GREENFIELD — With a new antenna mounted on the roof at 393 Main St., WMCB 107.9 FM has expanded its reach to approximately 15 miles, a change that comes alongside technological advancements that have allowed for improved sound quality.
Mik Muller, president of the Greenfield Community Television (GCTV) board of directors, which also oversees Greenfield Community Radio, said that relocating and upgrading the antenna and transmitter will improve the station’s quality and expand its reach. Additionally, the station is planning changes to its programming schedules and upgrades to GCTV equipment to improve video quality.
“I’m really excited about it,” Muller said.
With its previous transmitter, Muller explained the radio station was only able to broadcast monophonic audio, which uses a single audio channel to send the same sound to all speakers. He said it works well for talk radio and AM broadcasts, but for FM music broadcasting, stereophonic radio — which uses two distinct channels (left and right) to separate music and audio tracks — provides a more immersive experience.
“We’re still only a 100-watt, low-power station, but we’ve been broadcasting in mono for years, and now we can broadcast in stereo,” Muller said. “It sounds really good in the car.”
He added that moving the antenna from being street level on the northern part of Greenfield, near Sandri Energy on Chapman Street, to the rooftop of 393 Main St., where the radio station is housed, has allowed the station to broaden its reach. Previously, Muller explained, parts of Greenfield had spotty in coverage; now, all of Greenfield is covered, as well as parts of Montague, Gill, Leyden, Deerfield and Whately.
“Our antenna only popped up 14 feet above the building previously; now it reaches 600 feet high,” Muller said. On the day that the changes went live, he added, “I’ve been getting Discord messages all evening from our DJs saying things like, ‘Crystal clear in my driveway in Montague!'”
When he became president of the GCTV board of directors, he began inquiring about upgrades and moving the antenna. The other tenants of 393 Main St. said they had no issues with the antenna being moved, and he said the timing just worked out for all the upgrades to happen in the same week.
In the GCTV studio, Muller said the cablecast signal has been upgraded to standard definition (SD) digital fiber, providing a crisper feed and putting GCTV on the same Comcast digital broadcast network as all other public access stations in Franklin County.
Muller said it’s been a busy period of transition for the community television and radio station, which, while preparing for the technology upgrades, also recently welcomed two new members to its board: Amy McMahan and Sarah Bolduc.
Over the next month, the radio station will be working to update its programming schedule, Muller added. He said the studio is currently “a sandbox with all the tools for DJs to come in and record their shows,” and then shows are replayed multiple times throughout the week. The station is working to bring in more DJs and work into the schedule calls from listeners and public service announcements, so local organizations can share upcoming events and programs. The station is also planning for live broadcasts from events such as Franklin County Pride, which would mean less repeat programming.
“There’s still going to be good, funky music selected by DJs and there’s going to be no repeats,” Muller said.
He said the station is still trying to figure out exactly what the new schedule will look like, but he is excited for the opportunities the new equipment will provide.
“There’s a lot of changes and we’re still trying to figure it out,” Muller said. “There’s going to be more reaching out and getting the local community involved.”
