Скачать или смотреть WTMC-AM 1380 AM Delaware Department Of Transportation's Statewide Travelers Advisory Radio System

This is an audio capture of the Delaware Department Of Transportation's Statewide Travelers Advisory Radio System on 1380 AM. This is the only HAR service in the country to be built off of a full licensed Class B AM broadcast station synced to over 21 SuperHAR stations operating on 10 watts each (all on the same frequency as the broadcast station) transmitting the same broadcast simultaneously. It is also the only HAR service that was built from the ruins of an old commericial radio station.

WTMC-AM itself has an interesting history. The frequency of 1380 AM in Delaware was first established in 1948 as WMAS which was owned then by the Wilmington Tri-State Broadcasting Company. It carried a format of news, sports, entertainment and drama. The commercial AM station operated at 1,000 watts, day and night with a sister station AM station. In the 1960s through the 1970s, WMAS carried a country/contemporary music format and was boosted to 5000 watts in the day. The company that ran it went bankrupt in 1986 and the station was off air until the Delaware Department of Transportation bought the AM radio station in 2000 to incorporate it into it travelers information station (TIS) network for broadcasting prerecorded/automated statewide travelers information.

Over the years, HAR/TIS stations on 1380 AM under various callsigns were purchased from Information Station Specialists (both permanent and portable antennas) to compensate for WTMC-AM only operating at 10 watts at night (basically the power of any other HAR station). To ensure statewide coverage day and night HAR/TIS towers fill the coverage gaps at night. In the daytime, WTMC-AM itself covers farther operating at 250 watts.

The network has constantly been evolving with the latest HAR licenses purchased in 2021 to artfully account for any broadcast gaps they find (and this is the latest DOT purchase of HAR equipment to date). The result is consistent coverage anywhere near and within Delaware. This HAR system is unique and ingenious to say the least. DelDOT still believes in AM radio for communication and even has an FM translator W253CQ on 98.5 FM for those in the Wilmington area without AM radio access as well as a digital streaming service through the internet and via Alexa smart speaker devices (just ask Alexa to "PLAY DELAWARE TRAFFIC RADIO"). I think this HAR service is nowhere near being phased out and is in fact doing the opposite to date which is "evolving" (and could even outlast all other DOT HAR services in the country left). The broadcast license allows for outlets besides on AM as long as the state finds it useful and cost effective (which they recently claimed they do). Lastly, they renewed their expensive broadcast license a year or two ago so it should be good for another 10 years at least considering the fact that they don't have a reason on their end to terminate it sooner (like budget cuts, etc).

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