WMET

WMET is a radio station broadcasting on 1160 kHz in the mediumwave AM band, serving the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Over several decades, it has gone through a number of radio formats, from progressive rock to all-comedy to a conservative talk-show format. Since May 3, 2010, it has been a Catholic religious radio station.

WMET moved from the 1150 kHz frequency in 2003. Its transmitter is located in Gaithersburg, Maryland. WMET has a daytime transmitter power of 50,000 watts and a 1500 watt directional signal at night.

History

Previous formats

WMET first went on the air as WHMC (the Heart of Montgomery County) which broadcast at 1150 kHz. During the 1960s, WHMC was known as the "500 Watt Flower-pot". 'HMC, as it was nicknamed, hired disc jockey Barry Richards away from WINX (1600AM) in nearby Rockville, MD. He turned the station into one of the DC area's first progressive rock stations. It was the only one on the AM band. The station also sponsored a series of rock concerts underneath the towers (which were on a grassy hillside in Gaithersburg, Maryland) that were well-attended by area teens.