Technical Profile: WEWN

AM Technical Profile: WEWN

Frequency:: For the A23 season:

5970 kHz — 0000-0200 UTC
12050 kHz — 1400-2400 UTC
Format:: Catholic Religious
Transmitter Location:: [map] [bird's eye] Located atop a ridge just east of the town of Vandiver in Shelby County, north of County Road 43.
Power (ERP):: 250 kW
Antenna:: 30 type HRS (horizontal, reflector, steerable) antennas on site — directional towards 40°, 85°, 155°, 220° and 355° azimuth for broadcasting to Mexico, Central and South America, Cuba, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
Other Information:: [FCC]; [Wikipedia]

[Photo] This photo, hosted by Google, shows part of the large antenna array at the WEWN site in Vandiver.
[Audio] A short sample of the top of the hour ID of WEWN, plus part of some sort of prayer recital. Recorded on 5810 kHz (beamed to South America) on 30 August 2017. M4A (AAC) format, 53 seconds, 1.02 MB.

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Owned By:: Eternal Word Television Network
History:: Shortwave radio station WEWN began its broadcasting life in December 1992, put on by Mother Angelica's EWTN cable network. Using four Continental 420C transmitters capable of 500 kW each, the broadcasts initially targeted the US and Europe (in English), Africa, and Central America (in Spanish). At the end of March 2008 the station made significant changes to their broadcasts, dropping ones aimed at the US and adding English broadcasts to the Middle East, India and Asia. They also expanded their Spanish language broadcasts from Latin America to Cuba and the rest of the Caribbean. This aligned with an expansion of terrestrial broadcasts in the United States on traditional AM, FM and satellite radio platforms.

Over the years, as shortwave broadcasting to certain parts of the world became less important, EWTN dropped several of their broadcasts. By 2020, the station was known to only be broadcasting on two or three frequencies, and only in Spanish to South and Central America. By 2023, the station was still listed with two frequencies in HFCC frequency listings, but appears to only be active for a few hours a day on one frequency. EWTN hosts a frequency guide on their website, but it has not been updated in over a year.