- WOI (AM)
Infobox Radio Station
name = WOI
city =Ames, Iowa
area =Des Moines, Iowa
branding = 640 WOI
airdate =April 28 ,1922 (experimental 1911-22)
frequency = 640 (kHz)
format =NPR /Talk
power = 5,000watt s (daytime)
1,000watt s (nighttime)
erp =
class = B
owner =Iowa State University
website = [http://www.woi.org/ www.woi.org]WOI is a News/Talk
radio station affiliated withNational Public Radio serving theDes Moines, Iowa area. Due to its dial position, power and Iowa's flat landscape, it can be heard throughout most of the state of Iowa. Its signal also reaches parts ofMissouri ,Minnesota andNebraska . It is located at 640 on the AM dial. The station's studios are located in room 2022 of the Communications Building atIowa State University in Ames (where the station is licensed) along withWOI-FM .9YI: The experimental years
The history of WOI can be traced back to 1911 when
Physics Professor "Dad" Hoffman set a transmission line between the Campus Water Tower and the Engineering Building and set up a wireless telegraph station. By 1913 this was known as experimental station 9YI and it was sending and receivingweather reports bymorse code on a regular basis. The first sound broadcast was an hour of concert music onNovember 21 ,1921 . The Commerce Department issued a full radio license for station WOI in April of 1922 and the first regular broadcast took place onApril 28 ,1922 . The original callsign 9YI is now W0YI and is retained by the ISU Campus Radio Club, with theamateur radio station located in the Electrical Engineering building.Programming in the early years
The first regular programming on WOI was farm market reports gathered by ticker tape and morse code and broadcast throughout the state. Another early staple was sporting events by Iowa State's athletic teams. In 1925, "The Music Shop" was started. This program is one of the longest-running shows in the history of radio and can still be heard on sister station
WOI-FM . In 1927 another long time favorite, "The Book Club" was added.New technology and NPR
On
December 1 ,1949 WOI launchedWOI-FM at 90.1 on the FM dial. In its early years it primarily simulcast the AM station.WOI-TV was launched in 1950 as the first TV station in the Des Moines market. It was also the first Commercial TV station owned by an educational institute. It originally was affiliated with all four networks of its time before it became solely an ABC affiliate.WOI-TV was sold by the Iowa Board of Regents onMarch 1 ,1994 .WOI today
Today WOI's programming consists of both
NPR and locally produced talk shows along with local news andBBC news updates. The classical music of the early years migrated exclusively toWOI-FM in the 1960s.External links
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