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WACQ
Tuskegee, Alabama;
Broadcast area	Auburn, Alabama; Columbus, Georgia
Frequency	580 kHz
Branding	Classic Hits 580 WACQ and FM 98.5
Programming
Format	Classic hits
Affiliations	ABC Radio
Ownership
Owner	Tiger Communications, Inc.
Operator	Fred Randall Hughey
Sister stations	WAUD, WQNR, WQSI, WTGZ
History
First air date	1952 (as WTUS)
Former call signs	WTUS (1952–1959); WABT (1959–1973); WBIL (1973–2012)
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	1018
Class	D
Power	500 watts day; 139 watts night
Transmitter coordinates	32°22′36″N 85°39′28″W / 32.37667°N 85.65778°W
Translator(s)	98.5 W253CZ (Tallassee)
Links
Public license information	Public file; LMS;
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	wacqradio.com

WACQ (580 AM) is an American radio station licensed to serve the community of Tuskegee, Alabama. The station's broadcast license is held by Tiger Communications, Inc. and operated by Fred Randall Hughey.^[2]

Programming

Since June 28, 2012, the station has broadcast an oldies music format to the Montgomery, Alabama, area. The music mix, described as the "greatest hits of all time", is hosted by live, local personalities including Fred Randall Hughey, Brother Rick Dorley, Lamar Godwin, Fr. Mateusz Rudzik, Michael Bird, and Scott Adcock. This programming traces its origins to the June 1979 sign-on of then-WACQ (1130 AM, now WALQ) in Tallassee, Alabama.

WACQ provides coverage to the Reeltown High School athletic teams, a commitment that began when WACQ signed on in 1979. The first song ever played on WACQ in 1979 was "Let Your Love Flow," by The Bellamy Brothers. The first record was played by owner and general manager Fred Randall Hughey.

Today, the Listen Live application on the website, wacqradio.com, as well as the TuneIn app available on smartphones and other devices, give WACQ an audience far beyond the Tallassee area it calls home.

Weekday programming includes "Way of the Cross" with Brother Rick Dorley; "What's Going On?" with Rick Dorley and station owner Fred Randall Hughey; and local news, weather, and sports at 6:00, 7:00, 8:00, 9:00, and 12:00 each day. Weekend programming consists of "The Saturday Morning Show" with Michael Bird and Scott Adcock; Reeltown High School football replays; Troy University Trojans football; and, on Sundays, gospel music and church services from St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, First Baptist Church (Reeltown), and First Baptist Church of Tallassee.

Before this change, WACQ broadcast a Gospel music format featuring programming from Citadel Media and branded as "Rejoice 580".

History

This station, then known as WABT, received its license to cover from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission on September 3, 1952.^[3]

In November 2005, Tiger Communications Inc. (Thomas Hayley, president) reached an agreement to acquire the station, by then known as WBIL, and WQSI from H&H Communications LLC (Fred Randall Hughey, member) for a reported combined sale price of $350,000.^[4] The FCC approved the deal on February 13, 2006, and the transaction was completed on April 6, 2006.^[5] In retaining partial ownership in WBIL and rights to the WACQ call sign, Fred Randall Hughey and his wife Debra began programming AM 580 effective June 28, 2012.

On July 27, 2012, the station changed its call sign from WBIL to WACQ.^[6]

Early history

In 1977, Hughey Broadcasting Company, Inc., applied to the FCC for a construction permit for a new broadcast radio station. The FCC granted this permit on February 8, 1979. This new station would broadcast with 1,000 watts of power on a frequency of 1130 kilohertz, but only during daylight hours to protect KWKH in Shreveport, Louisiana, CKWX in Vancouver, British Columbia, and WBBR in New York City from skywave interference. The station was assigned call sign "WACQ". After construction and testing were completed, the station was granted its broadcast license on August 6, 1979.

In August 2006, Hughey Communications applied to the FCC to increase this class D station's daytime-only power from 1,000 to 25,000 watts. The FCC granted a construction permit for this change on August 21, 2007.

WACQ began broadcasting as 580 WACQ, replacing WBIL's signal, in June 2012. From 2006 until 2019, the translator W266BJ broadcast WACQ's programming on FM 101.1. On February 14, 2019, WACQ moved to W253CZ and broadcasts on 98.5 FM.

Translators

WACQ uses a broadcast translator to expand and enhance its coverage area, adding an FM signal to its existing AM broadcast.^[7]

Broadcast translator for WACQ
Call sign	Frequency	City of license	FID	ERP (W)	Class	FCC info
W253CZ	98.5 FM	Tallassee, Alabama	201572	250	D	LMS

References

^ "Facility Technical Data for WACQ". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
^ Carlyle, Jacquelyn (July 12, 2012). "WBIL now WACQ out of Tallassee while transitioning to FM transmission". The Tuskegee News. Retrieved July 13, 2012. "We have combined 580 AM (WBIL) and 1130 AM (WACQ in Tallassee)," said radio station owner Fred Randall Hughey of Hughey Communications, Inc. in Tallassee.
^ "Application Search Details (BL-4760)". FCC Media Bureau. September 3, 1952.
^ "Deals - 12 December 2005". Broadcasting & Cable. December 12, 2005.
^ "Application Search Details (BTC-20051118AAB)". FCC Media Bureau. April 6, 2006.
^ "Call Sign History". CDBS Public Access Database. U.S. Federal Communications Commission Media Bureau. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
^ "AM History Profile: WACQ". Alabama Broadcast Media Page. Retrieved December 20, 2011.