 KVLP is a non-commercial, educational FM broadcasting station, authorized by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on 101.5 MHz. With one hundred watts (yes, like a light-bulb) and a fifty-five foot tall antenna, we expect to reach about six miles and up to 40,000 households.
We applied to the FCC in May 2000, along with thousands of nonprofit organizations. Several of them are right here in Visalia. UNIVERSAL LIFE CHURCH, FOODLINK FOR TULARE COUNTY, and KIWANIS CLUB OF WEST VISALIA will be offering interesting and unique programming, as KVLP presents local information from truly local sources.
A permit to construct the station was granted in October 2003, and a minor modification to the original conditions has been approved by the FCC in April 2004. The station was constructed in accordance with the modified conditions, and began operating under automatic program test authority on February 26, 2005. KVLP-LP received its full eight-year license from the FCC on December 3, 2005.
Many want to know what "format" we are, as if some corporate media giant from Texas or New York controls us all, including what we see and hear via our public airwaves. Simply put, we're too big to stop. We are the only Visalia station: not only our license, but our antenna, transmitter, underwriting supporters, and volunteers. We cannot be bought, sold, or traded. We are not "Little Fresno", we are in the midst of the Garden of Eden.
How it all evolves depends quite a bit on you and your families, friends, and neighbors.� When listen, tell us what you think and what you'd like that isn't available elsewhere.� And we'll be listening, too.
Station Coverage Map
You're looking at a map with a circle drawn around KVLP's transmitter site. The circle has a radius of only 10 kilometers (or about 6.2 miles). The station might reach even further, but the FCC limits the wattage and the antenna height.
 Census figures from 2000 indicate that 117,985 people in 40,609 households are within this circle.
A Condensed History of KVLP - Visalia Local Power
January 28, 1999: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issues a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, to begin discussing the "substantial interest in, and public support for, increased citizens’ access to the airwaves".
January 27, 2000: FCC authorizes a new category of broadcasting, called Low Power FM (LPFM) radio.
April 28, 2000: FCC announces that it will accept LPFM applications at the end of May 2000.
May 31, 2000: Our original application is received by the FCC.
April 2, 2001: FCC revises its regulations, after Congress is heavily lobbied by the National Association of Broadcasters to restrict the LPFM radio service. The frequency we requested is no longer available, and the original location cannot be used. FCC says they will accept amendments ‘soon’ (it will take them 19 months).
September 9, 2002: FCC announces that it will accept amendments for those affected by the April 2001 revision at the end of October 2002.
October 28, 2002: Our amended application is received by the FCC. We request 101.5 MHz at a second location.
March 17, 2003: Our amended application is inadvertently dismissed, having been mixed in with hundreds of groups who no longer have any FM frequency available. Serious long distance telephone discussions identify the error, and corrective action is arranged.
March 21, 2003: FCC rescinds its dismissal and reinstates our amended application as submitted in October 2002.
April 29, 2003: We submit a Settlement Agreement to the FCC, hoping that the station will be approved more quickly. As part of the agreement, both FoodLink and West Visalia Kiwanis will have the opportunity to present their own programming on the station.
October 15, 2003: FCC grants a Construction Permit for LPFM for 101.5 at the second location, but only allows 57 watts of transmitter power. Meanwhile, this second location’s landlord has made other plans for the property. In a confusing and curious bit of bureaucracy, the FCC's official records now ALSO indicate approval of our original location and frequency which was deemed invalid in April 2001; eventually their mistake should be cleared up.
October 20, 2003: We obtain call sign KVLP-LP, after negotiating with the Department of Homeland Security and the FCC. The US Coast Guard had a ship in World War II which previously used KVLP.
January 5, 2004: We submit a Minor Modification request, to move KVLP to a third location with a different antenna tower design.
April 5, 2004: FCC grants the January 2004 Modification, which finally provides KVLP with a valid location to construct our "radio transmitting apparatus", and the full maximum power of 100 watts.
November 29, 2004: The city issues a construction permit for the antenna tower and its concrete footing. Due to municipal development standards, the top of the antenna cannot exceed 55-feet above ground.
February 26, 2005: Volunteers (see Antenna Tower Party) assemble the broadcast antenna, mast, transmission cable, tower, guy wires, and monstrous turnbuckles. The tower is tilted to vertical and winched up to the legal height. The crowd celebrates as the mighty 100-watt transmitter is switched on. As "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" by Iron Butterfly repeats for weeks on end, fine tuning of the audio and radio settings help to optimize the sound of KVLP, now broadcasting under the FCC's Automatic Program Test Authority and waiting for the official license to come in the mail.
April 22, 2005: Not everybody likes KVLP, or maybe it was just hearing "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" for the 200th time. Perhaps it was that guy at the big-boy radio station with a pal who works at the FCC. In any case, a big black Tahoe with blackout windows and lots of fancy electronics pulls up, and out steps an agent from the FCC's Enforcement Bureau. Of course KVLP passes its first site inspection (seven weeks after going on the air) with flying colors.
December 3, 2005: Forty weeks after flipping the switch, KVLP receives the official Low-Power FM Radio Station license from the Federal Communications Commission. Make a note: the license will have to be renewed in the year 2013.
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