KVIN (920 kHz "Punjabi Radio USA 920 AM") is a commercial AM

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...

broadcasting a

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...

Punjabi language Punjabi, sometimes spelled Panjabi, is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language native to the Punjab region of Pakistan and India. It is one of the most widely spoken native languages in the world, with approximately 150 million native sp ...

talk and Punjabi music. Licensed to Ceres, California, it serves the Stockton and Modesto radio markets. The station is owned by Balwinder Kaur Khalsa and Kilpreet Singh Khalsa, through licensee Punjabi American Media LLC. They just changed their format to

Punjabi Language Punjabi, sometimes spelled Panjabi, is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language native to the Punjab region of Pakistan and India. It is one of the most widely spoken native languages in the world, with approximately 150 million native sp ...

. KVIN has two

FM translator A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater ( two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tr ...

stations rebroadcasting its programming: 92.3 K222BX in Modesto and 107.1 K296HL in Manteca. KVIN is one of few AM radio stations that increases its power at night. By day, KVIN runs at 500

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

s but at sunset, power increases to 2,500 watts. It uses a

directional antenna A directional antenna or beam antenna is an antenna that radiates or receives greater radio wave power in specific directions. Directional antennas can radiate radio waves in beams, when greater concentration of radiation in a certain directio ...

at all times. The daytime transmitter is off Iowa Avenue in Riverdale Park and the nighttime transmitter is off Hickman Road in Hickman.

History

The station first signed on the air on September 15, 1963, as KLOC. It was founded by

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

artist Chester Smith, who served as general manager. The station was a daytimer, required to go off the air from sunset to sunrise. Reflecting its owner, KLOC played only Country and Western music. The station was acquired by Threshold Communications in 2001 for $400,000.Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2010 page D-82
/ref> The

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...

was changed to KVIN. It formerly featured programming provided from Jones Radio Network (Music Of Your Life)and Dial Global/ Westwood One's " America's Best Music" until December 2013. On November 10, 2022, Threshold Communications, licensee of KVIN, 920 AM, Ceres California; K222BX, 92.3 FM, Modesto, California; and K296HL, 107.1 FM Manteca, California, filed applications with the Federal Communications Commission for consent to assign the stations to Punjabi American Media, LLC. The sale to Punjabi American Media was consummated on April 28, 2023.

References

External links

* * * * * VIN Mass media in Stanislaus County, California Mass media in Tuolumne County, California Ceres, California Radio stations established in 1963 1963 establishments in California {{California-radio-station-stub