Campus/community radio station KDVS is now broadcasting — with a stronger signal — from a transmitter on a recently built tower at the Yolo County Landfill northeast of Davis.

The move allowed KDVS to boost its signal power  from 9,200 watts to 13,000 watts, and the new transmitter location is 193 feet above ground vs. 108 feet above ground at the previous location atop a building on the UC Davis campus. As a result, the KDVS signal is now reaching considerably farther into the central, southern and eastern portions of the Sacramento metropolitan area, portions of the Sierra foothills in Placer and El Dorado counties and parts of Solano County.

“Listeners will now be able to hear a clearer-sounding KDVS signal on their radios,” said KDVS general manager Cameron Cairns. With the improved transmitter location and boost in power “we are now broadcasting to just about a million new potential listeners,” he added.

Cairns also noted that “there will be new costs” associated with renting a spot on the recently built tower, which is also used by other broadcasters. KDVS hope these increased costs will be offset by new pledges from listeners who now are able to pull in the KDVS signal.

The KDVS staff — largely volunteers — has been striving to “go live” at the new transmitter location for many months; efforts to get permission from the Federal Communications Commission for the tower site began a decade ago.

“This project took many years to complete, and many station volunteers helped out,” Cairns said. “I would especially like to thank (2012-13 general manager) Justin Kable for all his work managing the tower project … without him, we could have easily missed a lot of deadlines. Another big force on this project was (longtime KDVS volunteer) Todd Urick, who has been helping KDVS pursue this signal since 2003. Thanks also to Curtis Carroll for putting all the tower components together.

“Finally, a huge thanks to Renner Burkle and Neil Ruud for their work getting the funding for the project and support in seeing that the project was completed.”

KDVS — a nonprofit station with a free-form format that includes diverse musical genres as well as news and interview shows — broadcasts at 90.3 FM, and is also heard online at www.kdvs.org. Volunteer program hosts on the station include UCD students and community volunteers ranging from high school age to retirees. Pledges of financial support may be made online at fundraiser.kdvs.org.

— Reach Jeff Hudson at [email protected] or 530-747-8055.

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KDVS has boosted its signal power, meaning it can be heard much farther away from Davis. Courtesy map

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KDVS, 90.3 FM, is one of several radio stations transmitting from a new tower at the Yolo County Landfill northeast of Davis. Sue Cockrell/Enterprise photo

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