WWSJ
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| City | St. Johns, Michigan |
|---|---|
| Branding | Joy 1580 & 100.3 |
| Frequency | 1580 kHz |
| Translator(s) | 100.3 W262BD (Dimondale) |
| First air date | September 23, 1959 (as WJUD) |
| Format | Urban contemporary gospel |
| Power | 1,000 watts (Daytime) 3 watts (Nighttime) |
| Class | D |
| Facility ID | 74002 |
| Callsign meaning | St. Johns |
| Former callsigns | WLNZ (9/13/85) WGZS (9/2/85-9/13/85) WKLH (3/85-9/2/85) WVGO (9/83-3/85) WQTK (5/83-9/83) WKZY (11/82-5/83) WQTK (8/81-11/82) WRBJ (?-8/81) WJUD (9/59-?) |
| Owner | Larry & Helen Harp, Wayne & Elmira Hill |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | joy1580.com |
WWSJ ("Joy 1580 & 100.3") is an AM radio station broadcasting from St. Johns, Michigan on 1580 kHz, featuring a black gospel format. The station transmits with 1,000 watts during the day using a directional antenna that sends the signal primarily to the north and south (including Lansing, Michigan). At night it operates with a mere 3 watts, but still manages to cover much of Clinton County.
In the summer of 2010, WWSJ began to simulcast on translator W262BD 100.3 FM licensed to Dimondale, Michigan, enabling it to get clearer FM coverage of the Lansing area day and night. W262BD operates with 22 watts from a transmitter in the heart of Lansing; despite being licensed to Dimondale, its primary signal contour does not actually reach Dimondale. W262BD is owned by Educational Media Foundation and had previously operated using EMF's Air 1 format; although EMF continues to own the translator, it is being programmed by the owners of WWSJ.
The station began operation at 10 am on September 23, 1959, as WJUD. The original owner was Justin F. Marzke. In the 1960s, it was purchased by Robert D. Ditmer and began operating under the new callsign of WRBJ. In 1972 Ditmer added WRBJ-FM on 92.1 MHz (now WQTX). During the time the station was owned by Robert Ditmer it was a true community station playing a variety of music along with local high school sports, news and announcements.
Robert Ditmer sold WRBJ AM and FM to R. Charles McLravy in 1981. McLravy changed the call letters of WRBJ-AM/FM to WQTK-AM/FM, and implemented a Country music format which was simulcast on both stations. AM 1580 changed calls again in November 1982, this time to WKZY, when the station switched to an MOR format as "Cozy 16". The format did not last long, and by May 1983, the station had reverted to the Country music format, and also back to the WQTK calls. The station implemented Al Ham's Music of Your Life format in October 1983, this time adopting the call letters WVGO, which had recently been dropped by Lansing station WVIC. By the spring of 1985, the call station's call letters changed again, this time to WKLH-AM, simulcasting the Country music format of FM sister station WKLH-FM (K-92). In early 1985, McLravy moved the WKLH-FM studios to the DeWitt Shopping Center, although the WKLH-AM studio and transmitter remained on Parks Road, just south of St. Johns.
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