The Move To FM
In 1965, WRAF's General Manager proposed moving the station to the FM band, which was still largely unused. In November of that year, the FCC approved the construction of an educational station at the frequency 90.5 MHz (the frequency the station itself requested). The station's first antenna is atop a 60-foot (18 m) pole located behind the Student Center. The FCC approved the station's request of "WHRW" as the new station's call letters. "HRW" was chosen to represent "Harpur Radio Workshop." While stereo FM had been introduced in the early 1960s, it was not an inexpensive technology, and WHRW's first transmitter was a humble 10 watts, in mono.
WHRW's first broadcast was on Friday, February 4, 1966, at 7:30PM, which was coverage of a Binghamton Colonials basketball game. The formal "inaugural" broadcast took place two days later. WHRW was only the third FM radio station in the Binghamton market.
The broadcasting followed the times and the culture in which it was steeped: Jazz, folk, classical, rock, and other forms of music; news and culture coverage that leaned progressive (Vietnam War protests and debates, news from Pacifica Radio and the BBC); and interviews with local political figures. The regular broadcast schedule ran from Sunday through Thursday, from about 5pm to 1am.
In the spring of 1967, the mayor of Binghamton, Joseph Esworthy, was interviewed on the "Open Line" show by the station's general manager, David R. Cooper. When Esworthy was asked if he favored legaization of marijuana, he answered affirmatively. The next day, the local newspaper, The Evening Press, picked up the story and Esworthy's political career was essentially ended by the publicity.
In the late 1960s, construction on the new "Faculty Tower" (later to be more famously named the Glenn G. Bartle Library Tower) is completed. It is the tallest building on campus (18 stories) and one of the tallest buildings in the Binghamton area. WHRW's antenna was moved to the top of this building in April 1968, and remains there to this day.
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