and parts of Detroit.

“More people are going to have a choice now,” says Smith. “This is a victory for listeners of radio as it should be — radio for the people, by the people.”