| Frequency | 1380kHz |
|---|---|
| Programming | |
| Format | Traffic |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Delaware Department of Transportation |
| History | |
First air date | 1948 |
Former call signs | WAMS (1948–2000) |
Call sign meaning | Transportation Management Center |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 48381 |
| Class | D |
| Power | 250watts day 10 watts night |
| Translator(s) | 98.5 W253CQ (Wilmington) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | WTMC website |
WTMC (1380AM) is a non-commercialradio station. It also broadcasts onFM translator stationW253CQ at 98.5MHz. WTMC serves as a traffic advisory station, a service of theDelaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) broadcasting inWilmington, Delaware. There are signs posted around the Wilmington area advising motorists to tune to this station for traffic advisories. One such sign exists onU.S. Route 202 upon entry intoDelaware fromPennsylvania. The service was started in 2000, when DelDOT purchased the license.
WTMC is licensed as a conventional broadcasting station, not atravelers' information station, although the state has added synchronized repeater stations downstate onAM 1380 which are HAR/TIS stations, to extend the station's coverage. The HAR/TIS stations were provided by Information Station Specialists and comprise the largest network of HAR/TIS stations in the country - and the only one whose cardinal location is a former broadcast station, the former WAMS. Additional synchronized TIS/HAR repeaters are being added to the network.
The 1380 frequency firstsigned on in 1948 asWAMS.[2] It was owned by the Wilmington Tri-State Broadcasting Company because its signal also extended intoNew Jersey andPennsylvania. It was anetwork affiliate of theMutual Broadcasting System, carrying its dramas, comedies, news and sports. An advertisement in the 1949Broadcasting Yearbook said WAMS was "Delaware's home owned and operated station." The station originally was powered at 1,000watts, day and night. WAMS also had an FM station, 96.1 MHz WAMS-FM, powered at 20,000 watts andsimulcasting its AMsister station. (The 96.1 frequency is now broadcasting inAllentown, Pennsylvania, asWCTO.)
In the 1960s and 70s, WAMS was a popularTop 40 hit music station but also at various times was acountry music station andadult contemporary outlet. It was later powered at 5,000 watts by day and 1,000 watts at night.[3] Due to financial problems, the station wentdark in 1986. Its originaltransmitter site was sold, due to the value of the land on which it had been located. AM 1380 stayed off the air until DelDOT purchased the license for its travelers information service.
| Call sign | Frequency | City of license | FID | ERP (W) | HAAT | Class | FCC info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W253CQ | 98.5 MHz FM | Wilmington, Delaware | 201388 | 100 | 55 m (180 ft) | D | LMS |
39°42′00″N75°36′29″W / 39.70000°N 75.60806°W /39.70000; -75.60806
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