WUOG-FM

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WUOG
City of license	Athens, Georgia
Broadcast area	Athens, Georgia
First air date	October 16, 1972
Frequency	90.5 FM
Format	college radio
Power	26,000 Watts
Class	C2 Non-Commercial
Owner	University of Georgia
Webcast	http://www.wuog.org/wuog.ram
Website	http://www.wuog.org/

WUOG FM 90.5 is a student radio station funded and operated entirely by University of Georgia (UGA) students in Athens, Georgia. The station first broadcast on October 16, 1972, with a 3,200-watt signal. In 1977, WUOG's wattage was increased to 10,000 watts, and in 1994 the station reached its current 26,000 watts, making it one of the most powerful in the country. The transmitter sits atop Brumby Hall on the UGA campus, broadcasting at an effective radius of 60 miles or 100km.

With the exception of a period of time in 1981 and 2005 when the station was shut down for non-compliance of FCC rules, WUOG has operated for 18 to 24 hours each day. The station is maintained and run entirely by a 200-student staff of volunteers. Twelve executive members oversee the staff and the day-to-day operation of the station.

WUOG offers regular rotation programming as well as specialty shows. "Rotation" consists of new and old music of any genre that falls within the bounds of WUOG's music philosophy. Once stated as the axiom "If they don't need us, we don't need them", the music philosophy strives to include artists whose music is rarely heard elsewhere. WUOG also carries specialty show programming ranging from Middle Eastern music to New Wave, oldies to bluegrass music. "Talk Block" airs every Wednesday and features three hours of talk show programming. More talk and sports shows air throughout the week.

It was on WUOG that R.E.M. were first broadcast; a live recording of "Hippy, Hippy Shake" was played in the summer of 1980. Drummer Bill Berry was also in a short-lived combo of radio personalities from the station, known as the WUOGerz.

In late June 2006, it was discovered that the station was causing electromagnetic interference to a nuclear chemistry laboratory on campus. To alleviate this, the station temporarily went off-air on weekdays from 7AM and resumed broadcast at 4PM, as well as late nights and weekends, while the lab work was done. Electronic filters eliminated the problem on July 13, allowing WUOG to return to a normal schedule. [1] [2] [3]

One other station broadcasts from UGA: WUGA FM 91.7 originates some public radio programming from a studio on campus, while W250AC retransmits it on 97.9 from an antenna further south on campus.