View source for KDVS

{{Short description|Radio station at the University of California, Davis}}
{{About|the radio station|the academic society|Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters|the genetic disorder|Koolen–De Vries syndrome}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2024}}
{{Infobox radio station
| name                = KDVS
| city                = [[Davis, California]]
| country             = US
| logo                = Image:KDVS 90.3FM logo.png
| logo_upright        = .8
| area                = [[Central Valley (California)|Central Valley]]
| frequency           = {{Frequency|90.3|[[MHz]]}}
| language            = [[American English|English]]
| format              = [[Freeform (radio format)|Freeform]] 
| affiliations        = [[Pacifica Radio]]
| owner               = [[University of California, Davis]]
| airdate             = {{start date and age|1968|1|2}}
| former_callsigns    = KCD
| callsign_meaning    = <!--do not apply special formatting-->Davis
| licensing_authority = [[FCC]]
| facility_id         = 69345
| class               = B1
| erp                 = 13,000 watts
| haat                = {{convert|56|meters}}
| coordinates         = {{coord|38|35|47|N|121|40|49|W|region:US-CA_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| webcast             = {{TuneIn|KDVS-903-s32390/}}
| website             = {{url|https://kdvs.org/}}
}}
'''KDVS''' (90.3 [[FM broadcasting|FM]]) is a [[Campus radio|student-run college]] and [[Community radio|community]] [[radio station]] based in [[Davis, California]]. Featuring a [[Freeform (radio format)|freeform]] programming format, the station is owned by [[Regents of the University of California]].<ref>[https://transition.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/fmq?call=KDVS KDVS Facility Record] Federal Communications Commission Retrieved on May 6, 2017.</ref> Broadcasting at 13,000 watts,<ref>[http://www.davisenterprise.com/local-news/kdvs-moves-transmitter-to-new-tower-boosts-power/ KDVS moves transmitter to new tower, boosts power]. ''The Davis Enterprise'' Retrieved on May 6, 2017.</ref> it is one of the most powerful freeform university-based radio stations in the United States.

==History==
The  idea for starting KDVS was conceived by students in the former Beckett-Hughes dormitories in late 1963. Using the call letters KCD and 880 AM as the frequency, the students "broadcast" their first program on February 1, 1964, from a laundry room in Beckett Hall. The station's signal, which was transmitted by telephone lines, could only reach certain dorms.<ref name="KDVSHistory">{{cite web|url=https://kdvs.org/about/history/|title=KDVS: History|publisher=KDVS Website|access-date=January 9, 2019}}</ref>

Two years later, in 1966, KCD and the university's student government, Associated Students of UC Davis, joined in applying for a Class D noncommercial broadcast license. The FCC awarded the license to the university on October 18, 1967. By then, the station had moved to the newly constructed Memorial Union, where its inaugural broadcast was aired on January 2, 1968, under the call letters KDVS.<ref name="KDVSHistory" />

Initially, KDVS had 10 watts and broadcast on 91.5 FM in mono. In 1971, the station's signal was upgraded to stereo, but a far more significant development occurred six years later. In 1977, during a period when the FCC was forcing Class D stations to either upgrade or go silent,<ref>{{cite book|last=Walker|first=Jesse|author-link=Jesse Walker|title=Rebels on the Air: An Alternative History of Radio in America|publisher=NYU Press|date=2004|location=New York, NY|pages=143–145|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cHMTCgAAQBAJ&q=jesse+walker+rebels+%22class+d%22&pg=PA145|isbn=9780814793824}}</ref><ref name=KDVSHistory /> KDVS received a power increase to 5,000 watts and moved to its current frequency 90.3 FM. Two additional power increases were approved by the FCC over the years: 9,200 watts in 1983 and 13,000 watts in 2013. The latter increase enabled the station to cover most of [[Sacramento]], as well as portions of [[Placer County, California|Placer]], [[El Dorado County, California|El Dorado]], and [[Solano County, California|Solano]] counties.<ref name="KDVSHistory" />

==Additional developments==
[[File:KDVS Picnic Day Float.jpg|thumb|KDVS Picnic Day float]]
A free newsletter entitled ''KDViationS'', written and composed by the volunteer staff of the radio station, is published quarterly. The station also produces ''[[This Week in Science]]'', which is broadcast live but is known primarily in podcast form. KDVS is also the home of the public affairs programs ''[[Radio Parallax]]'' and ''Dr. Andy's Poetry and Technology Hour''.<ref>[http://www.poetrytechnology.com/ Dr. Andy's Poetry and Technology Hour]</ref>

In summer 2006, KDVS started the non-profit record label KDVS Recordings to promote independent artists in the Davis and Sacramento areas.

==Notable station alumni==
Several now-famous artists were members of the KDVS staff in their early years. Former KDVS DJs include [[DJ Shadow]], [[Lyrics Born]], [[Gift of Gab (rapper)|Gift of Gab]] and [[Chief Xcel]] of [[Blackalicious]], [[Steve Wynn (musician)|Steve Wynn]] of [[The Dream Syndicate]], and [[Kendra Smith]] of both The Dream Syndicate and [[Opal (band)|Opal]].

==See also==
* [[Campus radio]]
* [[List of college radio stations in the United States]]
* [[List of community radio stations in the United States]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{officialwebsite|https://www.kdvs.org/}}
{{FM station data|69345|KDVS}}

{{UC Davis}}
{{California college radio}}
{{Sacramento Radio}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:College radio stations in California|DVS]]
[[Category:Community radio stations in the United States]]
[[Category:Freeform radio stations]]
[[Category:Radio stations established in 1964]]
[[Category:Radio stations in Sacramento, California|DVS]]
[[Category:University of California, Davis]]