WCNI

WCNI

New London, Connecticut United States
Broadcast area	Southeastern Connecticut
Frequency	90.9 MHz
Branding	Radio Club
Programming
Format	college free-form radio
Ownership
Owner	Connecticut College Community Radio, Inc.
History
First air date	1974 (1974)
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	13621
Class	A
ERP	2,000 watts (vertical polarization only)
HAAT	57 meters
Transmitter coordinates	41°22′53″N 72°6′28″W
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Webcast	Listen live (via iHeartRadio)
Website	wcniradio.org

WCNI (90.9 FM), is a radio station licensed to serve New London, Connecticut, owned by Connecticut College Community Radio, Inc. The station airs a free-form radio format, and is operated by students and members of the community.

History

WCNI was originally an on-campus AM radio station broadcast to Connecticut College students and staff, via low-power carrier current transmitters placed in college dormitories and facilities. The station filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on August 10, 1972, for 89.9 MHz. A series of opposition letters were filed by WGAL Television, Inc., owner of WTEV (channel 6) in New Bedford, Massachusetts, as a result Connecticut College modified its request to 91.5 MHz on May 10, 1973. A construction permit was granted on October 3, 1973, to allow WCNI to transmit on 91.5 MHz. The call sign was assigned by the FCC on March 11, 1974.

In 1974, WCNI made its debut on 91.5 MHz with ten watts of transmission power, one of a wave of college radio stations introduced in that era using low-power FM transmission facilities. Early station promotional spots created by student and staff member Ken Abel hailed it as having "less power than a common light bulb." Subsequent increases in transmission power led to a reassignment of its frequency to 91.1 MHz and eventually to the current 90.9 MHz. The original antenna tower for FM transmissions was erected atop Bill Hall on the Connecticut College campus using a World War II air raid siren tower as its base, modified by Connecticut College maintenance staff to hold a steel pipe which acted as an antenna mast. The antenna was subsequently relocated to a professionally installed tower next to the Crozier-Williams student center on the Connecticut College campus, adjacent to the station's studios and recording archives.

Early broadcasts of the FM radio station were wide-ranging, including a variety of music genres, old radio serial dramas, local history, and live performances. To raise funds for government-mandated emergency broadcast equipment, the station held its first on-air fund raising marathon in the spring of 1975. The early FM broadcast signal of WCNI was not strong, but the station had a notable body of off-campus listeners in the New London area and its on-air staff included non-student members from the community.

The station's proximity to the U.S. Navy submarine base across the Thames River in Groton, Connecticut and to the General Dynamics submarine manufacturing facility in Groton led to its nickname "Ground Zero Radio", in recognition of the region's presumed high priority as a Soviet nuclear strike site.

See also

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

External links

• Official website
• Facility details for Facility ID 13621 (WCNI) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
• WCNI in Nielsen Audio's FM station database