KVOK-FM (defunct)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

KVOK was the first FM radio station in Hawai‘i. The 10-watt station was operated by Kamehameha Schools Kapālama Campus, beginning October 6, 1953. Governor Samuel Wilder King spoke during the first broadcast.

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.

KVOK no longer broadcasts in Hawai‘i. The station's call letters are now assigned to an unrelated AM radio station in Kodiak, Alaska.

[edit] References

• [1] - Oral history by former DJ James Ahia, Jr. (Windows Media, 7:47, 115 MB)
• [2] - Kamehameha Schools Kapālama Campus timeline
• [3] - Honolulu Star-Bulletin article on Luryier "Pop" Diamond, a Kamehameha staff photographer and past KVOK music director