Technical Profile: WPUQ404

AM Technical Profile: WPUQ404

Frequency:: 1610, 530
Format:: City of Hoover traffic and information station
Transmitter Location:: 100 Municipal Drive, Near City Hall, off of Highway 31 and I-459, Hoover in Jefferson County.
2020 Valleydale Road, Hoover in Shelby County.
Power (ERP):: 10 watts
Antenna:: monopole; omnidirectional
Other Information:: A low power station operated by the city of Hoover to provide traffic and tourist information for people in the Riverchase Galleria area of Hoover.
History:: This station came on the air mid-December 2002 running a short loop of public information clips about the city of Hoover, interspersed with phoned-in traffic updates. The traffic updates come about once an hour, which means the information can be outdated and not very useful with the ever-changing traffic flow on US 31 at the Galleria. The coverage seems to be pretty good for a TIS (travellers information station), with a listenable signal extending into Vestavia Hills to the north, Valleydale Road in Pelham to the south, Highway 150 and I-459 to the west and I-65 and I-459 to the east. The station originally ID'ed as WNEN610, but then was listed as WPTV364. The calls recently changed to WPUQ404. When the recorded information isn't being broadcast, NOAA weather radio fills in the gaps. There is also an authorization to broadcast on 530 kHz.
: Information for TIS facilities is provided by the Land Mobile Branch of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, and not the Mass Media division. A ULS (universal licensing system) lookup can be performed by clicking on the callsign above.