KTCV

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KTCV

City Kennewick, Washington

Slogan 88.1-The Edge

Frequency 88.1 MHz

First air date 1984-09-21 (as KICV)

Format Alternative music

ERP 3,500 watts

HAAT -28 meters

Class A

Facility ID 34022

Transmitter coordinates 46°13′9.00″N119°12′1.00″W

Former callsigns KICV (1984-1985)

Owner Kennewick School DistrictNo. 17

KTCV (88.1 FM) is a high school radio station broadcasting an Alternative music music format.
Licensed to Kennewick, Washington, United States, the radio station is currently owned by
the Kennewick School District. It broadcasts from the Tri-Tech Skills Center in Kennewick, by
students as part of extra classes taken by Juniors and Seniors from high schools in the Tri-City
area.
 Contents

 1History
 2Mid-1990s Crises
 3Coverage
 4Mission
 5Community Radio Class
 6External links

History[edit]
Originally supervised by Marv Carstens, the station's early years included great friction with
some elements of the community over the all heavy metal format. The station was shut down
for a time due to complaints from Evangelicals. It was reborn in the late 1980s as a billboard
top 40 station. Broadcast hours were severely curtailed during this time frame; sign off was at
5:00pm. The Top 40 format was never embraced within the station and did not succeed. The
early 1990s brought a first for the Tri-Cities: a classic rock format. The station shifted away
from the unpopular top 40 format and during class hours ran the classic rock format. After class
hours, students ran special programs from 3:00pm to 5:00pm sign off. Also during this time, as
a test, Tri-Tech's administration loosened up on the station and allowed Friday night KTCV to
broadcast until 10:00pm.
The classic rock format was phased out after country KOTY 106.5 became KEGX 'The Eagle
106.5" in 1993 with its own classic rock format. KTCV then shifted to more of an underground
rock format. New slogan was "88.1 The Alternative." That branding existed until the late 2000s
with the station rebranding as "88.1 The Edge."
Today, local radio veteran Ed Dailey has taught the program since 1997. The station has
broadcast 24/7 since the early 2000s with the addition of an automation system. Unlike the
early days when KTCV always had a live DJ, today KTCV reflects the industry standard and
operates primarily with automation and voice tracking.

Mid-1990s Crises[edit]
The 1990s brought a few crises to the station. The most serious, was a challenge to the license
in 1996 by two outside groups. At the time, KTCV was running severely restricted hours again
due to internal problems. The outside groups attempted to force a shared frequency agreement
with the Kennewick School District. This would've set the stage for the Kennewick School
District to completely lose the station. However, some decisive actions were enacted by the
Tri-Tech administration and the license was saved.
Additionally, the station's license accidentally expired during this era without a proper renewal
forcing the station to go off the air. Through luck and immediate action, the FCC allowed the
station an emergency renewal.
Another event that forced the station to go off the air was an incident with an outdated EAS
relay system. KTCV stayed off the air until the system was updated.
As KTCV has entered the 21st century, stability has been the rule. The station has been well
cared for by Mr. Dailey and the Tri-Tech administration.

Coverage[edit]
KTCV has gone through various signal upgrades over the years. Originally, with an ERP of 320
watts that covered Kennewick well, but listeners in West Richland and especially Benton City
had a difficult time receiving the station. Power was increased in the late 1990s to 1100.
Today, the current ERP of the station is 3500 watts. The current signal now does well for the
most part in the greater Tri-City area. Benton City continues to have reception problems in
some places due to geography.
Reception of KTCV is no longer possible in Walla Walla due to K-LOVE translator K201DX.
Reception to the south across the Oregon border is spotty. This is due to the geography of the
region and location of KTCV's tower.
To the north, KTCV reaches approximately 35 miles north of the Tri-Cities along US Highway
395.
The farthest report of KTCV reception has been over a distance of 90 miles from the Tri-Cities
at the Sprague Lake rest area along Interstate 90.

Mission[edit]
The station operates as a learning tool for the students of the Radio Broadcasting program at
the Tri-Tech Skills Center. First year students learn about radio history, radio theory, public
speaking, broadcast writing and various live audio applications. First year students also read
short newscasts on KTCV. Second year students take a more active role in KTCV; from day-to-
day operations and on-air announcing. These students learn the NEXGEN digital automation in
addition to the Selector software, Pro-Tools and Adobe Audition.
Unique to KTCV is the students' influence on the format and programming. KTCV is one of
only a few high school stations in the state that the students take an active role in operations,
programming and management.

Community Radio Class[edit]

In addition to students, an adult community radio class is offered from time to time. This gives
adults in the great Tri-City area an opportunity to learn the skills that the high school age
students acquire. These class attendees read news and voice track for KTCV in addition to
learning radio broadcasting history and theory, news writing and proper announcing
techniques. Adults who complete this course are able to submit proposals for their own
specialty show on KTCV to Mr. Dailey just like the regular Tri-Tech Radio Broadcasting
students.

External links