WSCA-LP History
The Seacoast music scene made history February 2006 with The Wire’s RPM Challenge! The RPM Challenge: record an album in 28 days, just because you can. That's 220 musical acts each making an original album. On March 1st, The Wire received 165 albums made in the Seacoast in ONE month! Read all about itÂ
I think all who attended will agree that it was one fun Holiday Gathering December 22nd, 2005! Thank you to Peter Egelston and the Portsmouth Brewery, and all of you who have made Portsmouth Community Radio possible. We truly have created an exciting new "community." View photo slide show
First Birthday Celebration Week a Success - thank you to the businesses, volunteers and attendees! Can you believe it's been one year since Portsmouth Community Radio went live? That's right, on September 12, 2004, we went on the air! Our first birthday party happened September 10, 2005, and featured over 5 hours of live music on 2 stages, right here in the Portsmouth Community Radio parking lot. We owe a huge thank you to the many area businesses who contributed and major kudos are in order for WSCA DJ Paul LeBrun and a very dedicated team of volunteers who organized the event. Then, on Wednesday, September 12, we had our first live Audio Theater production, with a live audience, put on by the WSCA-LP Audio Theater Players. If you didn't catch Baby Snooks and Daddy's Halloween Show, you missed out - it was hilarious! If we're lucky, Audio Theater coordinator extraordinaire John Lovering might broadcast the show again. The very next night, Culture Waves Live! broadcasted their party from artist Marshall Carbee's studio at the Button Factory. Musicians, poets, culture hounds and people from all walks of life joined in the fun, and the result was a great broadcast and very fun party. Other events during our celebration week included live sets on the air from John Vanderslice, Pondering Judd, Spider and others. To join the fun and volunteer at future events like this, please email volunteer@portsmouthcommunityradio.org
New Hampshire Magazine's 2005 Best of New Hampshire chose Portsmouth Community Radio as Best of NH: VOX POPULI (Voice of the People): PORTSMOUTH’S WSCA 106.1 FM: Â "Portsmouth’s WSCA 106.1 FM is one of the most active and interesting low-power FM stations in the country. They are on the forefront of the continuing battle with the Legislative Lords of the Airwaves who brought LPFM into the world and now seem to want to take it back out. Yet they find energy to mount a full slate of programming from the “Youth Radio” show and local music programs to talk shows like “Left, Right and Correct” and “Metaphysical Circus,” an expertly chosen late night psychedelic music hour. WSCA is one-third "pirate radio," one-third amateur hour and one-third what public radio ought to be."
Portsmouth Community Radio was initially organized by a small group of non-commercial radio enthusiasts who began meeting in June 2000. We applied for a Low Power FM (LPFM) radio construction permit in August of 2000.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) established the LPFM program under the Clinton administration to provide opportunities for community organizations to operate low power educational locally based radio stations. Despite subsequent legislation passed by Congress in December 2000 under pressure from commercial broadcasters and National Public Radio, which eliminated over 70 percent of the frequencies set aside for LPFM applicants, we persevered and were granted a Construction Permit by the FCC on May 9, 2003. The construction permit required that the station complete transmission testing and request issuance of an operating license by November 16, 2004.
Fundraising through 2003 and 2004 raised over $30,000. While short of our $75,000 goal, the funds raised we enough to purchase and erect an antenna, and purchase a Crown transmitter and very basic broadcast studio equipment. The antenna was erected on The Music Hall in late August 2004. Over the weekend of September 10-12th, in conjunction with a Prometheus Radio Project Radio Station Barnraising, with the help of more than 100 volunteers we built out our broadcast studio and went on the air at 7:10 PM on September 12, 2004. WSCA-LP has been on the air 24/7 since then with an exciting variety of programming.
We invite citizens of Portsmouth and surrounding communities to become involved in this exciting project. This station is dedicated to the community and will be at its best when run by a diverse and significant portion of the community.
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