WRPI

The predecessor to WRPI was an RPI-owned AM broadcasting radio station known as WHAZ. WHAZ began broadcasting in 1922, and was among the first radio stations to broadcast within the United States.{{cite web |title=WHAZ-AM Founding |date=January 13, 2020 |publisher=Alive Radio Network |url=http://www.aliveradionetwork.com/alive_radio_whaz_am.html |access-date=April 2, 2020}} First issued to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on July 18, 1922, the school extended their license for many years thereafter. This ended with the transfer of the license to WPOW in 1967.{{cite web |title=Label guide |website=fcc.gov |url=https://cdbs.recnet.com/corres/?doc=59356 |access-date=September 10, 2023}} While under the ownership of the school, WHAZ found itself under the stewardship of several groups throughout the years. In 1924, the founding of Campus Review, an entertainment broadcasting group, began the focus of the radio station in broadcasting college-centered entertainment and radio for the Troy, New York area. Twenty-three years later, in the spring of 1947, Carl J. Kunz Jr. founded the "Rensselaer Broadcasting Association", which took charge of managing broadcasting time slots not used by Campus Review. The Association would completely employ the service of students from RPI to run activities.{{cite web |title=WRPI - History |url=http://www.wrpi.org/history/}} In that same year, the school's radio club began broadcasting their own AM radio station under the call sign W2SZ. The most popular and active station broadcasting on campus at the time, this station was informally referred to by students as WRPI.

At this point, three different clubs across the university's campus were managing radio broadcasts. The RPI Student Union proceeded to consolidate the clubs into one, the Radio Counsel, by the end of 1948. Only three years later, in 1951, the Radio Counsel was disbanded and divided into two groups: an amateur radio group, and a broadcast group. The amateur radio group still exists under the old banner of W2SZ.{{cite web |title=About W2SZ |url=https://w2sz.org/about/}} As for the broadcast group, WRPI continued to function on AM channels, where it captured the majority of the campus listener audience at the time.

Without a broadcast tower or industry-grade equipment, WRPI had a meager broadcast range. In many cases, signals could not reach some parts of the college campus. In 1956, the station proposed a move to FM broadcasting, to take advantage of its high-fidelity capability. On December 4, 1957, the FCC approved WRPI to begin broadcasting on 91.5 FM, where it continues to broadcast today.{{cite web |title=FCC document |url=https://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/fmq?call=WRPI |access-date=December 22, 2022 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010419015226/http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/fmq?call=WRPI |archive-date=April 19, 2001}} This accompanied the construction of a {{convert|30|ft|m|adj=mid}} tower, extending the range of the station to nearly all of Troy, Albany, and Schenectady.

Differing from FM radio stations of the time, WRPI found itself the sole broadcaster of popular music in the area. In 1967, the station switched to a progressive rock-themed station, abandoning its former free-form radio status. In addition, WTEN-TV donated a {{convert|606|ft|m|adj=mid}} radio tower{{cite web |title=Antenna Structure Registration 1055698 |date=January 12, 2016 |publisher=FCC |url=https://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/AsrSearch/asrRegistration.jsp?regKey=616412 |access-date=December 21, 2022}} in North Greenbush, New York, which is still used by the station today.{{cite web |title=Facility Details « Licensing and Management System Admin « FCC |website=enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov |url=https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/public/tv/publicFacilityTechDetails.html?facilityId=55742&applicationId=3564f25a233c45dab665c1b6063ebeb7 |access-date=October 22, 2021}} This move increased broadcast strength from 750 watts to 10,000 watts. WRPI abandoned use of AM signals and extended range to cover large swaths of New York as well as some areas in Vermont and Massachusetts.

During the mid-1970s, as other FM rock-and-roll radio stations began to form, WRPI made the decision to revert to their former free-form radio format. In addition, the station established their studio in the basement of RPI's Darren Communications Center, where it has remained ever since. The station continues to be completely student-run, allowing virtually anyone to receive training, and potentially broadcast on a time slot. In addition to broadcasting on 91.5 FM, the station may also be listened to over the internet.{{cite web |title=WRPI - Listen: WRPI Troy 91 5 FM-The Upstate Underground |website=wrpi.org |language=en |url=http://www.wrpi.org/listen/ |access-date=October 22, 2021}}

WRPI (91.5 FM) went off the air in April 2024 due to storm damage to their transmitter tower.{{cite web |title=We're WRPI Troy, RPI's student-run college radio. We have a message regarding the status of broadcasting over FM air, the webstream, and bridging |website=reddit |date=April 26, 2024 |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/RPI/comments/1ce0e3j/ |access-date=June 13, 2024}} As of August 30, 2024, the station was broadcasting again at a lower power. This returned to full power on November 6, 2024.

WRPI's webstream was offline February{{cite web |title=WRPI - Hello all! Here's an update regarding the current status of... |via=Facebook |date=February 6, 2024 |url=https://www.facebook.com/WRPI91.5/posts/pfbid02UfESEro2ztAR4LuDQxrUeMa6ijuFBAE9Gxh5mDrHcXf4F8zGPRoMRcNu7MXjzD1Gl |access-date=August 9, 2024}}{{Primary source inline|date=February 2025}} through June 2024.

When the website returned, it served as a minimal homepage with a webcast player. The website only responded to http; old https links and shortcuts to it were broken. As of February 6, 2024, https links returned, and the website was updated with a new look.

{{Reflist}}

• {{officialwebsite|https://www.wrpi.org/}}

{{FM station data|55742|WRPI}}

• {{Cite web|url=https://cdbs.recnet.com/corres/?doc=70747 |title= History Cards for WRPI |publisher=Federal Communications Commission}} (Guide to reading History Cards)

• {{URL|https://www.rpi.edu/|Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute}}
• {{URL|https://union.rpi.edu/club-directory/wrpi/|WRPI Troy, mention on Rensselaer Union website}}
• {{URL|https://www.facebook.com/WRPI91.5/|WRPI Facebook}}

{{Albany Radio}}

{{New York college radio}}

{{Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute}}

Category:1947 establishments in New York (state)

RPI

Category:Radio stations established in 1947

RPI

Category:Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute