KSFH
Encyclopedia
KSFH FM
87.9 is a student radio station broadcasting
an active rock
radio format
. Licensed to serve
Mountain View, California
, USA, the station's broadcast range is the San Francisco Bay Area
. The station is owned by private school
Saint Francis High School
, and is completely run by its students, broadcasting a wide range of music. The radio station is available in all of Mountain View, most of Los Altos
, and the northern part of San Jose. The station also broadcasts home football, basketball, and baseball games.
nasium. The signal was so weak, it was joked that once you left the parking lot
, you lost the signal. Patient
s in nearby El Camino Hospital
(diagonally bordering the campus, separated by the football field) would call in and make requests. The format in that decade was album-oriented rock
, emphasizing Jethro Tull
, Yes
, Led Zeppelin
, and other major rock groups of the era. Despite its weak signal, music director
Jeff McCallion successfully negotiated with several record label
s (A&M Records
among them) to provide free promotional records for the station to play. This was a rare benefit for a high school radio
station.
KSFH was built in the technological spirit of 70's and similar to the famed "Home Brew" Computer Clubs, frequented by Wozniak and Jobs, the station's transmitters, mixed boards and primary "on air" components were almost all entirely built from scratch, few items were "off the shelf" ready bought. KSFH was hand crafted, built and engineered by students and former students (Primarily engineered thru the diligence of James O'Malley), the station's equipment was built from spares and electronic components purchased from Quement, Haltec and Radio Shack electronics stores. Long cold nights building the station (the rooms had no heat) were fueled by resourcefulness, junk food, Taco Bell and Jack in the Box runs- like all great startups! The original transmitter (10 Watt SPARTA exciter) was built from a repair manual, purchased from SPARTA Electronics, and later christened "Everclear", not only for its pristine clarity but also after a popular 110 proof liquor, only sold in Nevada. (Please note, no liquor was consumed on the school grounds during KSFH construction- Okay, maybe just one celebratory beer....) Finally, after the erection of the tower and antenna upon the St. Francis Gym roof, all broadcast components worked perfectly- KSFH was on the air!!!! Serving St Francis High School, its students and community for decades.
Many of the stations' student disc jockey
s went on to work at KFJC FM—the Foothill College
radio station—after high school.
KSFH originally used 90.5 MHz before moving to 88.1 in 1982. KSFH moved to 87.9 MHz in 1999. The application to move to 87.9 was applied for on August 17, 1998 and granted in 1999. A license to cover was issued on October 9, 2001.
KSFH is one of only two radio stations (K200AA being the other) that broadcast on 87.9; that frequency is not normally issued by the FCC due to it being in the same band as television channel 6. KSFH is the only one operating under the rules as written, which only permits the use of 87.9 for displaced full-service class-D FM stations. Other radio stations that broadcast below 88 MHz today must do so by having a low-power analog television
broadcast license
for channel 6, which would allows them to transmit with reduced modulation
(and therefore at low sound volume) on 87.75 MHz; the FCC is no longer issuing new licenses of this sort, though some stations that predate this moratorium continue to operate, and this does not affect border blaster
stations in Canada
and Mexico
.
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
87.9 is a student radio station broadcasting
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
an active rock
Active rock
Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:...
radio format
Radio format
A radio format or programming format not to be confused with broadcast programming describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. Radio formats are frequently employed as a marketing tool, and constantly evolve...
. Licensed to serve
City of license
A city of license or community of license, in American and Canadian broadcasting, is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator....
Mountain View, California
Mountain View, California
-Downtown:Mountain View has a pedestrian-friendly downtown centered on Castro Street. The downtown area consists of the seven blocks of Castro Street from the Downtown Mountain View Station transit center in the north to the intersection with El Camino Real in the south...
, USA, the station's broadcast range is the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
. The station is owned by private school
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
Saint Francis High School
Saint Francis High School (Mountain View)
Saint Francis High School, founded in 1954 by the Brothers of Holy Cross, is a Roman Catholic, co-educational, college preparatory secondary school located in Mountain View, CA. The Brothers of Holy Cross serve both on the faculty and on the Board of Directors...
, and is completely run by its students, broadcasting a wide range of music. The radio station is available in all of Mountain View, most of Los Altos
Los Altos
Los Altos is the name of several places, including:* the former state of Los Altos, Central America, now divided between Guatemala and Mexico.* the city of Los Altos, California, in the United States....
, and the northern part of San Jose. The station also broadcasts home football, basketball, and baseball games.
History
In the 1970s, KSFH broadcast from two rooms adjacent to the boys' gymGym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
nasium. The signal was so weak, it was joked that once you left the parking lot
Parking lot
A parking lot , also known as car lot, is a cleared area that is intended for parking vehicles. Usually, the term refers to a dedicated area that has been provided with a durable or semi-durable surface....
, you lost the signal. Patient
Patient
A patient is any recipient of healthcare services. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, advanced practice registered nurse, veterinarian, or other health care provider....
s in nearby El Camino Hospital
El Camino Hospital
El Camino Hospital is a 395-bed hospital based in Mountain View, California.Located on a campus in the heart of Silicon Valley, El Camino Hospital serves residents in the El Camino Hospital District — Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, and portions of Sunnyvale and Palo Alto — as...
(diagonally bordering the campus, separated by the football field) would call in and make requests. The format in that decade was album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock is an American FM radio format focusing on album tracks by rock artists.-Music played:Most radio formats are based on a select, tight rotation of hit singles...
, emphasizing Jethro Tull
Jethro Tull (band)
Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with...
, Yes
Yes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
, Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
, and other major rock groups of the era. Despite its weak signal, music director
Music director
A music director may be the director of an orchestra, the director of music for a film, the director of music at a radio station, the head of the music department in a school, the co-ordinator of the musical ensembles in a university or college , the head bandmaster of a military band, the head...
Jeff McCallion successfully negotiated with several record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
s (A&M Records
A&M Records
A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
among them) to provide free promotional records for the station to play. This was a rare benefit for a high school radio
High school radio
High school radio within the United States is almost as old as radio broadcasting itself. Simply defined as a radio station, with its studios located at a high school and usually operated by its students with faculty supervision, stations fitting this description existed in the mid-1920s...
station.
KSFH was built in the technological spirit of 70's and similar to the famed "Home Brew" Computer Clubs, frequented by Wozniak and Jobs, the station's transmitters, mixed boards and primary "on air" components were almost all entirely built from scratch, few items were "off the shelf" ready bought. KSFH was hand crafted, built and engineered by students and former students (Primarily engineered thru the diligence of James O'Malley), the station's equipment was built from spares and electronic components purchased from Quement, Haltec and Radio Shack electronics stores. Long cold nights building the station (the rooms had no heat) were fueled by resourcefulness, junk food, Taco Bell and Jack in the Box runs- like all great startups! The original transmitter (10 Watt SPARTA exciter) was built from a repair manual, purchased from SPARTA Electronics, and later christened "Everclear", not only for its pristine clarity but also after a popular 110 proof liquor, only sold in Nevada. (Please note, no liquor was consumed on the school grounds during KSFH construction- Okay, maybe just one celebratory beer....) Finally, after the erection of the tower and antenna upon the St. Francis Gym roof, all broadcast components worked perfectly- KSFH was on the air!!!! Serving St Francis High School, its students and community for decades.
Many of the stations' student disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
s went on to work at KFJC FM—the Foothill College
Foothill College
Foothill College is a community college located in Los Altos Hills, California and is part of the Foothill-De Anza Community College District. It was founded on January 15, 1957 by Founding Superintendent and President Dr. Calvin C. Flint.-History:...
radio station—after high school.
KSFH originally used 90.5 MHz before moving to 88.1 in 1982. KSFH moved to 87.9 MHz in 1999. The application to move to 87.9 was applied for on August 17, 1998 and granted in 1999. A license to cover was issued on October 9, 2001.
KSFH is one of only two radio stations (K200AA being the other) that broadcast on 87.9; that frequency is not normally issued by the FCC due to it being in the same band as television channel 6. KSFH is the only one operating under the rules as written, which only permits the use of 87.9 for displaced full-service class-D FM stations. Other radio stations that broadcast below 88 MHz today must do so by having a low-power analog television
Analog television
Analog television is the analog transmission that involves the broadcasting of encoded analog audio and analog video signal: one in which the message conveyed by the broadcast signal is a function of deliberate variations in the amplitude and/or frequency of the signal...
broadcast license
Broadcast license
A broadcast license or broadcast license is a specific type of spectrum license that grants the licensee the privilege to use a portion of the radio frequency spectrum in a given geographical area for broadcasting purposes. The licenses are generally straddled with additional restrictions that...
for channel 6, which would allows them to transmit with reduced modulation
Modulation
In electronics and telecommunications, modulation is the process of varying one or more properties of a high-frequency periodic waveform, called the carrier signal, with a modulating signal which typically contains information to be transmitted...
(and therefore at low sound volume) on 87.75 MHz; the FCC is no longer issuing new licenses of this sort, though some stations that predate this moratorium continue to operate, and this does not affect border blaster
Border blaster
A border blaster is a licensed commercial radio station that transmits at very high power from one nation to another. Border blasters should not be confused with international broadcast stations...
stations in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
.