1961
WVTC marks it's beginnings around 1961 when reportedly, some students operated a pirate radio station above a restaurant located on the corner across from the campus. The transmitter was small (less than 10 Watts), but advertisements for the restaurant resulted in good business for the restaurant and free meals for the pirates.
1965
In 1965 we see the beginnings of WVTC-AM 540, as the yearbooks begin to show a distinction between the "Radio Club" and "Radio Station".
1967
The radio station was an included feature for the design of Morey Hall (completed in 1966), and in 1967 the station moved there.
1968
In 1968, a group of students went to Boston to get their FCC licenses, returning to apply for an FM station. Late in 1968, WVTC-FM came in to being, at 90.7 MHz and 100 Watts.
1970
During the 70's the station prospered, being the only source of the "rock" music so enjoyed by the nation's college-age generation.
1980
During the 80's, legends were involved with WVTC, such as Howard Ginsberg (Founder of 95XXX in Burlington as well as other stations). The station applied for and received a license for 300 Watts.
1990
In the early 90's, the station began to falter a bit. CD's had hit the scene and WVTC had 2 CD players. But theft of music was a big problem, and ASVTC (student government) punished the station for music theft by reducing budgets.
1995
As a result of failing to perform engineering work and required maintenance, a report was issued by broadcast engineering consultant Ira Wilner condemning the station for serious FCC rule violations. On April 14, 1995, the station went "dark". With an estimated repairs price tag of over $18,000, this could have been the end for WVTC.
In September of 1995, broadcasting engineer Bill McGrath came to VTC. He took the report and began to address each item on the list. The Emergency Broadcast System encoder was only emitting one of its 2 required tones. A good smack was issued to the side of the unit and the problem never returned (saving $300 repair). By Thanksgiving break, Bill had corrected all of the critical problems of the station, allowing it to operate again. A strong team of volunteers was established empowering rapid evolution of the station.
The station changed its image that year from being the "outcast" or "black sheep" of the college to one of being a feature of the college. WVTC began to cover ASVTC and have political debates on-air. It featured call-in "speak your mind" shows, allowing students and others to have their opinions heard. Suprisingly, the administration of the school listened to the shows and even made changes directly resulting from the discussions that aired.
1996
WVTC had matured to realize that it serves as the audible image of the college to many that had never been within its walls.
During the fall of 1996, the main studio was remodeled, with the production studio taking on the role of a temporary on-air studio. The new studio was created from completely new equipment, and included for the first time...computers. Sources were also interfaced to the new mixer board allowing one-touch control of on-air sources. The WebDJ system was conceptualized, using CD changers to automate the station...taking advantage of new FCC rules that allowed a radio station to operate with no DJ present. A new fold-over tower, antenna, and transmitter for the station were acquired and were installed on December 27, 1996. This finally cured a long standing interference problem the station had had with local residents' television reception (Channel 8).
1997
On February 23, 1997, the station became the first station in Vermont (and one of the first in New England) to have a live webcast, using software written by students to transmit a new format called streaming MP3.
In October of 1997, the station created a DJ webcam that allowed web visitors to see who was on the air. In December of that same year, President Clarke did a 2 hour broadcast on the station which was fed live via webcam and Internet audio around the world. Several club members gained valuable broadcasting experience in these "full scale" productions, sometimes involving teams of over a dozen students.
1998
On April 11, 1998, the station debuted the first operational version of the WebDJ automation system, letting listeners choose the music, and allowing the station to run autonomously 24 hours a day, which it has done since that day. A unique feature of the system is that it allows web page visitors to choose the music...allowing anyone to be the DJ at any time.
During the fall of 1998, WVTC began experimenting with a service called SCA which allows information to be transmitted on the station without interfering with the main signal.
1999
The automation system continued to grow and the station had over 80 club members at the VTC campus. Remote broadcasts were done frequently from the Rathskellar lounge and other locations on campus. Many incoming students cited WVTC as being a contributing reason for choosing VTC.
2000
January 2000, WVTC survived Y2K, remaining on the air for the entire duration of the event, although the college turned off all computer equipment due to fear of trouble.
In March of 2000, "Disco" Vince Giffin set a new record for working the longest DJ shift. He also did pretty well on thecalc test he took immediately after his 73 hour shift.
2001
The MP3 library in the station continued to grow...eliminating the need for CDs and records. Computers became the dominant tool used to play music.
2007
WVTC celebrates 10 years of Internet broadcasting...Vermont's oldest Internet radio station.
Do you have contributions or experiences for WVTC's history list? Please e-mail us!
Back