KECG (88.1 FM), is a

noncommercial A non-commercial (also spelled noncommercial) activity is an activity that is not carried out in the interest of profit. The opposite is commercial, something that primarily serves profit interests and is focused on business. For example, advertis ...

educational

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

free-form radio Free-form, or free-form radio, is a radio station programming format in which the disc jockey is given wide or total control over what music to play, regardless of music genre or commercial interests. Freeform radio stands in contrast to most ...

variety format. Licensed to West Contra Costa Unified School District, the station is operated by the district, and broadcasts from

El Cerrito High School El Cerrito High School is a four-year public high school in the West Contra Costa Unified School District. It is located on Ashbury Avenue in El Cerrito, California, United States and serves students from El Cerrito, a portion of eastern Richm ...

Translators

In addition to the main transmitter on 88.1, KECG is relayed by translator K249DJ on 97.7 FM, which widens its broadcast area. This translator was originally licensed in 1994 at 89.9 FM, but the frequency was changed due to a dispute with Howell Mountain Broadcasting, licensee of what was then KNDL 89.9 FM, in Angwin.

History

Construction of KECG began in 1972, in the basement of the north wing of the old El Cerrito High School. Mr. Maynes' wood shop built the studios, and the electronics department, under Elmer Peterson, installed the electronics. Originally, KECG was supposed to broadcast "elevator-style" music. The activation of the transmitter was delayed several years. When the station filed for a construction permit in 1976, NPR station

KQED-FM KQED-FM (88.5 MHz) is a listener-supported, non-commercial public radio station in San Francisco, California. It is simulcast on KQEI-FM (89.3 MHz) in the Sacramento metropolitan area. The parent organization is KQED Inc., which also owns tw ...

objected to KECG going on the air, stating that "they should broadcast over the telephone line" and raising interference concerns.

KGO-TV KGO-TV (channel 7) is a television station licensed to San Francisco, California, United States, serving the San Francisco Bay Area. It has been owned and operated by the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network through its ABC Owne ...

news anchor Van Amburg was quite helpful, having continued his FCC certification even after moving from engineering to on-air talent. KECG began broadcasting in September 1978; by then, the "elevator music" format plan had been dropped. After Elmer Peterson died, responsibility for KECG moved from the Industrial Arts division to new leadership, with a more journalistic emphasis. In 2005, the old campus was demolished. KECG's current studios are located on the 2nd floor of the main building of the new campus of El Cerrito High School.

References

External links

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FCC History Cards for KECG

ECG Electrocardiography is the process of producing an electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG), a recording of the heart's electrical activity through repeated cardiac cycles. It is an electrogram of the heart which is a graph of voltage versus time of ...

Mass media in Contra Costa County, California El Cerrito, California Radio stations established in 1978 Community radio stations in the United States 1978 establishments in California High school radio stations in the United States {{California-radio-station-stub