WUVT-FM (90.7

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...

) is a

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

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 ...

in Blacksburg, Virginia, serving

Montgomery County, Virginia Montgomery County is a county located in the Valley and Ridge area of the U.S. state of Virginia. As population in the area increased, Montgomery County was formed in 1777 from Fincastle County, which in turn had been taken from Botetourt Cou ...

. It is licensed to

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

and is operated by The Educational Media Company at Virginia Tech. WUVT-FM is largely student-run and broadcasts a free form

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, ...

. The

radio studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for recording and mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enough to record a single sin ...

s and offices are located in Squires Student Center. WUVT-FM has an

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would ha ...

(ERP) of 6,500

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. The

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...

is on Price Mountain, off Stroubles Creek Road in Blacksburg.Radio-Locator.com/WUVT
/ref> It broadcasts from a

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

shared with 105.3 WBRW.

History

Early years

WUVT, in one form or another, has been located on the campus of Virginia Tech since its founding. It began as an experimental

AM radio AM broadcasting is radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation (AM) transmissions. It was the first method developed for making audio radio transmissions, and is still used worldwide, primarily for medium wave (also known as "AM band") transmi ...

station in . That makes it one of the longest running non-commercial radio stations in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. It originally began operations when a student built an AM transmitter in his dorm room. WUVT-FM signed on the air as an FM station on . Today, like other student media organizations on campus, WUVT is a division of The Educational Media Company at Virginia Tech. WUVT is known for its eclectic programming, covering a wide swath of past and present music styles. DJs are typically students and former students, who select content based upon their personal preferences. WUVT serves the community by offering music rarely heard on

commercial radio Commercial broadcasting (also called private broadcasting) is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship, for example. It was the United States' first model ...

stations.

Transmitter upgrade

Its transmitter is located on nearby Price Mountain, between Blacksburg and Radford, at a site shared with WBRW, "The Bear". The station transmits its signal with a Harris Z5CD solid state transmitter donated by Clear Channel. Former WUVT Chief Engineer Kevin Sterne was injured in the April 16, 2007 Virginia Tech massacre. After hearing about Kevin’s strong passion for the radio station and WUVT's need to upgrade its aging transmitter, officials from Clear Channel and the

Society of Broadcast Engineers The Society of Broadcast Engineers (SBE) is a professional organization for engineers in broadcast radio and television. The SBE also offers certification in various radio frequency and video and audio technology areas for its members. Backgrou ...

assisted in returning WUVT to full power on April 28, 2007. Clear Channel donated a Harris Z5CD transmitter, transmitter building, and antenna sufficient to generate 10 KW. Orban, CBS Radio, and Electronics Research, Inc. (ERI) also offered equipment and technical assistance.

Power increase

Virginia Radio and TV websit
VARTV.com
reported in 2007 that WUVT "has requested to move its antenna off-campus to a new location a mile away from and increase the antenna height from 141 feet to 429 feet. WUVT wants to be licensed as a Class C3 (from Class A) and increase its power from 3,000

s to 10,000

s." In June 2008, WUVT received authorization from the

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 ...

to begin building a 6,500

transmission facility. This

construction permit Planning permission or building permit refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. House building permits, for example, are subject to bu ...

was issued for a lower power than originally requested due to a conflicting application with WEHC, the

Emory and Henry College Emory & Henry University (E&H or Emory) is a private university in Emory, Virginia, United States. The campus comprises of Washington County, which is part of the Appalachian highlands of Southwest Virginia. Founded in 1836, Emory & Henry U ...

radio station in Emory, Virginia, that also broadcasts at 90.7 MHz. Both stations filed requests for power increases which would have overlapped, so both WUVT and WEHC re-submitted their applications at a lower power. Over summer 2009, WUVT moved equipment to the new site atop Price Mountain and removed the old transmitter from its location atop Lee Hall. During the transitional period, WUVT broadcast at low power from Squires Student Center. In September 2009, the station received permission to begin broadcasting at 6,500 watts.

Technical Accomplishments

* March 1947 - Low power AM station is put on the air by students. * June 1969 - FM transmission authorized on 90.7 MHz with 10 watts ERP * 1970s - Upgraded license to 770 watts ERP, on the air with the original 10W exciter driving a 430W amplifier. The amplifier was hand built and FCC type accepted by Geoff Mendenhall, a student at Ga Tech who used it for a few years at their station. (Geoff went on to become VP of RF Transmission at Gates Radio/Harris Briadcast) * Early 1980s - Upgraded license again, this time to 3,000 watts ERP, with new transmitter from Broadcast Electronics * Late 1990s - Initiated RealAudio web simulcast * Dec 2005 - First dynamic RDS subcarrier on in the New River Valley market * Apr 2007 - Return to full licensed power * September 2007 - filed application with the FCC to increase power * June 2008 - received a

from the FCC to begin building a 6,500-watt transmission facility * September 2009 - transmission facility construction completed and station begins broadcasting at 6,500 watts

References

External links

WUVT Online
* {{Authority control Variety radio stations in the United States UVT-FM UVT-FM UVT-FM Radio stations established in 1969 1969 establishments in Virginia