Bruce F. Elving (April 19, 1935 – July 24, 2011) was a publisher, FM-radio enthusiast, DXer, and college professor from

Duluth, Minnesota Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

. He held a bachelor's degree from the University of Minnesota-Duluth, a master's degree from

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricult ...

, and a Ph.D. from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

. His interest in

FM radio FM broadcasting is a method of radio broadcasting that uses frequency modulation (FM) of the radio broadcast carrier wave. Invented in 1933 by American engineer Edwin Armstrong, wide-band FM is used worldwide to transmit high fidelity, high-f ...

began while the technology was still in its infancy and AM was more popular. He was the author of the ''FM Atlas'', a directory of FM radio stations and

translators Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transl ...

throughout the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, and

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. ''FM Atlas'' has been published approximately every 18 months from 1971 to its 21st edition in 2010. Elving also published ''FMedia'', a monthly newsletter updating the ''FM Atlas'', compiled from

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

(FCC) and

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; ) is a public organization in Canada tasked with the mandate as a regulatory agency tribunal for various electronic communications, covering broadcasting and telecommunic ...

(CRTC) data, along with information contributed by subscribers. Publication of ''FMedia'' began in 1987, continuing until mid-2007, when Elving announced that he was looking for a hobbyist who would take over the newsletter under new ownership. The publication remained out of print for several months, until Elving eventually created a multi-month issue to catch readers up with the changes in station data. Elving's eldest daughter, Kristine Stuart, took over ''FMedia'' in January 2008, with Elving taking on a new role of mentor and contributing editor. In March 2010, Kristine published the last issue of the newsletter, when it again went out of print. Elving was twice given the DXer of the Year award by the Association of North American Radio Clubs, first in 1973 and later in 1986. He wanted to introduce others to the world of FM DXing, and the Worldwide TV-FM DX Association website includes an article by him explaining the process. A commentary in the ''DX Listening Digest'', June 19, 2005, listed Elving among those who had helped create today's DX hobby. The column referred to ''FM Atlas'' as "the FM equivalent of the NRC Log" and noted that Elving was a columnist for ''DXing Horizons'' magazine. As an undergraduate student at the University of Minnesota-Duluth during the 1950s, Elving helped found the KUMD radio station (now WDSE-FM at 103.3 FM), which started as a pirate station on AM: "The FCC sent their 'cease and desist' letter to

KUOM KUOM (770 AM) – branded ''Radio K - Real College Radio'' – is a daytime-only, non-commercial, college radio station licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota. Owned by the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, the station is operated by studen ...

*770 AM, because they had not heard of a University of Minnesota campus in Duluth. That was after the disgruntled engineer quit and 'spilled the beans.' He wrote an article about that experience, which was published in the 'Radio World' newspaper." KUMD celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2007, and a photo of Elving is featured on its website as one of its founders. Elving was also noted for his

Mail order Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as: * Sending an order form in the mail * Placing an order by telephone call ...

sales of radios modified to receive

subcarrier A subcarrier is a sideband of a radio frequency carrier wave, which is modulated to send additional information. Examples include the provision of colour in a black and white television system or the provision of stereo in a monophonic radio bro ...

signals from FM radio stations. These little-known signals, which require special receiving equipment to hear, often consist of

background music Background music (British English: piped music) is a mode of musical performance in which the music is not intended to be a primary focus of potential listeners, but its content, character, and volume level are deliberately chosen to affect behav ...

for retail establishments, newsfeeds, and reading services for the blind. Elving advocated these services as superior to newer technology such as

HD Radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. HD radio generally simulcast, simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD R ...

. In March 1989, ''Monitoring Times'' published an article by Elving entitled "SCA: FM Radio's Alter-Ego - The Radio the FCC Doesn't Want You to Own." In 1997, Elving was quoted in an article in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' discussing

Radio Data System Radio Data System (RDS) is a communications protocol standard for embedding small amounts of digital information in conventional FM broadcasting, FM radio broadcasts. RDS standardizes several types of information transmitted, including time, sta ...

(RDS) signals, which ride on FM subcarriers and were thought to be the future of radio. Elving advocated expanding the FM

broadcast band A broadcast band is a segment of the radio spectrum used for broadcasting. See also * North American broadcast television frequencies * AM broadcasting * FM broadcasting * Dead air * Internet radio * Radio network * Music radio * Old-time radio ...

below its current 88 MHz limit following the transition from

analog Analog or analogue may refer to: Computing and electronics * Analog signal, in which information is encoded in a continuous variable ** Analog device, an apparatus that operates on analog signals *** Analog electronics, circuits which use analog ...

digital television Digital television (DTV) is the transmission of television signals using Digital signal, digital encoding, in contrast to the earlier analog television technology which used analog signals. At the time of its development it was considered an ...

, freeing up the frequencies used for television channels 2-6, and even reinstating the original 42-50 MHz FM band for hobbyist and community broadcasting. This band is currently assigned to a seldom-used two-way communications service. The FCC has issued a long-term experimental license to one broadcaster, WA2XMN, 42.8 MHz, to use this band. Elving, 76, suffered a heart attack and died on July 24, 2011, in California. His three daughters—Kristine Stuart, Karin Clements, and Kimberly Ellsworth—survive him. Bruce's 41-year-old wife, Carol, passed on August 10, 2015. Online tributes to him in the radio community reflect his impact on the DXing hobby and the FM industry, describing him as a "professor of FM radio" and a champion of the underdog.

References

External links

FM Atlas home page
(archived)