Technical Profile: WMFC-FM

FM Technical Profile: WMFC

Station Name:: Oldies 99.3
Frequency:: 99.3
Format:: Oldies
Transmitter Location:: [map] [street view] Just outside the Monroeville city limits to the east on Hornaday Drive.
Power (ERP):: 30 kW
15 kW (STA)
Antenna:: Omnidirectional
Antenna HAAT:: 308 feet
Other Information:: 60 dBu protected contour map, from the FCC.; :PS-OLDIES 99.3 WMFC Time-Present Text-WMFC "Kool Gold" PTY-Oldies PI-WMFC-FM
More Information:: [FCC]; [FCCdata]; [Radio-Locator]; [Wikipedia]

[Picture] Image showing the Radio Text and PI (call sign) RDS fields decoded on an Insignia portable in Baldwin County, Alabama, from November 2015.
[Picture] Image showing the Radio Text and PI (call sign) RDS fields decoded on a Hyundai OEM radio, from December 2022.

[Studio] Street View imagery of the station's studio on Highway 21 in Monroeville.
Owner:: David A. Stewart
History:: Started off in the mid-60's as a class A outlet with the WMFC calls on 99.3 MHz, as a companion to the AM station. The calls stand for Monroeville-Frisco City. Received the upgrade to its current class with higher power in 1992. Has remained in the family of William Stewart since the beginning. Stewart owned the Monroe Journal and South Alabamian newspaper. After his death in 1995, Wikipedia notes that his wife Carolyn took over ownership, d/b/a Monroe County Broadcasting, with his son managing the AM/FM combo. The AM shut down and turned in its license in 2010, leaving the FM to go it alone. It appears to be using the Dial Global "Kool Gold" satellite fed format. Carolyn Stewart died at the age of 91 in May of 2014, and the station's ownership was transferred to their son, David A. Stewart, who has been involved with the radio station since the age of ten.

In July 2019, the station was granted a Special Temporary Authority to operate at half power (15 kW ERP instead of 20 kW) in order to save money on the electric bill. The reasoning in the application cited the owner's inability to hire anyone else, his medical problems, and the poor economic situation in Monroe County. That STA was extended as recently as August 2021, and will be valid until February 2022.