| Broadcast area | Charlotte metropolitan area |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 1190kHz |
| Branding | The Mighty 1190 and 93.1FM |
| Programming | |
| Format | Classic country/talk |
| Affiliations | Compass Media Networks |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Monroe Broadcasting |
| History | |
First air date | May 3, 1968; 57 years ago (1968-05-03) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 43533 |
| Class | D |
| Power | 5,000watts day 70 watts night |
| Translator | 93.1 W226CD (Monroe) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | wixe.com |
WIXE (1190AM) is acommercialradio station inMonroe, North Carolina. It is owned by Monroe Broadcasting and airs a localtalk radioformat along withclassic country music andsouthern gospel on Sundays. WIXE uses localdisc jockeys during the day and isautomated at night, carrying thesyndicatedJohn Tesh radio show, "Intelligence for Your Life," playing Classic Country Music with Tesh's dialogue.
By day, WIXE broadcasts at 5,000watts, using anon-directional antenna.[2] Because1190 AM is aclear channel frequency, WIXE greatly reduces power at night to 70 watts to avoid interference. Programming is also heard on a 180 wattFM translator station,W226CD at 93.1MHz.[3]
WIXE Staff
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On May 3, 1968, the station firstsigned on the air. Originally WIXE was adaytimer, powered at 500 watts by day but required to go off the air at night. At first, it tried aTop 40 format.
Ray Atkins became co-owner of WIXE in 1971 after Top 40 did not work, switching tocountry music, the second Charlotte-area station to Top 40 afterWSOC-FM. Atkins had previously played country music as a DJ onWMAP in Monroe, As a musician, he playedsteel guitar withArthur Smith andBill Hefner.
In summer 1988, for the first time in its 20 years on the air, WIXE ranked second only toWBT among AM radio stations in the Charlotte market.[4]
On July 10, 2008, a truck accidentally backed into one of the guy wires of the station's nearly-190-foot-tall tower, bringing the tower down and knocking the station off the air. While the AM broadcast signal was off, WIXE continued streaming online.
Monroe Broadcasting owner Archie Morgan and his team began the construction of a new tower for the station.[5] By 11 o'clock that night, the broadcast signal was back on the air thru the use of a horizontal dipole antenna. The plan was for this antenna to be used until the new tower could be built.
As of September 21, 2008, WIXE was back up to full power with the new tower, as well as a new ground system. The station already reached nine counties, and the replacement of the 40-year-old ground system made an improvement in coverage into Mecklenburg and surrounding counties.
34°57′41″N80°32′40″W / 34.96139°N 80.54444°W /34.96139; -80.54444