WIUS Bloomington

[radiorob2.0]

So what is the history of this station?

http://cgi.ebay.com/WIUS-BLOOMINGTO...QQihZ015QQcategoryZ104968QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[BobOnTheJob]

Others will know more than I, but it's an LPFM station for the past year, but has been a carrier current AM station for decades before then.

 

[glmichaels]

I did a morning radio shift, news and a Sunday nite talkshow there from 78-81. Was in an old house a block or two from the Union building. It was carrier current all the time I was there and we sponsored concerts periodically in Dunn Meadow. I remember bringing my own lp's to play. What a great time...and the airchecks I did there actually got me into my first gig in 81.

 

[KeithE4]

So what is the history of this station?

It's now WIUX 99.1 (the WIUS callsign is assigned to Western Illinois University's FM station in Macomb, IL). It recently moved from 100.3 to 99.1.

The website isn't clear on this, but I think it was on 620 kHz from sign-on in 1966 to when it went to a low-powered Part 15 transmitter on 1570 in 1994. IIRC, it was a commercial station while on AM. Prior to 1966 there were two carrier-current stations on campus, WQAD and WFQR, later WIN. These stations were restricted to the buildings they were located in, however, and I don't know what frequencies they used.

A carrier-current signal is restricted to a few feet beyond the power lines it's fed into, so it was just barely audible when driving down the campus streets near buildings that had transmitters installed. There was a station on 620 in Louisville that put a decent signal into Bloomington so WIUS couldn't have used that frequency for a "free-radiating Part 15" station even if they wanted to.

A group of us from University HS in Bloomington toured the station in 1972, before the fire forced it to move further down 8th St. The equipment was ancient even then - from what I remember, it was castoff stuff that had been used by WFIU in the '50s. A very professional operation for a student-run, carrier-current station in the early '70s.

Link: WIUX History

 

[media1170]

Carrier Current sign on as WIUS was July 4, 1967. They just have their 40th anniversary on-air re-union. Lots of old jingles and commercials with live jocks from the WIUS era.

The station was the result of a merger of WQAD, on air about 1962 or 63 from Wright Quad and WFQR/WIN Foster Quad from about 1966.

glmichaels, if you are still in the Bloomington area, sounds like the station is looking for their alumni.

 

[Mike_Warner]

GLMichaels, we just missed each other. I was there from 81-84. WIUS was a great training ground, it helped me get my first gig at 97WB (now B97) in '84. It was common carrier only, but not in all the dorms, unfortunately. I remember one Saturday afternoon I was doing a show, and a couple of the "engineers" came in with some kind of transmitter. They hooked it up and for about 5 minutes, we were broadcasting over the airwaves. We stepped all over somebody's freq. and somebody at least as far as the mall heard it. Man, was I pumped! A lot of good broadcasters got their start in that musty old house. mw

 

[iuhoosierscoop]

I also began my career in broadcasting at WIUS(1979-80). I did sports and one IU men's basketball game. I'm also an alum of WBWB in Bloomingyton and know first hand what its like to work under the wrath of AA.

 

[Ur-A-Dawg]

So was Bruce Quinn the WIUS pirate engineer? We know he was in Bloomington running
his own outlaw station called Jolly Roger Radio at that time. The early 1980's.

 

[Bomba]

Wow!!! Several of us are alums of both WIUS & WBWB--oh, the stories we could tell regarding how much more with it WIUS was (is) compared to AA.

--Bomba

 

[iuhoosierscoop]

Bomba,

You got that right! When did you work at WBWB? (where it was once known as
"The Rainbow of Rock"

 

[DocZ]

It's now WIUX 99.1 (the WIUS callsign is assigned to Western Illinois University's FM station in Macomb, IL). It recently moved from 100.3 to 99.1.

The website isn't clear on this, but I think it was on 620 kHz from sign-on in 1966 to when it went to a low-powered Part 15 transmitter on 1570 in 1994. IIRC, it was a commercial station while on AM. Prior to 1966 there were two carrier-current stations on campus, WQAD and WFQR, later WIN. These stations were restricted to the buildings they were located in, however, and I don't know what frequencies they used.

A carrier-current signal is restricted to a few feet beyond the power lines it's fed into, so it was just barely audible when driving down the campus streets near buildings that had transmitters installed. There was a station on 620 in Louisville that put a decent signal into Bloomington so WIUS couldn't have used that frequency for a "free-radiating Part 15" station even if they wanted to.

A group of us from University HS in Bloomington toured the station in 1972, before the fire forced it to move further down 8th St. The equipment was ancient even then - from what I remember, it was castoff stuff that had been used by WFIU in the '50s. A very professional operation for a student-run, carrier-current station in the early '70s.

Link: WIUX History

A few of the early carrier-current transmitters were on 730. Campus radio started in 1962 with Wright Quad's WQAD, soon followed by Foster Quad's WIN (neé WFQR). The two stations combined to form the IU Residence Network (IURN), and soon bought those assets, becoming WIUS. The original location was 617 E Eighth, which had been previously home for Bloomington Mayor Tom Lemon and later for Doc Councilman, IU's deservedly lauded swim coach. After the station was arsoned and a short stint back in the original WQAD studios in Wright Quad, it moved to its "temporary location" of 815 E Eighth for the ensuing 40-something years. Today, the once independent, student-owned station was engulfed and devoured by IU's (ruthless) New Media School. Before the station became funded by student activity fees, it was entirely supported by commercial sales—something the R&T school vaguely knew existed, but only sketchily taught.

The provenance of the GE BC-1A mixing consoles was never established to my knowledge, but it is a safe bet they were probably IU surplus. Much of the other studio gear had been upgraded in '70 and '71, but the air studio make's pop filter remained a red Nerf ball. Did it work? Maybe…

As an aside, when WQAX was launched on the local cable system, the call was definitely a wink and a nod to the past of student radio.

 

[DocZ]

I also began my career in broadcasting at WIUS(1979-80). I did sports and one IU men's basketball game. I'm also an alum of WBWB in Bloomingyton and know first hand what its like to work under the wrath of AA.

Would that you could have worked for Andy Rogers, whose SIMCO (Southern Indiana Media Company) which imported that frequency to the Bloomington market, but failed to take it further to complete the license.