KTEQ-FM
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (January 2009) |
Freeform / Alternative | |
| Ownership | |
|---|---|
| Owner | South Dakota School of Mines and Technology |
| History | |
First air date | August 7, 1971 |
Former frequencies | 88.1 MHz |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 172663 |
| Class | A |
| ERP | 500 watts |
| HAAT | 17.4 meters |
Transmitter coordinates | 44°05′17.3″N 103°14′56.6″W / 44.088139°N 103.249056°W |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | Official website |
KTEQ-FM (91.3
History
KTEQ-FM was the second radio station located at SDSM&T. An earlier AM station, WCAT, had been operated from its founding as South Dakota's first station in 1922.[1] WCAT was deleted in 1952, after it was unable to afford equipment upgrades mandated by the Federal Communications Commission.[2]
Efforts to launch a new SDSM&T campus radio station started in 1969. With the assistance of announcer Greg Carey, student body president Jim McGibbney formed the Tech Educational Radio Council (TERC), the governing body of KTEQ. The first studio of KTEQ was located at Surbeck Center; and, tower space for the transmitter was originally donated by
US senator and then-US presidential candidate George McGovern gave KTEQ an on-air interview during the 1972 election.
The studios of KTEQ were eventually relocated at the Old Gym building on the SDSM&T campus.
In the early 1980s while still broadcasting at 88.1 MHz, the FCC granted KTEQ permission to increase its radiated power. After the power increase, cable TV subscribers near the broadcast tower complained to their cable provider of KTEQ signal bleeding into their TV programs. Rather than upgrading the shielding of their cable, the cable TV provider chose to grant KTEQ money to change their broadcast frequency so as to not interfere with TV audio signal. In the summer of 1982, KTEQ moved from 88.1 to 91.3 which is farther away from the TV frequency spectrum.
KTEQ radio broadcasts fell silent for a number of months during the mid-1980s. The station finally resumed broadcasts during the spring of 1987. At that time, the station broadcast twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week. Later, the station removed all of the 3AM-to-6AM time slots from its schedule. For many years, the station's tower space was donated by KOTA-TV.[citation needed]
In August 2000, KOTA increased its effective radiated power. As a result, KTEQ had to remove its transmitting hardware from the KOTA tower space, ending KTEQ's radio broadcasts. When KTEQ failed to resume its broadcasts within a year, the station lost its broadcast license in September 2001. New broadcasting hardware was purchased, but the FCC stopped accepting applications for non-commercial broadcast licenses in 2001.[4] While KTEQ waited for the FCC to resume accepting non-commercial license applications, the station continued to transmit its programming over the Internet and over the closed-circuit television on the SDSM&T campus. By 2005, a new studio was located at Surbeck Center.
In May 2011, the campus radio station's long wait finally appeared to be over. On May 3, 2011, SDSM&T was informed by the FCC that the university had beat out four other applicants for a non-profit radio license. The FCC awarded the radio station a construction permit to put up a new transmitter as well as a three-year timeline in which to re-establish the station.[5] The station's management and TERC board hoped to have the station fully up and running on their own tower by the Fall of 2013.
KTEQ encountered many delays, but construction was finally completed in the Spring of 2014. The FCC issued the Station a new Non-Commercial Educational Radio Broadcast License on February 28, 2014. At noon on March 8, KTEQ returned to air, once again opening with "Also Sprach Zarathustra."[6]
References
- ^ "New Stations", Radio Service Bulletin, June 1, 1922, page 4. Three month license, Limited Commercial, Serial #361, issued May 9, 1922, for operation on 485 meters [619 kHz].
- ^ "Oldest Radio Station In State—WCAT—Off The Air", Rapid City (South Dakota) Journal, November 6, 1952, page 4.
- ^ "New FM campus radio at 88.1". Rapid City Journal. Rapid City, South Dakota. 1971-03-06.
- ^ Daly, Dan (2004-03-24). "FCC task force coming to Rapid City". Rapid City Journal. Rapid City, South Dakota. Retrieved 2014-03-19.
- ^ Meyer, Holly (2011-05-21). "School of Mines to return to the airwaves". Rapid City Journal. Rapid City, South Dakota. Retrieved 2014-03-18.
- ^ Colias, Meredith (2014-03-15). "School of Mines' KTEQ returns to the airwaves". Rapid City Journal. Rapid City, South Dakota. Retrieved 2014-03-18.
External links
- KTEQ FM Website- the 91.3 KTEQ FM website.
- KTEQ Campus Radio from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology- the SDSMT website.
- "D.J.s from Hell" Show website- an early 1990s radio show on KTEQ-FM.
- KTEQ in the FCC FM station database
- KTEQ in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
- FCC History Cards for KTEQ (old license)