UH radio station
to get power surge

The increase from 100 watts
to 3,000 watts will allow KTUH
to reach 75 percent more people

By Pat Omandam
Star-Bulletin

KAHULUI -- The 29-year-old radio station that served as the training ground for such media personalities as Larry Beil of ESPN, Tina Shelton of KITV and Richard Borreca of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin is set to crank it up a few notches.

The University of Hawaii Board of Regents is expected today to authorize KTUH 90.3 FM, Manoa's student-run radio station, to submit an application to the Federal Communications Commission to increase its transmitting power from 100 watts to 3,000 watts.

If approved by the FCC, the increase would put the campus station in line with many mainland college radio stations, as well as improve the range and quality of its broadcasts, said KTUH general manager Frank McPherson, a UH undergraduate student.

The board's Physical Facilities and Planning Committee yesterday unanimously supported the plan at a meeting at Maui Community College.

McPherson said the station has been trying for more than a decade to increase its power because many Manoa students cannot receive its signal due to low transmitting power.

Currently, the station's broadcast range stretches from the edge of Waikiki to parts of downtown, with the best reception along the H-1 Freeway between Aina Haina and Nuuanu.

The signal, however, is too weak to reach past Oahu mountain ridges or tall buildings, which also affect the quality of the signal.

An increase in power would not only improve reception in the areas currently covered, but would increase coverage to include 75 percent more people.

Doris Ching, UH vice president for student affairs, told regents the proposed power increase conforms with new FCC regulations and would not be an environmental hazard.

The $50,000 project would require replacing the current antenna atop the Social Sciences Building. A new transmitter and transmitter line would also be installed there, but no additional space would be required.

Ching said the Broadcast Communication Authority, which oversees KTUH, has sufficient funds to cover the costs. She does not anticipate higher operating costs with the additional wattage.

Manoa students pay a $3 fee to the authority to operate the station and other student-related programs. McPherson said KTUH has been saving money for years to cover the costs of more power. The work could take up to a year to complete, he said.

KTUH began broadcasting on campus in 1966 as a closed circuit AM carrier station serving UH dorms. In 1969, the FCC approved a 10-watt FM radio station, which became a 100-watt station in 1985.

Unlike some other college stations, McPherson said, KTUH broadcasts 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with a diverse mix of non-mainstream programs, including Hawaiian language talk shows, jazz, free-form music and alternative rock.

Last year, the station was ranked among the top for its programming in a college radio station survey by the British Broadcasting Corp. It is a point of pride for KTUH's 80 to 90 volunteer students.