WIKD-LP

WIKD-LP

City of license	Daytona Beach, Florida
Broadcast area	Volusia
Slogan	"Daytona's only Free-Format station!"
Frequency	99.1 MHz
First air date	2005
Format	Free-Format
Audience share	Bethune-Cookman University
Power	0.26 KiloWatts
ERP	94 Watts
HAAT	30.6 Meters
Class	L1
Facility ID	133962
Transmitter coordinates	29°11′33.00″N 81°2′50.00″W
Callsign meaning	"Wicked"
Former callsigns	WERU
Affiliations	Student Government Association (SGA)
Owner	Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	Official Website

WIKD-LP (99.1 FM, "Eagles FM") is the campus radio station of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in the U.S. state of Florida. The station broadcasts in the Daytona Beach area as a LPFM, the range coverage of Eagles FM is about 5 to 7 miles from the broadcast facility covering roughly 125,000 people. The station is non-profit, entirely student run, and does not have a fixed format.

Overview

Early History

Eagles FM Campus Radio began as "The Broadcast Club" in the Spring semester of 1990, initially chartered by then-freshman Steve Graff. The first few meetings brought high turnout (ca. 75 students), but did not immediately lead to much organization. The club gained momentum after Graff met Todd Gumbrecht, another freshman resident of the same dormitory (Doolittle Hall, then known as Dorm II) as Graff. The two developed a strategy of "infiltration and propaganda" in order to meet their goal of establishing a campus radio station.

The club became known for its fliers which were posted around campus (often in unapproved locations) to announce club meetings, as this was long before e-mail and text messaging and facebook and twitter. The fliers were influenced by the DIY ethic of punk rock, surrealism, 1950's clip art, science fiction, and "golden age" of radio. A flier typically consisted of cut-and-pasted and defaced photographs from magazines, and their graphic and provocative nature made them stand out from other notices on campus.

Examples:

• A black and white photograph of a 1940's professional wrestler, with the "WERU" callsign scrawled across his bare chest.
• A photograph of a paintball player, splattered with paint, screaming into the camera. A lightning-emanating radio tower was drawn in the background, and the phrase, "Join us, be one of us, before it's too late".

The initial club logo was a stylized radio tower resembling the tower symbol from an FAA sectional chart, with the letters "WERU" drawn in a 1920's art deco type script. The radioactivity symbol became another popular club logo later, appearing on buttons, t-shirts, and stickers. With the preponderance of fliers, t-shirts, buttons, and stickers, some students believed there actually already was an operating station on campus.

The club decided to pursue the goal of carrier current broadcasting, and in the Spring of 1990, Graff and Gumbrecht travelled to NYC (on the SGA's dime) to attend a convention of carrier current college stations hosted by equipment manufacturer LPB. At this meeting, the pair obtained a copy of the UConn station bylaws, which became the model for the broadcast club/WERU organization.

In 1991, Gumbrecht became the SGA representative for students living in campus housing. In addition to being a passionate advocate for dorm residents, Gumbrecht used this platform to further the argument for the station, and to find allies within the Student Government Association. Also, in 1991, the club organization began to bloom, with Carrie Czernikowski as the treasurer, author of the training manual, and eventual training director, and Aaron Gee as the Chief Engineer.

Initially there was antipathy from the Dean of Students, the Student Activities office, and the SGA toward the club and its goal of establishing a radio station. This was due to the failure and dissolution of a previous iteration of the broadcast club, involving theft of equipment. The mischievous and defiant impression that the club gave off at times may not have helped with this matter. However, the growing popularity of the movement among students, and the dedication of its members eventually overcame the aversion, and by 1992, "Campus Radio" became a campaign issue in the SGA presidential race.

While working toward the eventual goal of a campus radio station, the club engaged in fundraising, publicity, and charity events, such as providing mobile DJ services for student organizations and Special Olympic events. These activities further increased the club's exposure, and generated funding for a proposed studio.

The first WERU studio was in a closet shared by the university cafeteria vendor, Morrison's. At this point, the station broadcast via AM carrier current on 710AM. Eventually, the station moved operations to a closet in the McKay Hall dormitory with a small mixing board and two CD players. Eagles FM later moved into a Student Government Association (SGA) office in the Student Center (currently room UC-111). With upgraded facilities, and by this time a full-fledged division of the SGA, Eagles FM was initially broadcasting on 104.7 MHZ through radiating cable FM on campus. After many years of trials and tribulations from previous Chairmen, WERU 104.7 FM had finally applied for a LPFM FCC license in 2002 thanks to SGA President, Peter Alverez, and WERU Chairman, Patrick "Nacho" Mudge. Shortly after application, "Nacho" left ERAU to be soon followed by Chairman Greg Huston, who continued to pursue the station's LPFM license.

By the Fall 2004 semester Division Chairpersons Jesse Lesperance and David Yarwood had successfully completed the LPFM construction permit application. In February 2005 Eagles FM completed its first broadcast on 99.1 FM. Eagles FM then applied and was approved for their current call letters as WIKD.

Eagles FM currently shares the 99.1 FM frequency on a timeshare agreement with Bethune-Cookman University (BCU)[1], which is also in the Daytona Beach area. BCU broadcasts on 99.1 FM from 3 a.m. to 3 p.m weekday and Eagles FM broadcasts from 3 P.M. to 3 A.M. on weekdays. The two stations alternate weekend days twice a year with Eagles FM broadcasting on Sundays in Fall and Saturdays in Spring.

Eagles FM is currently operated as a division of the Embry-Riddle Student Government Association by a seven member Operations Board.

Eagles FM also broadcasts live audio and webcam on its website at www.EaglesFM.com[2]. Furthermore Eagles FM plays through a host of speakers located about the Daytona Beach Embry-Riddle campus.

Since 2004 Eagles FM has maintained a mobile entertainment division previously called Mobile Sounds. Mobile Sounds is currently called WIKD Entertainment and offers live DJ, Video Mixing and lighting effects services for exceptional prices.

Christmas Day 2006 an F2 tornado struck the Embry-Riddle Daytona Beach Campus, which caused millions of dollars in damages, subsequently damaging the radio station studio. Though the valiant work of many, Eagles FM was quickly back up and running, and within 2 months was back to a high broadcasting standard.

Quick Facts

• Started as a broadcast club in the early 70's as WSST on AM
• The founding documents were written on a generic Taiwanese laptop with an 80386 processer and 4MB RAM, running MS-DOS and using GeoWorks as a word processor.
• Reinstated as The Broadcast Club again in 1990, adopting the faux call letters WERU, commencing broadcasting in 1993 via AM carrier current. The first studio was a storage closet shared with the cafeteria vendor, Morrison's.
• The first song played on the carrier current transmission system from the closet studio was "Transmission", by Joy Division.
• Moved into larger facilities in the Student Government Association office broadcasting on radiating cable on 104.7 FM
• Applied jointly, along with BCC, to the FCC for a low-power FM license in 2002
• Relocated into SC 111 in 2004, changed name to WIKD Eagles FM in October, anticipating FCC construction permit for low-power FM
• LPFM construction permit granted in February 2005
• Christmas Day 2006: F2 tornado strikes Embry-Riddle Daytona Beach Campus damaging radio station equipment
• Early 2007: Damaged equipment replaced
• April 2007: Eagles FM adopts a structured block-programming format
• October 2007: Eagles FM embarks on improvements in show, DJ, and broadcast quality
• January 2011: Eagles FM features updated online streaming
• March 2011: Studio is overhauled to improve overall functionality
• December 2011: Studio is overhauled again to improve overall functionality.

Eagles FM Operations Board

• General Manager - Daniel Chiericoni
• Business Director - Austin Allen
• Program Director - Ryan Shuttleworth
• Music Director - Vacant
• Training Director - Logan Paul
• Chief Engineer - Domenic LaFauci
• Event Coordinator - Prabhjot Saini
• Public Relations - Hannah Langhorn

Notable Alumni

• Jesse Lesperance
• David Yarwood
• Steve Graff
• Todd Gumbrecht
• Carrie Czernikowski
• Aaron Gee

Studio

The Eagles FM Studio in UC-111 A

Eagles FM's state-of-the-art studio features professional grade equipment as well as an animated environment for all DJ's and on-air personalities. Some equipment includes a Logitek Numix broadcast console (Pictured Right), WideOrbit Radio Automation system, Electro-Voice RE27N/D dynamic microphones (Also Pictured Right), dedicated custom built mixing station with Serato Scratch Live capability and dual Technics SL1210 turntables, and StudioHub+ backbone. The studio is also tastefully furnished with a plethora of strobes, blacklights, and lava lamps to create a unique atmosphere.

See also

• College radio
• Indie radio
• List of college radio stations
• Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

External links

• Query the FCC's FM station database for WIKD-LP
• Radio-Locator information on WIKD-LP
• Query Arbitron's FM station database for WIKD