WADE (AM)
Encyclopedia
WADE is an AM
Radio Station
broadcasting on 1340 kHz. The station is owned by the Inspirational Deliverance Center of Waxhaw, North Carolina
, but the city of license is Wadesboro, North Carolina
, one county east in Anson County, North Carolina
.
The station broadcasts an Urban Gospel music format, with various preaching programs throughout the day.
During construction of the station Lyon was determined to obtain the call letters WADE. He found that they were in use by a commercial ship. He successfully negotiated with the ship's owner for release of the call letters. Ruth Allen Lyon, Risden's mother, came up with a station slogan that was a play on the call letters, "We Advertise Dependable Enterprise."
WADE added an FM operation in the 1950's. Lyon gave up the FM license after several years due to the fact that the equipment, especially the power tubes, was quite expensive and there were few FM receivers (thus listeners) at that point in time. Lyon later expressed mild regret for that decision.
In 1956 Lyon added sister station WKDX (1250 AM) in Hamlet, North Carolina, and in 1964 he added WRPL (1540 AM) in Charlotte, North Carolina.
WADE was sold to Long Pine Broadcasting in 1985, with the Lyon family owner financing the transaction. In 1992 Long Pine (Clark Ratliffe) defaulted on the loan with the Lyon family. Essex Communications, a Virginia company, paid off the loan, took ownership of the station, and sold the station to the current owner, Inspirational Deliverance Center.
In the late 1980's WADE received authorization to change their frequency to 1340 AM, allowing for nighttime broadcasting.
AM broadcasting
AM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...
Radio Station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
broadcasting on 1340 kHz. The station is owned by the Inspirational Deliverance Center of Waxhaw, North Carolina
Waxhaw, North Carolina
Waxhaw is a town located in Union County, North Carolina. The population was 2,627 at the 2000 Census.-Geography:Waxhaw is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land...
, but the city of license is Wadesboro, North Carolina
Wadesboro, North Carolina
Wadesboro is a town in Anson County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 5,780 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Anson County.-Geography:Wadesboro is located at ....
, one county east in Anson County, North Carolina
Anson County, North Carolina
-See also:*National Register of Historic Places listings in Anson County, North Carolina-External links:*...
.
The station broadcasts an Urban Gospel music format, with various preaching programs throughout the day.
History
WADE radio station, located in Wadesboro, North Carolina, was constructed by Risden Allen Lyon with the help of his father, Robert Phillip Lyon. It began broadcasting in 1947 as a 1,000 watt daytime radio station, operating at 1210 on the dial. The station had a 308 foot tower. At that time, with far fewer radio stations in the United States, the station's signal carried quite far. In the summer it was not unusual for station DJ's to advise listeners at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, 125 miles away, that it was time to "turn so you don't burn."During construction of the station Lyon was determined to obtain the call letters WADE. He found that they were in use by a commercial ship. He successfully negotiated with the ship's owner for release of the call letters. Ruth Allen Lyon, Risden's mother, came up with a station slogan that was a play on the call letters, "We Advertise Dependable Enterprise."
WADE added an FM operation in the 1950's. Lyon gave up the FM license after several years due to the fact that the equipment, especially the power tubes, was quite expensive and there were few FM receivers (thus listeners) at that point in time. Lyon later expressed mild regret for that decision.
In 1956 Lyon added sister station WKDX (1250 AM) in Hamlet, North Carolina, and in 1964 he added WRPL (1540 AM) in Charlotte, North Carolina.
WADE was sold to Long Pine Broadcasting in 1985, with the Lyon family owner financing the transaction. In 1992 Long Pine (Clark Ratliffe) defaulted on the loan with the Lyon family. Essex Communications, a Virginia company, paid off the loan, took ownership of the station, and sold the station to the current owner, Inspirational Deliverance Center.
In the late 1980's WADE received authorization to change their frequency to 1340 AM, allowing for nighttime broadcasting.