WRPI (91.5
FM) is a non-commercial free-format
college radio
Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produced ...
station run entirely by students attending
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute () (RPI) is a private research university in Troy, New York, with an additional campus in Hartford, Connecticut. A third campus in Groton, Connecticut closed in 2018. RPI was established in 1824 by Stephen Van ...
and staffed by community members and students. WRPI broadcasts 365 days a year with 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 hav ...
of 10,000
watt
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of 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 quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...
s, serving listeners in Albany, eastern
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, western
,
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
, and via webstream. The studios are located in the basement of the Darrin Communications Center and the FM signal is broadcast from
North Greenbush. Programming includes a wide range of music, cultural and public affairs programs, live bands, special events, and
sports simulcasts, particularly of RPI hockey, football, and baseball. WRPI has a large
record library dating to the origins of the station, estimated at 43,800 albums, and a large
CD library, dating to the start of the medium.
History
Founding
The predecessor to WRPI was an RPI-owned
AM broadcasting
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") transmis ...
radio station known as
WHAZ. WHAZ began broadcasting in 1922, and was among the first radio stations to broadcast within the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. First issued to
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute () (RPI) is a private research university in Troy, New York, with an additional campus in Hartford, Connecticut. A third campus in Groton, Connecticut closed in 2018. RPI was established in 1824 by Stephen Van ...
on July 18, 1922, the school extended their license for many years thereafter. This ended with the transfer of the license to WPOW in 1967. While under the ownership of the school, WHAZ found itself under the stewardship of several groups throughout the years. In 1924, the founding of Campus Review, an entertainment broadcasting group, began the focus of the radio station in broadcasting college-centered entertainment and radio for the Troy, New York area. Over two decades later, in the spring of 1947, Carl J. Kunz Jr. founded the "Rensselaer Broadcasting Association", which took charge of managing broadcasting time slots not used by Campus Review. The Association would completely employ the service of students from RPI to run activities. In that same year, the school's radio club began broadcasting their own AM radio station under the call sign W2SZ. The most popular and active station broadcasting on campus at the time, this station was informally referred to by students as WRPI.
Unification
At this point, three different clubs were managing radio broadcasts across the university's campus. Thus the RPI Student Union proceeded to consolidate the clubs into one, the Radio Counsel, by the end of 1948. Only three years later, in 1951, the Radio Counsel was disbanded, and divided into two groups: an amateur radio group, and a broadcast group. The broadcast group still exists under the old banner of W2SZ. As for the broadcast group, WRPI continued to function on AM channels, where it captured the majority of the campus listener audience at the time.
Moving To FM
Without a broadcast tower, or industry grade equipment, WRPI had a meager broadcast range. In many cases, signals could not reach to certain portions of the college campus. In 1956, the station proposed a move to
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a method of radio broadcasting using frequency modulation (FM). Invented in 1933 by American engineer Edwin Armstrong, wide-band FM is used worldwide to provide high fidelity sound over broadcast radio. FM broadcasting is cap ...
, in order to take advantage of its high fidelity capabilities. On December 4, 1957, the
FCC
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdictio ...
approved WRPI to begin broadcasting on 91.5 FM, where it continues to broadcast today. This accompanied the construction of a tower, extending the range of the station to nearly all of Troy, Albany, and Schenectady.
Growth And Evolution
As opposed to contemporary FM radio stations at the time, WRPI found itself as the sole popular music broadcaster in the area. In 1967, the station switched to a
progressive rock
Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
themed station, abandoning its former free form radio status. In addition, WTEN-TV donated a radio tower in North Greenbush, New York, which is still used by the station today. This move increased broadcast strength from 750 watts to 10,000 watts. WRPI thus abandoned use of AM signals and extended range to cover large swaths of New York as well as some areas in Vermont and Massachusetts.
The Station Today
During the mid 1970s, as other FM rock and roll radio stations began to form, WRPI made the decision to revert to their former free form radio format. In addition, the station established their studio in the basement of RPI's Darren Communications Center, where it has remained through the decades. The station continues to be completely student run, allowing virtually anyone to receive training, and potentially broadcast on a time slot. In addition to broadcasting on 91.5 FM, the station may also be listened to over the internet.
References
ScheduleHistory of WRPI
External links
WRPI official websiteRensselaer Polytechnic Institute Website
{{RPITemplate
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
RPI
RPI
Radio stations established in 1947
1947 establishments in New York (state)