A new radio station in Newark is on the air. Steve Worden, manager and developer of WIZU at 99.9 on the FM spectrum is “now fully operational in the Greater Newark area.” He cautioned that some tweaks might interrupt the signal.
“We are ramping up programming and content,” Worden wrote on the Radio Newark website.
A drive around Newark showed the station can be heard in much of the city as well as in portions of the Route 40 corridor to the south.
The antenna was installed on a pole the University of Delaware STAR campus (the former Chrysler assembly plant site). The long-term goal is a location at a planned high-rise building on the STAR Campus.
After a nearly two-year effort, Worden had been forced to seek alternate sites after neighbors objected to a small tower near his house and later problems with a location on a water tower.
According to one of those who objected, the tower was installed without proper permits and was only a few feet from nearby houses. There were also concerns about property values, safety and a lack of transparency in the process.
Radio Newark had been able to gain a frequency in a rare release of low-powered frequencies by the Federal Communications Commission.
Worden has successfully operated Radio Newark, an Internet radio station with science and international programming and an audience from around the world. The new station plans to focus on community content.
The on-air radio station is now broadcasting Radio Newark content, which includes programming ranging from news from Radio Vatican to deep space discussions from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The goal is to provide community programming for the Newark area, which long ago lost its last local station, WNRK, FM when its transmitter-studio site in Bear was sold for development
Worden continues to look for volunteers for the community station that was put on the air by a fund-raising campaign that included financial support from some area businesses and individuals including Delaware Business Now/Bird Street Media. Those wishing to learn about news-gathering and other areas related to radio can click here to learn more.
An official first day of broadcasting is slated sometimes between early and mid-March, Worden said.
