KWBU-FM

KWBU-FM
City Waco, Texas
Slogan Heart of Texas Public Radio
Frequency 103.3 (MHz)
First air date 2000
Format Classical music/NPR
ERP 3200 Watts
HAAT 453 feet
Class A
Facility ID 4124
Transmitter coordinates 31°26′27″N 97°10′41″W / 31.44083°N 97.17806°W / 31.44083; -97.17806
Callsign meaning Waco
Baylor University
Affiliations National Public Radio
Owner Baylor University
(Brazos Valley Public Broadcasting Foundation)
Website http://www.kwbu.org/

KWBU-FM (103.3 FM), is a National Public Radio-member radio station in Waco, Texas, serving the greater Brazos Valley region.[1] It is owned by the Brazos Valley Public Broadcasting Foundation, a nonprofit community organization. Its call letters come from Baylor University, which has a majority of votes on the foundation board.

The station first signed on in 2000. Before then, Waco had been the largest market in the nation without an NPR station. In 2003, KWBU-FM was the first radio station in Waco to broadcast a high definition radio signal, also known as HD radio. When sister PBS member station KWBU-TV closed its doors in 2010 due to budget shortfalls, KWBU-FM remained in operation.[2]

The station originally operated at 2,750 watts from a tiny 492-foot tower near Hewitt. It recently boosted its power to 3,200 watts from a 453-foot tower across from Richland Mall in Waco--like its predecessor, fairly modest for a full NPR member on the FM band. This may be to protect KSSM in Copperas Cove, located at adjacent 103.1 FM. As a result, the station's signal doesn't make it too far out of McLennan County; indeed, some of Waco's close-in suburbs in McLennan County only get a grade B signal. In many surrounding cities, such as Temple and Killeen, the station is barely listenable.

References

  1. ↑ KWBU Radio and TV - Public Broadcasting for Central Texas || About KWBU
  2. ↑ KWBU history page


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.