WCMY Radio · 216 W. Lafayette St. · Ottawa, IL 61350
Business Office: 815-434-6050         Weather Phone: 815-433-4545         Contests, Radio Trader, & Local Talk Shows: 815-433-1430
Fax: 815-434-5311

WCMY Radio has been on the air since 1952. Licensed in Ottawa, Illinois, WCMY broadcasts on 1430 kHz 24 hours a day. Daytime power is 500 watts. Nighttime power is a mere 38 watts. The antenna pattern is non-directional. The station's current license expires December 12, 2012.

How far away you can hear WCMY depends on the quality of your radio, the direction you are from the station, the time of day, and how close you are to stations on the same or nearby frequencies. There are other stations on 1430 in the Chicago suburbs, in Indianapolis, and St. Louis. Sometimes those other stations (especially WRTH in St. Louis) can be heard cutting in overnight. For the most part, you should get a good signal up to 50 miles away (about as far as Joliet or a little north of Bloomington).

WCMY is affiliated with the CBS Radio Network. The station is owned by NRG Media of 2875 Mt. Vernon Rd. SE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52403.

Why is the power so low? The Federal Communications Commission established the 1430 frequency as a local channel back in the 1930s. Unlike the "clear channels" which had only one station on them overnight for a thousand miles around, local channels like 1430 are shared by dozens of stations across the country. Radio station owners that started these stations did so knowing they would have to run at rather low power by day and even lower power at night to avoid interfering with each other.