WDIY-FM has tripled its signal strength, potentially reaching more than 130,000 new listeners around the periphery of the Lehigh Valley, the public radio station announced Tuesday.

"From Phillipsburg, N.J., in the east to Breinigsville in the west, Moorestown to the north and Coopersburg to the south and to points beyond, the diverse music and programming on WDIY is now readily available to more people than ever at 88.1 FM," Wagner Previato, executive director of the local NPR affiliate, said in a news release.

"The core areas of the Valley will hear us better, too," he said. "It's all part of our commitment to serving the region with locally produced content that meets the needs of our residents."

The new 300-watt broadcast began on of Dec. 4. The change is being billed as the culmination of the station's 20th anniversary.

"Realizing the largest expansion of our listener base during the celebration of our second decade is especially rewarding," Previato said. "While many media outlets are cutting back, we are redoubling our efforts to grow our station to reach more people than ever before."

In June 2014, the Federal Communications Commission granted WDIY approval to triple the station's power by replacing its antenna and transmitter with more powerful equipment.

Over Thanksgiving week, nearly $70,000 in new equipment was secured to an antenna atop South Mountain off of East Rock Road in Salisbury Township, according to WDIY. The project was funded through a variety of grants from local and national philanthropic organizations, plus "an important gift from one of WDIY's major donors."

Before the upgrade, WDIY's signal was limited to sections of Lehigh and Northampton counties with marginal spillover into adjacent counties, for a service area of about 407,000 residents. The expanded signal is expected to reach about 545,000 — an increase of more than 30 percent.

According to WDIY: The station has a staff of five full-time employees and a budget of $560,000. About one-third of its revenues, $190,000, come from listeners and $165,000, from underwriting. The remainder is generated by public and private grants, as well as general fundraising activities. More than 100 volunteers dedicate more than 19,000 hours per year to help operate the station and provide vital programming.

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