WCCT-FM

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Coordinates: 41°42′40.3″N 70°4′32″W / 41.711194°N 70.07556°W / 41.711194; -70.07556
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WCCT-FM
Frequency90.3 MHz
Programming
FormatDefunct
Ownership
OwnerCape Cod Regional Technical High School
History
First air date
September 1989; 34 years ago (1989-09)
Last air date
January 24, 2024; 3 months ago (2024-01-24) (license cancellation)
Call sign meaning
Cape Cod Tech
Technical information
Facility ID8574
ERP640 watts
HAAT38 m (125 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
41°42′40.3″N 70°4′32″W / 41.711194°N 70.07556°W / 41.711194; -70.07556

WCCT-FM was a radio station on 90.3 FM in Harwich, Massachusetts, United States, which operated from 1989 to 2014. It was the radio station of Cape Cod Regional Technical High School and broadcast from a transmitter site on the campus.

Originally a student-run station, it spent most of its history rebroadcasting WBUR-FM of Boston. It ceased airing any local programming in 2011. WBUR replaced WCCT-FM in its network with a new and higher-power station, WBUH, in 2014.

History[edit]

On November 18, 1987, Cape Cod Tech filed with the Federal Communications Commission to build a new high school radio station on 90.3 FM. The high school envisioned the station as an educational tool for students in speech and journalism.[1] The FCC granted CCT a construction permit on October 27, 1988, and the station, known as WCCT-FM, began broadcasting in September 1989, debuting in the 1989–90 school year.[2] It was part of the now-defunct hotel and business management shop.[3]

In 1992, it was one of three campus stations on Cape Cod to begin rebroadcasting the programming of WBUR-FM, an NPR station in Boston, under agreement, joining WKKL in Barnstable and WSDH in Sandwich. The idea was hatched by a local resident who noted both the poor signal of WBUR in the area and the underutilization of the WCCT-FM facility.[4] WBUR programming aired during most of the day and around the clock when the school was on summer vacation,[4] with Cape Cod Tech output preempting the Boston public radio outlet from 1 to 2 p.m. on weekdays in 1992[5] and three hours a day by 1996. As part of the arrangement, WCCT-FM exchanged its original transmitter, dating to 1945, for a new one furnished by WBUR, which also provided other technical support.[6][4] The school's engineering shop maintained and repaired the equipment, much of which was donated.[6] The station's broadcasts suffered from playing a format that had comparatively little interest to students, with a small and dated record library[7] that included records from the 1960s and 1970s, classical music and old-time radio shows.[3]

Student DJs ceased broadcasting on WCCT-FM in 2011.[3] Three years later, WBUR informed the station that it was terminating the agreement on September 30, 2014.[8] The move came after the station built a new and much more powerful station of its own, WBUH, at 89.1 FM, in nearby Brewster, in May 2014.[9] Cape Cod Regional Tech High School was demolished and rebuilt, but no provision was made for WCCT-FM; as a result, it was silent for more than a year, leading to the cancellation of its license by the FCC on January 24, 2024.[10]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Sutherland, Scott (December 3, 1987). "Cape Cod Technical High School applies for FM station license". The Cape Cod Chronicle. p. 7.
  2. ^ "Cape Cod Regional Technical High School District" (PDF). 1990 Annual Reports - Town of Dennis. 1990. p. 142. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Laub, Noah (April 5, 2018). "Remembering 90.9 [sic] FM, WCCT". Tech Talk. pp. 1, 2. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c Maroney, Edward F. (June 25, 1992). "Cape Tech radio station hosts WBUR signal". The Cape Cod Chronicle. p. 3.
  5. ^ "Cape Tech is on the air". The Cape Cod Chronicle. November 5, 1992. p. 29.
  6. ^ a b Pollock, Alan (October 17, 1996). "Making (Air) Waves--And Gaining Confidence". The Cape Cod Chronicle. p. 7.
  7. ^ Basile, John (November 25, 1999). "Out-of-town programming collides with students' training ground". The Register. pp. 4, 5.
  8. ^ "Cape Cod Regional Technical High School District School Committee, Minutes of Meeting held Thursday, August 28, 2014" (PDF). August 28, 2014. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  9. ^ Venta, Lance (May 23, 2014). "WBUR Debuts New Cape Cod Signal". RadioInsight. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  10. ^ "Notification of License Cancellation". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. January 24, 2024. Retrieved January 24, 2024.

External links[edit]

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