Translator(s) See § Translators First air date October 13, 1989 HAAT 923 meters (3,028 ft) City of license Spindale Branding WNCW 88.7 | Repeater(s) See § Simulcast ERP 17,500 Watts Frequency 88.7 MHz Format Adult album alternative Slogan Listener-Powered Radio | |
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Broadcast area Western North Carolina
Charlotte, North Carolina
Greenville, South Carolina Owner Isothermal Community College Area Western North Carolina, Charlotte, Greenville | ||
Able to pick up wncw spindale asheville nc
WNCW (88.7 FM) is a non-commercial public radio station licensed to Isothermal Community College in Spindale, North Carolina. The station broadcasts a varied format including folk, blues, jazz, reggae, Celtic, world, rock, bluegrass, indie, and news.
Contents
The station's broadcast area covers most of western North Carolina from a tower on Clingman's Peak near Mount Mitchell. The tower's elevation is 6,634 feet (2,022 m) above sea level. WNCW programming is also available on WSIF, Wilkesboro, North Carolina, and on four translators. WNCW has at least secondary coverage in portions of North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, and Virginia.
The station has a recording facility, Studio B, where a range of musical artists perform and are interviewed for the station's regular live programs. Selected recordings are compiled into annual "Crowd Around The Mic" albums which are only available to people who pledge support to the station, while some video recordings of the sessions are posted on YouTube.
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History
In 1986, Isothermal Community College received support of the State of NC and the federal government to begin the process of planning and starting a public radio station for Western North Carolina along with the communities it would be serving.
On October 13, 1989, WNCW signed on from a tower on Clingman's Peak near Mount Mitchell at 6 A.M. with Morning Edition, starting with the theme music from B.J. Leiderman. Station manager Burr Beard described the audience as "everyone". Crossroads aired from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. weekdays, with songs from 6000 LPs and "hundreds of compact discs", and started with a song from the Tracy Chapman album Crossroads. Other programming included National Public Radio and American Public Radio. The earliest description of WNCW's original programming said that the station's weekday program was Crossroads, featuring a broad range of music genres, similar to today; in the evenings, listeners could hear classic radio dramas like The Lone Ranger and Sherlock Holmes followed by classical music.
In 1992, the Alternative Radio Coalition began. A major goal of the 1600-member group was to raise $15,000 for a translator that would reach Charlotte listeners. Meanwhile, WNCW added a translator at 97.3 in Greenville, SC in 1993 and had plans for one in Boone, North Carolina by 1995. The Charlotte translator finally signed on at 100.7 FM across the street from Cotswold Mall in May 1994.
WNCW produced its first Crowd Around the Mic in 1997. In 1999, WNCW began streaming programming on the Internet.
In 2002, WNCW wanted to improve its signal in Charlotte, which would include a move to 100.3 FM and relocating to the WFAE tower. One reason for the change: WABZ (100.9 FM) planned to move to the Charlotte area from Albemarle, North Carolina, and this would significantly impact the 100.7 frequency. The move to 100.3 was completed late in 2004.
Until 2003, WNCW operated a translator at 96.7 FM in Knoxville, Tennessee. The station currently has an application for a new translator in Knoxville.
In 2009, Isothermal Community College acquired the license of WSIF, Wilkesboro, North Carolina, formerly operated by Wilkes Community College. WSIF began simulcasting WNCW programming in January, 2010.
Simulcast
One full-power station is licensed to simulcast the programming of WNCW:
Translators
WNCW programming is broadcast on the following translators:
WNCW has construction permits for the following translators: