WATO (1290 AM) was a radio station in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.Mike Blackerby, No more airing it out; After 60 years, station signs off on Oak Ridge football , Knoxville News Sentinel, October 16, 2008 The call letters were chosen for the first three letters in "Atomic City" as Oak Ridge was known at the time of the Manhattan Project. WATO was licensed to broadcast at 5 kW during daytime hours and 500 watts at night.Federal Communications Commission database, accessed February 18, 2009 It broadcast at 1 kW during daylight hours and 125 watts at night from a temporary site while looking for a new permanent home.
History
The station commenced broadcasting, as WOKE on February 1, 1948, under the authority of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. It was the first radio station to be established on a U.S. military reservation.Senator Bill Frist, Tribute to WATO Radio, Congressional Record, January 27, 2008 Initially it broadcast on 1490 kHz, but it moved to 1290 kHz on January 24, 1959, when the original owners bought out WOKE.e-DXN, retrieved on April 28, 2009
Broadcasts of Oak Ridge High School football games were a staple of its programming from 1948 through 2007.After 60 years, Oak Ridge sports loses radio signal , The Oak Ridger, July 24, 2008 The station broadcast a total of 678 consecutive high school games.
The format was easy listening oldies at one time.Radio formats , Retrieved on March 5, 2009.
The station went off the air in March 2008 when one of its three transmission towers fell during a storm. Its owner, Horne Radio, determined that it would be financially infeasible to return the station to the air. In October 2008 Horne announced that it would sell WATO's transmission site and would surrender the station's broadcasting license to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). On February 19, 2009, the FCC granted an application to temporarily move the transmitter site, with reduced power, to a site west of the original transmitter site, broadcasting from a tower formerly used by WORI which is now silent.STA There was also an application on file for a change of ownership.License transfer application
Ann and Larry Walden of Lenoir City, Tennessee, purchased WATO and brought it back on the air August 26, 2009; the new format included a talk show, Oak Ridge High School sports, music, and more. Lipstick Lingo, hosted by Martha Woodward, also aired on WATO Radio.Work in progress , Retrieved on September 6, 2009.WATO soon back on the sir , Retrieved on September 6, 2009.WATO back on (includes video) , Retrieved on September 6, 2009.Tune in to WATO Radio , Retrieved on September 6, 2009.
In the first week of April 2010, WATO again ceased broadcasting, this time due to the owners of the land and its transmitting equipment selling off the property to a hotel developer. Because of economic conditions, the owners of WATO could not afford to buy its own property or equipment. The owners placed its license up for sale, however, on April 2, 2012, the license was cancelled at the licensee's request.
References
External links Facility details for Facility ID 71100 (WATO) in the FCC Licensing and Management System FCC History Cards for WATO (covering 1950-1979 as WOKE / WATO)