From Cigar Box To The Basement of a Church

a history of KALX radio

Radio KAL (whose mark can still be seen stenciled on parts of our voluminous record collection) was a carrier-current station broadcasting on 850 KHz, through the metal pipes of the dorms. The station's first programming came from a transmitter in Ehrman Hall, constituting 4 hours of classical music from Sunday through Thursday. Weekend programming didn't start until Spring of 1963.

Early on, Radio KAL stated the mission that has served KALX to this day:

"Radio KAL offers a wide variety of entertainment and information programs. Rather than attempt to hold the attention of a small segment of audience most of the time, as is the practice in commercial AM broadcasting, we offer a wide variety of program content."

With no frequencies to be found, Radio KAL and the university's communications engineer began researching other possibilities: time sharing with another station, challenging the renewal application of another station, getting the FCC to change the overall channel allocation in the area, and performing a more detailed engineering study of the coverage of existing stations.

The latter attempt hit paydirt: channel 211 (90.1 MHz) would allow for a 10-watt station in the Berkeley area. The application to the FCC requested the calls "KALS" or "KALZ". Only one snag was known: Stanford's KZSU was also positioned at 90.1 MHz, and rumored to be thinking of applying for a power increase. Berkeley's application required the placement of a public notice, and hoping that Stanford's KZSU wouldn't see it, station staff suggested placing the notice in the Berkeley Barb or the Sexual Freedom League's "Love". The university was thinking more in terms of the Chronicle or the Examiner. A compromise was struck, and the notice was placed in the daily Berkeley Gazette.

Before the FCC granted UC Berkeley a 10 watt license at 90.1 MHz, KZSU applied a protest in anticipation of their power increase request. At the same time, KANG (in Angwin, CA) at 89.9 filed for a 20,000 Watt signal, which would have spelled the end of Berkeley's attempt for a license at 90.1. A competitive hearing is set up between UC Berkeley at KANG for later in the year, and in the meantime, an attempt was made to find Berkeley another frequency.

Soon after, the engineers at Stanford discovered that KCSM-FM, 91.1 MHz is erroneously listed as being 3800 watts at 1800 feet, when it is actually 350 watts at 750 feet. Recalculations show that two frequencies, 91.1 and 90.7 are available. The University applies for 91.1, but under FCC advisement amends the application to request 90.7.

In typical KALX fashion, everything runs a bit late. The original transmitter arrives in November of 1966, and the station expects to make its first broadcast by February of 1967. The first actual broadcast is not made until October 3, 1967. The actual broadcast license is issued on October 31 - Halloween.

The early 70s were a tumultuous time on the Berkeley campus, and within KALX tensions were also rising. Staff elections in Spring of 1972 led to charges and counter-charges between staff factions, and by the time of the Summer break in June, KALX was headed for a 7-month blackout. In Fall elections a compromise slate of candidates wins the Executive Committee elections, but before the station can sign-on, vandals damage the transmitter, and the FCC declares that other station equipment needs upgrading. KALX is off the air until February of 1973.

During the summer hiatus of 1974 more equipment is stolen. By Fall, KALX receives the bad news that it will have to give up its space in Eshelman Hall, and by February of 1975 the station learns that it will have to leaves its Dwinelle Hall studios as of June. The station is given the choice of moving to the basement of the Norton Hall dorm or moving "up the hill" to the Lawrence Hall of Science.

The dedication ceremony for the LHS studios (which, typically, followed the actual sign-on from the location by several months) is April 30, 1976. At some point the transmitter moved up the hill to its present site next to LHS, greatly increasing the station's line-of-sight, and hence its range.

In April of 1978 KALX became the first college station in the world to act as a flagship for a major-league sports franchise. Larry Baer (now a VP with the San Francisco Giants) and Bob Kozberg broadcast the Oakland A's opening game from Anaheim, CA. By May of that year, A's owner and showman had found a commercial station to take on the broadcasts, and KALX bid farewell to the A's. It was an exciting time, running the board in the studio and answering the phone calls of irate A's fans who couldn't pick up our 10-watt signal in Oakland!

1981 marked the beginning of KALX's power drive - a fundraising drive aimed at boosting the station's broadcast power. In 1982 the offices and broadcast studios were consolidated at 2311 Bowditch, and in July of that year the station boosted its power to its current level of 500 watts. In our most recent move, KALX has returned its office and studios to the Berkeley campus, relocating ourselves to 26 Barrows Hall.

Over the years, KALX has moved from a carrier current station to a 10-watt monophonic signal to its current 500 watts of stereo. We've worked our way through all manner of on-air and production equipment (including a wonderful on-air board from the old studios of KYA), and amassed one of the largest record and CD collections on the West Coast. We've launched our share of broadcast and record industry professionals, and minted a few non-commercial legends.

-Eli Messinger, 1/96