WDGC-FM - History

History

WDGC was founded by Fred Moore in 1965, with its first station having been a janitor's closet and the first transmitter having been built in a shoebox. It was created from a drama club experiment and funded by parental donations.

In 1966, it was on the airwaves, but just barely. It was then known as WDGN (most likely for its Downers Grove North roots) and ran on only one watt of power. The WDGN transmission used the PA system to broadcast. The signal was so weak it could only be heard on 600 AM and if a listener placed their radio by a PA speaker. After numerous phone calls to Washington, D.C. and two rejected applications to contact the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), WDGC was granted a construction permit which in turn allowed the station to be broadcast to Downers Grove and other surrounding communities. In 1968, the station was finally approved and was broadcast with 10 watts of power on 88.3 FM.

In 1972, the station moved from its third floor "studio" to a self-contained building north of the school. This building was an unused "portable classroom". It became the home of WDGC, as well as new operations WDGC-TV and Cable 99. The radio station also bought a used transmitter and re-tuned it, bringing the station to 250 watts of power. Four years later it made the final jump to stereo.

In 1981, the station was granted a room to be turned into a classroom/studio at Downers Grove North where it still presently remains.

During the mid-1980s, many notable musicians worked at the station, including Jim Cooley (Blue Meanies) and Bob DeMaa.

In 1997, the old transmitter was replaced with a new 250 watt transmitter.

In 1998, the station purchased digital Pacific Research and Engineering Airwave consoles for both studios. The cart machines at the North studio were replaced with Sony minidisc systems and a non-linear computer based audio editing program. North teacher John Waite and DGN student Stuart Allard played a major part in building the station's minidisk library.

In 2007, the studio at Downers Grove South was renovated, creating a less cluttered environment in the main studio and adding on two sub-studios for the adjacent classroom to practice in.

In June 2010, WDGC went online. Listeners can access the stream at WDGC OnLine. This move was made with the help of WDGC alumni Blane Webster and Dave Zarembka.

In 2010, the club at Downers Grove South became almost entirely student lead as it established a club board; which consists of a president, program director, promotions director, and treasurer. The club has only had one previous president: Samantha Brooks, and the current president is Jacob Szpytek.