KDVS (90.3 FM) is a student-run college and community radio station based in Davis, California. Featuring a free-form radio format, the station is owned by Regents of the University of California. Broadcasting at 13,000 watts, it is one of the most powerful free-form university-based radio stations in the United States.

History

The idea for starting KDVS was conceived by students in the former Beckett-Hughes dormitories in late 1963. Using the call letters KCD and 880 AM as the frequency, the students "broadcast" their first program on February 1, 1964, from a laundry room in Beckett Hall. The station's signal, which was transmitted by telephone lines, could only reach certain dorms.

Two years later, in 1966, KCD and the university's student government, Associated Students of UC Davis, joined in applying for a Class D noncommercial broadcast license. The FCC awarded the license to the university on October 18, 1967. By then, the station had moved to the newly constructed Memorial Union, where its inaugural broadcast was aired on January 2, 1968, under the call letters KDVS.

Additional developments

A free newsletter entitled KDViationS, written and composed by the volunteer staff of the radio station, is published quarterly. The station also produces This Week in Science, which is broadcast live but is known primarily in podcast form. KDVS is also the home of the public affairs programs Radio Parallax and Dr. Andy's Poetry and Technology Hour.

In summer 2006, KDVS started the non-profit record label KDVS Recordings to promote independent artists in the Davis and Sacramento areas.

Notable station alumni

Several now-famous artists were members of the KDVS staff in their early years. Former KDVS DJs include DJ Shadow, Lyrics Born, Gift of Gab and Chief Xcel of Blackalicious, Steve Wynn of The Dream Syndicate, and Kendra Smith of both The Dream Syndicate and Opal.

<gallery>

File:A photo spot in “The Stacks” of KDVS radio station in Lower Freeborn Hall.jpg|A labeled nook within The Stacks

File:KDVS DJ on air.jpg|DJ Dog Juice on air with Surf And More

File:KDVS Picnic Day Float.jpg|KDVS Picnic Day Float

File:KDVS physical media collection.jpg|A portion of CD media collection

</gallery>

See also

  • Campus radio
  • List of college radio stations in the United States
  • List of community radio stations in the United States

References