WMPH Frequently Asked Questions

Why does WMPH 91.7 FM only play dance music?
Can you increase your transmitting power to cover more area?
What is WMPH 2?
Who owns WMPH?
What is a Legal ID?
Where are the WMPH studios located?
Does WMPH give tours to visitors?
Can I get involved with WMPH radio station?
What is a Public File?
How can I start my own radio station?

Why does WMPH 91.7 FM only play dance music?

It is important that a radio station establish an identity with its community and prospective listening audience. No single radio station can effectively be ‘all things to all people’ as proven by broadcast ratings (www.arbitron.com) and radio advertising sales (www.rab.com). Music is categorized into divisions called genres. There are arguably hundreds of existing genres including their subdivisions. Millions of songs have been written and recorded worldwide over the past century.

Radio stations have a program director to determine the station’s identity by what will air. Typical radio programming consists of news, sports, talk, and/or music. A radio station will target a specific demographic for its market. A demographic is essentially the characteristics of an area’s population including but not limited to age, gender, race, educational background, and annual income.

Being a lower than average power FM station, WMPH needed to choose a type of programming that would stick out from the mainstream. We wanted to create a unique niche in our market sector. Originating from a high school, WMPH did not want to create a ‘culture war’ between the diverse backgrounds of our student population. Dance music was a logical choice of programming for our high school radio station for these reasons:

• Dance music is radio friendly (clean lyrics).

• Dance music is known for ‘feel good’ socially positive messages.

• The dance music industry is growing substantially in the U.S. and worldwide.

• Hot Dance Airplay is a monitored dance music radio chart that is featured weekly in Billboard magazine.

• Today’s dance music is combination of original music from both aspiring and established industry artists, remixes of retro dance songs, and remixes of current popular hit music.

• Dance music reaches a very large demographic which includes a mixed sampling of all cultures, races, and ages. Dance music almost equally appeals to men and women.

• Dance music is commonly played by disc jockeys at nightclubs, radio stations, raves, and parties. Mobile DJs play dance music to entertain at wedding receptions and other special events.

The WMPH 91.7 FM listening community has responded very favorably to our dance music format since 2001. We receive telephone calls and e-mails regularly from people listening at home, in the car, at the gym or health club, and at work. The WMPH online stream has also been a success as listeners from around the country and throughout the world enjoy our choice of programming.

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Can you increase your transmitting power to cover more area?

WMPH 91.7 FM can not increase our transmitting power at this time to cover more territory. The primary reason is that there are other stations in the region also broadcasting on 91.7 FM. We can not legally increase our power without causing interference (signal overlap) to these stations on our co-channel.

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What is WMPH 2?

WMPH 91.7 FM is a high school based radio station affiliated with the Broadcast Learning Center of the Brandywine School District. WMPH 2 is the first step in our broadcast training facility. WMPH 2 is totally student operated and programmed. The station has an open format, meaning anything free of obscene programming may air. WMPH 2 is an online streaming station available at www.wmph.org/2 and www.myspace.com/wmph2. WMPH 2 also broadcasts only on the campus of Mount Pleasant High School at an assigned FM frequency. Students that qualify may eventually graduate from WMPH 2 to our primary broadcast station at 91.7 FM.

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Who owns WMPH?

The broadcast license issued by the Federal Communications Commission for WMPH 91.7 MHz is owned by the Brandywine School District Board of Education. The WMPH CEO is the Brandywine School District superintendent. The WMPH president is the Mount Pleasant High School principal. Our vice president, also referred to as the general manager, is a hired appointee of the school district to govern the daily affairs of the station.

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What is a Legal ID?

A Legal ID, also called Station Identification, consists of verbally stating the call letters and city of license at the top of every hour. In our case, we mention “WMPH / Wilmington” at the top of every hour. This is a legal requirement for all United States radio stations. A Legal ID is not to be confused with a slogan or station name such as “Super 91.7,” “The Beat of Wilmington,” or “Delaware’s Feel Good Station.”

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Where are the WMPH studios located?

The WMPH studios are located at Mount Pleasant High School. The studios are on the ground level of the building. The transmitter and other RF equipment are based in an area near the roof. The antenna itself is mounted to a tower high supported by guy wires above the building. Directions to the school may be found online at www.mphsknights.com/directions.

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Does WMPH give tours to visitors?

WMPH frequently gives tours to schools and community clubs (i.e. Cub Scouts). Walk-in tours are not encouraged. For security reasons, all group tours must be scheduled in advance. To schedule a tour, please contact the station manager.

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Can I get involved with WMPH radio station?

If you are a student of Mount Pleasant, Brandywine, or Concord High Schools, you may apply to WMPH. Students must have at least satisfactory grades and attendance with parental permission to participate. WMPH is an excellent opportunity to learn hands-on about the creative and technical world of broadcasting. There are no student fees for the radio workshops. Additionally, there are no paid opportunities at our station. WMPH is a non-profit radio station operating solely by students and volunteers. Find out more by contacting the station manager or your school guidance counselor.

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What is a Public File?

A Public File is specific information about a radio or television station available to the general public. Every station licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is required to maintain a Public File. The WMPH Public File is available to view anytime online at www.wmph.org/About/PublicFile.

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How can I start my own radio station?

Information for attempting to start a radio station on either the AM or FM band is online at www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/howtoapply.html. WMPH became a licensed station in 1969. Today, it is far more difficult to obtain an available broadcast frequency not already in use. No one knows exactly what frequencies are still available in any given part of the country. It must be proven that the frequency is available meeting strict Federal Communications Commission (FCC) criteria.

WMPH 91.7 FM at Channel 215 in Wilmington is licensed as a FM noncommercial educational station. FM noncommercial stations may be authorized from 88.1 MHz to 91.9 MHz, corresponding to Channels 201 through 220. No commercial operation is permitted on these frequencies. FM noncommercial educational stations may also be authorized in the commercial FM band under the technical rules applying to that service. Contour protection is used to determine if interference will exist to other stations (see 47 CFR 73.509).

FM noncommercial educational station rules include 47 CFR 73.501 through 73.599, and 73.1001 through 73.4280. A number of rules also refer to sections in the commercial FM rules (47 CFR 73.201 to 73.333). These rules may be retrieved at http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/audio/amfmrule.html or obtained from the Government Printing Office.

For noncommercial educational stations on Channels 201 through 220, no allotment will be established. Allocation is made via an on-demand system, with applicants receiving construction permits for facilities which will not cause interference to other stations. Interference calculations are made using specified signal strength contours, where protected service contours (think of a rough circle at some distance from the transmitter site) for one station generally cannot overlap the interfering contours for another station (see rule section 47 CFR 73.509). Applicants must also protect pending applications which were filed before the announcement of the application filing window.

Educational institutions wishing to have a radio station should consider other options such as Internet streaming radio. Details for streaming radio may be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_radio. Additional options include low-power broadcasting and closed circuit or carrier current systems to on-campus listeners only. Some campus stations are distributed through the second audio program of a TV station or a cable television network on cable FM.