KVOK-FM was the first FM

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 ...

Hawai‘i Hawaii ( ; ) is an island state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only state not on the North American mainland, t ...

. The 10-

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 ...

station was operated by

Kamehameha Schools Kamehameha Schools, formerly called Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate (KSBE), is a private school system in Hawaii established by the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate, under the terms of the will of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, who was a formal membe ...

Kapālama Campus, between 1953 and 1965.

History

Governor

Samuel Wilder King Samuel Wilder King (December 17, 1886March 24, 1959) was the eleventh Territorial Governor of Hawaii and served from 1953 to 1957. He was appointed to the office after the term of Oren E. Long. Previously, King served in the United States Hous ...

spoke during the inaugural broadcast on October 6, 1953, though it had been on air since August 16 of that year. Hawai'i's first high-power commercial station, KAIM-FM, went on the air later that year. KVOK, short for Voices of Kamehameha, was a training station operated primarily by Kamehameha students. Programming was a combination of live broadcasts from the station's studios in Room 108 and 109 of Kōnia Hall, and taped performances from a variety of locations on campus. Live programming could also be transmitted from the schools' gymnasium, Kekūhaupi‘o, for special events such as the annual Song Contest. Broadcasts were primarily in the afternoon; transmission usually ended by 5:30 PM Hawai‘i time. KVOK's studios were among the best in Hawai‘i at the time. Private companies, such as 49th State Recording Company, used the studio to record local Hawaiian artists such as

Genoa Keawe 'Aunty' Genoa Leilani Adolpho Keawe-Aiko (October 31, 1918 – February 25, 2008) was a Hawaiian musician. Keawe was born on the island of Oʻahu in the Kakaʻako district of Honolulu and grew up in Lā'ie. She was an icon in Hawaiian musi ...

. In 1964, KVOK polled its listeners and found it only had three of them, prompting the school to announce it was considering closing down KVOK. The station shut down in 1965. The KVOK call letters were later assigned to an unrelated AM radio station, KVOK in

Kodiak, Alaska Kodiak (Alutiiq language, Alutiiq: ) is the main city and one of seven communities on Kodiak Island in Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska, Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska. All commercial transportation between the island's communities and the outside ...

in 1974, and have since been moved to an FM station in the same city.

References

- Oral history by former DJ James Ahia, Jr. (Windows Media, 7:47, 115 MB)

- Kamehameha Schools Kapālama Campus timeline

- ''

Honolulu Star-Bulletin The ''Honolulu Star-Bulletin'' was a daily newspaper based in Honolulu, Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the second largest daily newspaper in the state of Hawaii (after the ''Honol ...

'' article on Luryier "Pop" Diamond, a Kamehameha staff photographer and past KVOK music director VOK Defunct radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1953 Radio stations disestablished in 1965 1953 establishments in Hawaii 1965 disestablishments in Hawaii VOK-FM {{Hawaii-radio-station-stub