KRBD

KRBD

City	Ketchikan, Alaska
Broadcast area	Alaska Panhandle
Branding	KRBD
Slogan	Community Radio for Southern Southeast Alaska
Frequency	105.3 (MHz) (also on HD Radio)
Format	Public Radio
ERP	3,400 watts
HAAT	21 meters
Class	A
Former frequencies	105.9 MHz^[1]
Owner	Rainbird Community Broadcasting
Website	www.krbd.org

KRBD is a non-commercial radio station in Ketchikan, Alaska, broadcasting on 105.3 FM. The station airs public radio programming from the National Public Radio network, the BBC World Service, and is a member of CoastAlaska. KRBD also airs some locally originated programming.

The KRBD studio

As with many radio stations, the name is an abbreviation. In this case, RBD is short for "Rainbird," which is one of the mascots of Ketchikan. (Ketchikan averages about 160 inches of rainfall each year.)

The station's first broadcast, on May 22, 1976, opened with the song, "The Fool," by Quicksilver Messenger Service on volunteer Tom Miller's show, "Odds and Ends." At that time, the station had seven licensed volunteers, each one covering a day of the week, and each one responsible for recruiting more volunteers.

At first, the station operated out of a single apartment space on the first floor of the 10-story Marine View Building. Its 10-watt transmitter broadcast mostly to listeners within a few miles of Ketchikan's West End neighborhood.

The community licensee was conceived of and built by volunteers. Soon after it went on the air, the station hired a manager/engineer, Bob Kern, of Ketchikan. KRBD continued to grow along with the State of Alaska's oil wealth. Within a few years, the station moved up to the Marine View's 10th floor, where it occupied two large apartment spaces. As it continued to grow, KRBD increased power to its current 3,400 watts and moved to a downtown Ketchikan location at 716 Totem Way, overlooking Ketchikan Creek.

At one point in the 1980s, the station had 10 employees and was able to send them to various training opportunities in and outside of Alaska. Its volunteer crew also grew, numbering as many as 90 in its heyday in the 1980s. KRBD is notable for having a sizable group of youth and teens comprise a portion of the volunteer body.

When the state's budget declined due to lower oil prices, and later due to declining oil production, so did KRBD's. By 2007, the station had about four employees and a much reduced volunteer corp. Throughout its history, volunteers have played an important role in operating the station, especially in producing its varied music programming.

In the early 1990s, the station moved yet again, when it purchased the building at 123 Stedman Street, a few doors down the street from Totem Way. In 2010, KRBD moved to a fifth location known as "The Rock Pit" on Copper Ridge Lane.

Translators

Broadcast translators of KRBD
Call sign	Frequency (MHz)	City of license	ERP W	Class	FCC info
K211AT	90.1	Mountain Point, Alaska	81	D	FCC
K211AU	90.1	Thorne Bay, Alaska	18	D	FCC
K211AV	90.1	Hydaburg, Alaska	9	D	FCC
K211AX	90.1	Klawock, Alaska	90	D	FCC
K214BD	90.7	North Point Higgins, Alaska	9	D	FCC
K269BA	101.7	Craig, Alaska	45	D	FCC
K269CA	107.1	Clover Pass, Alaska	28	D	FCC

References

↑ Mitchell, Elaine B., ed. (1979). Alaska Blue Book (Fourth ed.). Juneau: Alaska Department of Education, Division of State Libraries. p. 194.

External links

NPR member stations in the state of Alaska
Stations	Anchorage KNBA Anchorage KSKA Barrow KBRW Barrow KBRW-FM Bethel KYUK Chevak KCUK Dillingham KDLG Fairbanks KUAC Galena KIYU Glennallen KXGA Haines KHNS Homer KBBI Juneau KRNN Juneau KTOO Juneau KXLL Kenai KDLL Ketchikan KRBD Kodiak KMXT Kodiak KODK Kotzebue KOTZ McCarthy KXKM Petersburg KFSK Sand Point KSDP Sitka KCAW St. Paul KUHB-FM Talkeetna KTNA Unalaska KUCB Valdez KCHU Wrangell KSTK
Defunct	McGrath KSKO
See also List of NPR stations
See also adult contemporary classic hits college country news/talk NPR oldies religious rock sports top 40 urban other radio stations in Alaska

Southeast Alaska radio stations
By FM frequency	89.3 90.7 91.1 94.1 99.9 99.9 100.7 100.9 101.7 102.3 102.7 103.1 104.3 104.7 105.1 105.3 106.3 106.7
By AM frequency	630 800 930 1230 1330
By callsign	KBJZ-LP KCAW KFMJ KFSK KGTW KHNS KHYG-FM KIFW KINY KJNO KQQJ KQQS KRBD KRNN KSBZ KSTK KSUP KTKN KTKU KTOO KWRG-LP KXLL KXXJ
Defunct	KAQU-LP (88.1 FM) KVIM-LP (92.7 FM) KRSA (580 AM)
Alaska radio markets Anchorage Other Alaska radio regions Fairbanks Juneau Kenai Alaska Bush Alaska Interior Southeast Alaska South Central Alaska See also List of radio stations in Alaska

Coordinates: 55°20′20″N 131°37′34″W / 55.339°N 131.626°W / 55.339; -131.626

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