WVTF

WVTF
City Roanoke, Virginia
Broadcast area Southwest Virginia and Central Virginia
Branding Radio IQ
Slogan Virginia's Public Radio
Frequency 89.1 MHz
(also on HD Radio)
First air date 1973
Format News/talk
Power 100,000 watts
HAAT 600 Meters
Class C
Facility ID 70338
Transmitter coordinates 37°11′56.0″N 80°09′2.0″W / 37.198889°N 80.150556°W / 37.198889; -80.150556
Callsign meaning W Virginia Tech Foundation
Former callsigns WVWR (1973–1980)
Affiliations BBC World Service
National Public Radio
Public Radio International
Owner Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
(Virginia Tech Foundation)
Sister stations WVTF Music
Webcast WVTF Webstream
Website WVTF Online

WVTF is a National Public Radio affiliate serving most of southwestern Virginia with a news/talk service branded "Radio IQ". The station is licensed to Roanoke, Virginia and owned by Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) through its fundraising arm, the Virginia Tech Foundation.[1]

WVTF broadcasts in HD.[2]

History

WVTF began broadcasting in August 1973 as WVWR (Virginia Western Radio) and was licensed to Virginia Western Community College in Roanoke. It was used primarily to air college telecourses and give broadcasting students a chance to hone their skills. In 1975, WVWR's transmitter was moved from Fishburn Hall on the VWCC campus to Poor Mountain, where most of Roanoke's major radio and television stations have their transmitters. The power also was increased from 4,100 watts to 100,000 watts. The power boost tripled its coverage area, giving it at least secondary coverage of much of central and southwest Virginia, southern West Virginia and northern North Carolina.

In 1979, WVWR began the Radio Reading Service on its subcarrier frequency.

WVWR had carried a few NPR programs from its inception. However, when NPR insisted it hire more professional staff as a condition of full membership, Virginia Western realized it would be in over its head operating a full-service public radio station. It found a buyer in the Virginia Tech Foundation, which formally took control in 1980 and changed the call letters to WVTF. Over the next decade, WVTF built translator after translator to better serve its mostly mountainous coverage area, one of the largest in the NPR system.

WVTF has recently expanded its role in the community beyond radio broadcasting in sponsoring juried art shows at its studios in Roanoke.[3]

From WVTF's beginning to 2017, it maintained a schedule typical of full-service public radio stations, with NPR news in drive times, classical music during the day and overnight, and various special music and talk programming on nights and weekends.

WVTF launched a secondary service, branded Radio IQ, in January 2003 in order to provide an additional schedule consisting only of news/talk programming, including retransmission of the BBC World Service overnight. Radio IQ broadcast over extra signals that were overlapped by WVTF's main network, as well as in areas such as Richmond that receive a music/news schedule from another NPR station. Radio IQ began with WWVT (AM), based in Christiansburg at 1260 AM. The service quickly expanded to WFFC, the former Ferrum College student radio station, and two extra signals in Charlottesville.[4] Radio IQ signed on WRIQ in Lexington in 2011 and purchased WQIQ near Fredericksburg in 2013.

On July 10, 2017, Radio IQ became WVTF's main service. Three of Radio IQ's five existing full-powered stations (WVTW, WQIQ, and WRIQ) merged with WVTF and its network (WVTR, WVTU, and WISE-FM) to expand Radio IQ's coverage. A new companion service, WVTF Music, launched on the remaining full-powered stations (WWVT (AM) and WWVT-FM), HD2 subchannels of the new combined network, and several translators of the former separate WVTF and Radio IQ networks. WVTF Music took over all music programming, including daily blocks of classical music, specialty local programs, and A Prairie Home Companion.[5][6][7]

Stations

Full power stations

All stations broadcast in HD, with WVTF Music on HD2.[8][9][10]

Call sign Frequency
(MHz)		 City of license ERP
W		 Class FCC
WISE-FM 90.5 Wise, Virginia 220 A FCC
WQIQ 88.3 Spotsylvania Court House, Virginia 3,500 A FCC
WRIQ 88.7 Lexington, Virginia 3,900 A FCC
WVTF 89.1 Roanoke, Virginia 100,000 C FCC
WVTR 91.9 Marion, Virginia 4,500 C2 FCC
WVTU 89.3 Charlottesville, Virginia (west) 195 B1 FCC
WVTW 88.5 Charlottesville, Virginia (city) 1,000 B1 FCC

The following stations broadcast Radio IQ on a part-time basis:

Call sign Frequency City of license ERP
W		 Class FCC Broadcast times
WEHC 90.7 Emory, Virginia 8,700 C3 FCC 12:00am - 1:00pm; 4:00pm - 6:00pm[11]
WLUR 91.5 Lexington, Virginia 175 A FCC 12:00am - 12:00pm; varies in summer[12]

Low power translators

In addition to the main stations, WVTF is relayed by an additional 6 translators to widen its broadcast area. The Richmond translator is fed by WURV-HD3.[13]

Broadcast translators of WISE-FM
Call sign Frequency
(MHz) 		City of license ERP
W 		Class FCC info
W212BP 90.3 Clintwood, Virginia 1 D FCC
W217BF 91.3 Pound, Virginia 1 D FCC
W219CJ 91.7 Norton, Virginia 50 D FCC
Broadcast translators of WVTF
Call sign Frequency
(MHz) 		City of license ERP
W 		FCC info
W230BD 93.9 Lovingston, Virginia 10 FCC
Broadcast translators of WQIQ
Call sign Frequency
(MHz) 		City of license ERP
W 		FCC info
W235BT 94.9 Fredericksburg, Virginia 80 FCC
Broadcast translators of WURV
Call sign Frequency
(MHz) 		City of license ERP
W 		FCC info
W223AZ 92.5 Richmond, Virginia 220 FCC

References

  1. ↑ "WVTF Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  2. ↑ https://hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?realid=447
  3. ↑ Kittredge, Kevin (2007-07-22). "New show, new winner". Roanoke Times. Retrieved 2007-08-19.
  4. ↑ Corbin, Robert (March 14, 2003). "Radio IQ searches for home". VARTV.
  5. ↑ "Programming and frequency changes coming to WVTF and RADIO IQ". Virginia Tech.
  6. ↑ Venta, Lance (15 June 2017). "WVTF To Shuffle Frequencies Of Music & Radio IQ Outlets Across Virginia". RadioInsight.
  7. ↑ "WVTF Radio IQ: The Big Switch".
  8. ↑ Staff, FCC Internet Services. "Station Search Details". licensing.fcc.gov. Retrieved 2016-01-24.
  9. ↑ Staff, FCC Internet Services. "Station Search Details". licensing.fcc.gov. Retrieved 2016-01-24.
  10. ↑ "HD (Digital) Radio". wvtf.org. Retrieved 2016-01-24.
  11. ↑ http://www.ehc.edu/student-life/facilities/wehc-radio/what-we-play/radio-iq/
  12. ↑ https://www.wlu.edu/wlur/culture-and-education/radio-iq
  13. ↑ "WVTF/Radio IQ Post-Flip Schedule" (PDF).
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