WHRB Gets New FCC License; To Add FM Broadcasts by May

The Federal Communications Commission has approved WHRB's petition to add FM broadcasting to its present facilities. A construction permit allocating 107.1 megacycles to the new station marks final Commission approval.

Construction of the tower atop Dudley Hall will begin almost immediately and will cost about $3,000, according to Loren Wyss '55, president of the station. WHRB officials estimate that they will have a test signal on the air before May 1.

The AM operation of the station will not be affected by the addition of frequency modulation, since the FM signal will be radiated through the air instead of over the University electrical systems. Signal range from the new tower will vary between four and 25 miles.

WHRB officials emphasized that the station will receive several advantages by FM broadcasting, such as non-interference and static-free reception. They also pointed out, however, that WHRB. FM cannot be received by standard broadcasting receivers, since the FM frequency is 200 times the AM frequency.

It is estimated that 35 per cent of Harvard students have access to an FM receiver.

WHRB is the second student-owned commercial FM station to be licensed by the Commission. One of its contemplated projects, which the FM license will make possible, is live stereophonic broadcasting.