WETA (FM)

WETA
Broadcast areaWashington metropolitan area
Frequency90.9 MHz (HD Radio)
RDSWETA
BrandingWETA Classical 90.9 FM
Programming
FormatClassical music
SubchannelsHD2: Viva La Voce (Classical Vocal Music)
Ownership
OwnerGreater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association
WETA-TV
History
First air date
1970; 54 years ago (1970)
Call sign meaning
Washington Educational Telecommunications Association
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID65669
ClassB
ERP
  • 75,000 watts (analog)
  • 3,200 watts (digital)
[2]
HAAT186 meters (610 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
38°53′30.4″N 77°7′53.9″W / 38.891778°N 77.131639°W / 38.891778; -77.131639
Translator(s)88.9 MHz W205BL (Frederick, Maryland)
Repeater(s)89.1 MHz WGMS (HD Radio) (Hagerstown, Maryland)
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen Live
Websitewww.weta.org/fm/

WETA (90.9 FM) is a non-commercial, public FM radio station licensed to serve Washington, D.C., broadcasting a classical music format. Its studios are located in Arlington, Virginia and its broadcast tower is located near Arlington at (38°53′30.0″N 77°7′54.0″W / 38.891667°N 77.131667°W / 38.891667; -77.131667).[3]

WETA is a grandfathered "superpower" station. The station covers the Washington metropolitan area with the highest analog effective radiated power (ERP) of any FM station in the market with 75,000 watts. This exceeds the maximum analog ERP limit allowed for a Class B FM station, and is also above the maximum allowable analog ERP for the station's antenna height above average terrain (HAAT) according to current FCC rules, which is 32,000 watts at 186 meters.[4][5]

WETA programming is simulcast on WGMS 89.1 in Hagerstown, Maryland and on translator W205BL 88.9 in Frederick, Maryland. WETA and WGMS broadcast using HD Radio.

  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WETA". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ "Engineering Exhibit: Request for Operation of Superpower Station with Increased Digital Power". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. October 18, 2016. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  3. ^ "FM Query Results for WETA". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  4. ^ "FM Broadcast Station Classes and Service Contours". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  5. ^ Smith, D. (July 5, 2013). "Superpower FMs". w9wi.com. Retrieved November 30, 2018.