RDU 98.5FM is a

student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementar ...

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission 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 radio ...

operating from the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. It broadcasts on a frequency of 98.5

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...

, and is a member of the b.net group of stations, all of which are run from

New Zealand University The University of New Zealand was New Zealand's sole degree-granting university from 1874 to 1961. It was a collegiate university embracing several constituent institutions at various locations around New Zealand. After it was dissolved in 196 ...

campuses. RDU began in 1976 on 1420

kHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that on ...

. During the period 1977 to 1985RDU 1978-87
/ref> the station was on 1230, 1503 (3XU) and 1422 kHz (3XB). FM broadcasts started in 1986 on 90.5 MHz and moved to 98.3 MHz in 1987 until 2003.

History

Wammo and Spanky became an infamous duo on the RDU Mornings show, most notably coaxing

Don Brash Donald Thomas Brash (born 24 September 1940) is a former New Zealand politician who was Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the New Zealand National Party from October 2003 to November 2006, and the Leader of ACT New Zealand from April to No ...

into answering inappropriate love letters live on-air, and upsetting listeners by playing distasteful games poking fun at cancer victims. Sadly, Wammo was scouted by

Kiwi FM Kiwi FM (formerly Channel Z) was a New Zealand alternative music radio network. From 1996 to 2005, as Channel Z, it broadcast alternative and local music for a youth-oriented market. From 2005 to 2015, as Kiwi FM, it broadcast predominantly New ...

and was replaced by Kate Gorgeous, who hosted the show for a year till the end of 2007. After much searching for a new host, Spanky has returned to host the show solo under the new show title Breakfast with Spanky. Many of the shows on RDU have been on air for many years. Girl School, The Mixtape Sessions, The Joint, Guitar Media, Dollar Mix, Hauswerk and Vintage Cuts are all popular long-running shows that are regular each week. Since late 2006 RDU online streaming has been operating reliably, enabling the station's unique sound to now reach a global audience. In 2007, the

University of Canterbury Students' Association The University of Canterbury Students' Association (UCSA) is a student organisation associated with the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, established in 1894. Organisation USCA is funded by students and is governed by a constitution thro ...

controversially agreed to sub-licence the RDU frequency to a newly formed company, RDU98.5FM Ltd and students against the sale selectively leaked information to the Press stating the station was sold for the price of $1. Actually the station's assets including broadcast equipment and transmitters were sold at market (book) value, a market level rental agreed for the space occupied and an annual licence fee agreed. Various arrangements were debated over the preceding three years following the previous limited liability company (controlled by minority shareholders) trading insolvently which forced UCSA to inject funds and restructure the organisation.

References

External links

Official RDU website
Student radio stations in New Zealand University of Canterbury {{NewZealand-radio-station-stub