| City of license | Portland, Oregon |
|---|---|
| Slogan | "Voice of the Portland Public Schools" "Kid Rhythm Radio" "Summer Sound" |
| Frequency | 1450 kHz |
| First air date | March 23, 1923 |
| Format | Childrens Radio, Oldies, Hot Adult Contemporary, CHR |
| Power | 1,000 watts |
| Class | C |
| Facility ID | 4782 |
| Callsign meaning | Benson Polytechnic School[1] |
| Former callsigns | KFIF |
| Owner | Portland Public Schools (School District #1, Multnomah County, OR) |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | KBPS 1450 Web Page |
KBPS (1450 AM) is a high school radio station run by Benson Polytechnic High School students enrolled in the radio broadcasting program. It is owned by Portland Public Schools. The station manager is Bill Cooper.
KQAC, formerly KBPS-FM, and KBPS-AM share the same building, the FM station no longer has any affiliation with Portland Public Schools other than the space they rent out.
KBPS broadcasts in AM Stereo.
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In May 1921, the Benson Tech Radio Club received a government license to operate telegraph station 7YK, later changing the call sign to 7XAD in October 1923. This would lead to Benson's first broadcasting station on May 4, 1923, at 6:00 PM when station KFIF signed on the air. This was only the second radio station operated by an educational institute.[2]
KFIF would become KBPS on March 17, 1930 when KFIF became too expensive for the student body to operate, the District accepted ownership of the station. Prior to 1947 the station only broadcast six hours each day.[2] The station was renamed KBPS (for Benson Polytechnic School) and has continued to this day to operate on the Benson campus and to be staffed by Benson students.
Patricia Green Swenson was the general manager of the station from 1947 until 1994.[2]
Portland State University rented out the 1450 AM frequency for their college radio station, which broadcast from 5 p.m. until midnight on weekdays and from noon to midnight on the weekends. This time-sharing arrangement ended on June 25, 2010.
From 8 a.m. until 3 p.m., Kid Rhythm Radio provides kid-friendly music. After 3 p.m., the students can come in and play oldies until 5pm. Students read a live Public Service Announcement and the weather twice an hour and the news once an hour. Students have control of what they play from a long list of songs, they must program the songs to break at ten past the hour, the bottom of the hour, and ten minutes until the top of the hour.
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