WVTC

WVTC

WVTC Logo 2016
City	Randolph Center
Broadcast area	Vermont Technical College
Branding	Tech Radio
Slogan	"Setting the air on fire!"
Frequency	90.7 Mhz
First air date	1961
Format	College Radio
ERP	300 watts
HAAT	64.0 meters
Class	A
Facility ID	69957
Transmitter coordinates	43.9387° N, 72.6047° W
Callsign meaning	Vermont Technical College
Owner	Vermont State Colleges
Webcast	Webcast
Website	Official website

Current equipment in 2016 (Notice the 39 RF Power due to ice on the antenna)

Pre-2012 equipment in the station

WVTC is the radio station of Vermont Technical College, operating on a 90.7 MHz FM carrier with an effective power of 300 watts. The station is located in Morey Hall on the Randolph Center campus. WVTC is operated and maintained by the students of VTC through the Radio Club, and is financially supported by VTC Student Council.

Timeline

• 1961 - A small pirate radio station is reported to have begun broadcasting on the Randolph Center campus of Vermont Technical College.
• 1963 - WVTC starts as a small AM station on 640 kHz with a 2-watt transmitter in the Old Dorm building.
• 1965 - The VTC yearbook distinguishes between the Radio Club and the Radio Station WVTC-AM 640.
• 1966 - A new dorm building, Morey Hall, is erected at the Vermont Technical College in Randolph Center that includes provisions for a campus radio station.
• 1967 - The radio station moves into its new home at Morey Hall.
• 1968 - The radio station applies for and receives a license from the FCC to broadcast as WVTC-FM at 90.7 MHz and 10 watts.
• the 1970s - The station prospers. Howard Ginsberg is involved with the station. He would later continue in radio with the founding of WXXX, a successful commercial Top 40 station in Burlington, VT.
• the 1980s - WVTC is granted a 300-watt license. The station continues to prosper.
• the 1990s - WVTC migrates to CD technology.
• 1995 - The station is "dark" (off the air) from April until November due to a failed EBS receiver and other potential violations. Bill McGrath joins the station.
• 1996 - Many upgrades are performed, including new studio and broadcasting equipment. Early concepts for station automation are explored using multi-CD changers, controlled via serial connection. New transmitter installed and the tower erected December 26, 1996. The first mp3 played on the air - "Stupid Girl" by Garbage.
• 1997 - Internet webcasting begins in February, streaming both music and webcam images.
  • - WVTC is Northern New England's first on-line radio streaming station, sending a copy of on-air audio over MP3 format at 16kbit/s using custom software on a Pentium 60. Experimentally in January, full-time starting in February 1997.
  • - MP3s are introduced as an on-air medium.
• 1998 - The WebDJ automation system goes live and SCA technology is explored, with data being sent about weather and news events. WVTC broadcasts 24/7 for the first time.
  • - WVTC ranks in the broadcast ratings for Central Vermont
  • - WVTC upgrades to 32kbit/s stream using computer club purchased Linux server with 2 processors (a first on the Randolph, VT campus) called "Halftime".
  • - With the addition of Antarctica, WVTC logs listeners from all 7 continents.
  • - Staff contribute to the creation of a remote control interface for the application called Winamp. Staff create an improved FM radio card driver to Linux and are added to the Linux Kernel.
• 1999 - The club booms with 80+ club members. Many states they chose VTC as their college because of WVTC.
  • - DJ Spookman goes on the air pumping out the techno/trance and hip-hop, bringing vinyl and scratching to the long unused Technics 1200's in the studio. The people rejoiced and all was well.
• 2000 - WVTC remains unaffected and on the air during the Y2K rollover.
• March - DJ "Disco" Vince Giffin sets a world record for the longest time for a single DJ on the air, at 73 hours.
• 2001 - MP3 music replaces CDs as the station's primary audio storage format.
• 2006 - A dark time for the station as club membership is scarce. The station goes off the air due to transmitter problems during the summer but returns after repairs are made in the fall.
• Spring 2007 - A small group of students band together, showing enough interest to prevent the school administration from shutting down WVTC. Some hardware and software upgrades are performed in the spring and a couple of regular shows are broadcast.
• Fall 2007 - WVTC was forced to shut down when their FCC license failed to be renewed by the college. Shortly afterward, the college was approached by Vermont Public Radio with proposals to lease the station, which was not accepted.
• Fall 2008 - WVTC resumes transmission
• Winter 2008/9 - WVTC took off-line after repeated power failures lead to equipment failure.
• Fall 2009 - WVTC resumes transmission after replacement of damaged equipment.
• Spring 2011 - Files Consent Decree with FCC, almost a fully licensed station once again.
• Fall 2013 - Final Consent Decree Inspection, WVTC now officially a fully licensed station.
• March 19, 2015 - WVTC hits 500,000 requests on the WebDJ automation system at 11:53pm. Song: The Rockafeller Skank by Fatboy Slim.
• Fall 2015 - The internet stream is upgraded publicly to 320kpbs.
• Fall 2016 - A massive overhaul of the music database. Added over 300 new songs. WVTC logs listeners from Belarus.

The set up for live shows

The main board all the equipment is run through

The current set up in the production room of the station

External links

• WVTC website
• WVTC Facebook Page
• Vermont Technical College
• Query the FCC's FM station database for WVTC
• Radio-Locator information on WVTC
• Query Nielsen Audio's FM station database for WVTC