WRPI – Return of the Tower

WRPI – Return of the Tower – by Liam Sweeny.

College radio stations are a bastion of creative exploration is music and listenership. Flexible formats and young, passionate DJs make for an experience that you can’t get spilling out of a 50,000 watt transmitter. But the size of a college radio station’s transmitter doesn’t matter; not if it’s down.

WRPI has been giving us an eclectic mix of both music and persona for decades. And their struggle over these past few months is emblematic of the spirit of college radio.

RRX: WRPI is putting together a “Coming Back Campaign.” Now someone who hasn’t been a steady listener, or a listener at all, they may not know what you’re coming back from. Can you give us a brief history; a “One stormy night…” ?

Mari: One stormy night, on March 23rd, 2024, New York’s Capital District was hit with a strong snow and ice storm. As a result of the climatic weather, WRPI’s tower had its power hit and shut down, as multiple components that were important for broadcasting were affected by the ice and snow. Power was restored to the tower the following day; however, we were quick to notice that there was no connection between our home station and the tower. After communicating through on-campus channels about the issue and receiving no information, a few of our Executive Committee (Ecomm) members visited our tower to investigate for possible damages.

For the technical among us, what essentially happened was that the Power Over Ethernet (POE) Injector had filled with water and shorted as a result. The POE Injector is the main communicator to the microwave dish that connects the on-campus studio’s audio and internet to the off-campus tower site. It was also discovered that the cable for the microwave dish was disconnected and also leaking water, which also led to the shorting issue. The cable and POE were repaired and replaced, however that didn’t resolve all of our issues. After more investigation, it has been concluded that the dish on the tower itself, and a dish on the RPI campus, both need to be replaced (among other smaller pieces such as an ice shield and other equipment). We have been diligently working on getting all of the necessary parts ordered so that we may be back on the air near the end of August.

RRX: Post calamity, you didn’t just wither and die. You found a way to continue to serve your listeners. How was/is that, and how can new listeners get onboard until you’re back with your tower? And will you discontinue these methods once you’re back up?

Mari: Throughout the past couple of years, WRPI has been running a webstream alongside our FM radio. It seems 2024 is the year that Murphy’s Law has hit the station, as our webstream was down a few months prior to the transmitter, as our servers were being upgraded to fit RPI’s current security standards. However, during the brief quiet period with no transmitter or webstream, WRPI upheld the “Bridging” tradition by briefly transitioning our operations to the streaming website twitch.tv.

Bridging is our end-of-semester tradition where our DJs run 24/7 live broadcasted  programs during RPI’s study days and finals week as a last hurrah. WRPI DJs adapted to the Twitch format by hosting “gaming” streams alongside the usual programs seen during Bridging (album listen-throughs, playlist shuffling, hours revolving around specific genres or themes, etc).

A month after Bridging, and through the intense and diligent work of our Vice Chief Engineer Jose Luchsinger, our homepage and webstream was brought back in its most basic form. Now equipped with an avenue to broadcast, WRPI has been operating on a near-normal basis by having a set schedule with both student and community DJs, hosting interviews with local and visiting bands, and having our automation playing music 24/7.

RRX: As a radio host myself, one thing I know is that having an on-air personality is a warm alternative to the algorithms of a corporate playlist like Spotify. And college radio is itself different than corporate radio. What makes college radio, and WRPI in particular, the place to set your ears?

Mari: One of WRPI’s nicknames is “The Upstate Underground”, and for good reason. Unlike many stations found on FM radio, WRPI’s music and shows carry a wide variety for people to choose from, and they often highlight the new and unknown artists and genres. This is due to the freedom the station offers to its DJs, allowing them to explore and air whatever their heart desires to share.

Some examples of shows from before the calamity:

Mostly Synthetic with Alistair –  an exploration of electronic music from the 60s, 70s, and beyond.

Soulful Spectrum with Soulspinner – a show that focuses on a genre or artist of African descent that has contributed to the current state of Western music and media.

Shut Up For A Bit with DJ N Timmy – a two-hour show that exclusively focuses on instrumental albums.

Chaos Theory with The Undisclosed DJ  – a two hour block that exclusively focuses on an eclectic mix of psychedelic rock and new wave era rock.

Awas-e-Pakistan with Haider Khwaja  – a cultural radio program for the students and community that has been on-air since 1990.

Prime Time TV with DJ Frog  – a weekly exploration into the soundtracks of television shows and movies interspersed with facts about the media and soundtrack composer.

Freshman Freestyle with Julian and Liam – a talk show with a group of RPI’s freshman class where they talk about anything from classes to music and more.

Not Quite My Tempo with  NMC and Joe Jazz – a weekly dive into jazz history through its eras, artists, and various subgenres.

Album by Album with DJ Corrin – a listen-through and discussion through a different album of various genres every week.

Grown Man Rap Show with DJ Toast – a show that has been on air for 30+ years, DJ Toast brings you 2 hours of the best in old school and true school hip hop.

RRX: Latching on to that last question, I’m not just a radio personality. I have a life and times, a bio of sorts. Can you give me two or three of your current on air people and tell me a just a little bit about them?

Mari: David Liebig is one of WRPI’s avid community member DJs. Many know him as an on-air personality, and current DJ, for the long-running show HomoRadio, the weekly 3+ hour-long talk show revolving around LGBTQ+ issues and news. Outside of the station, David is an avid listener to classical music, and can often be seen swimming freestyle laps or reading non-fiction literature. David has a complex background in music, as he was classically trained to play the piano as a child, and grew up singing in his church choir. As he studied for an education major at Alfred University, he expanded his musical horizons as he was taught to play the pipe organ and carillon.

Maverick Brendli is one of WRPI’s student DJs, and is the current president of WRPI. Once a week he goes by The Mav and hosts his show Pick it Up!, an hour dedicated to ska and punk rock music. He is a current student of the 2025 senior class at RPI, studying an undergraduate degree in civil engineering. Outside of WRPI, Maverick is active in many civil engineering clubs on campus, such as ASCE and Chi Epsilon. He is also an active member of LEAP (Leadership Educators Advising Peers), an experiential learning club that runs workshops for other clubs/organizations at RPI to help them improve their group dynamics and problem solving skills. He also likes exploring the outdoors by going backpacking, camping and kayaking.

RRX: We chose to be an online station, for a few reasons, but we can’t say that cost wasn’t one. But we’re a business, and WRPI is an extension of RPI, the school. When your radio tower went out, what were the overall financial challenges involved in getting it back up?

Mari: One of the biggest challenges was facilitating the funding to order the parts that are necessary to repair the transmitter. As a Union affiliated club here at RPI, we have a set amount of funds provided to us to put towards all necessary purchases, including but not limited to: office supplies, replacement parts for studio repairs, merchandise, and the parts for the transmitter. Each year we are given this set budget, and we have to distribute that money to each department that may need it. We do have “reserve funds” that we have saved up over time, however we only dip into that pool for emergencies. We are going to use a significant amount of our reserves to fund these repairs, so we are looking towards potentially running a fundraising campaign or reaching out to RPI’s “WeRGold” fundraising program to get extra cash to cover everything.

However, this isn’t the main concern when it comes to our finances and the troubles we faced when trying to order parts for our tower. Since we are an RPI Union affiliated Club, we have to work through the proper channels in order to get things done. Firstly, we have to contact the Union about what exactly the issue is, what parts we may need, and our relative timeline. Then the Union discusses this point further with our representative on their staff. Once everything that is needed is outlined, the Union then has to contact a contracting company that the student Ecomm has to meet and discuss with. Once we cycle through all of the necessary meetings, and the contracting company is approved by the Union board, the financial department can finally order the parts for us and take the funds out of our account. These little steps can often take days or even weeks at a time, and can often cause stalls if there is a lack of communication between parties. These processes are often out of our control and can cause some stress but the resources available to us through the Union have been invaluable throughout this process.

As a bit of a reprieve and source of joy on our end, most of the back-end aspects of our return is now past us. Recently, some of the crucial parts that were ordered have arrived at the Union office, finally letting us see the light at the end of this technical mess of a tunnel. With this advancement, we are hopeful to hit our deadline and get the transmitter repaired on time.

RRX: What can we expect from a “Come Back Campaign”? Is it just getting the word out like this, or will there be events like concerts or parties?

Mari: Due to our large audience of both on and off-campus listeners, this campaign is designed to reach as many people as possible. One of the initial “waves” I have been planning is a “take-over” of downtown Troy and potentially downtown Albany. Flyers and advertisements will be posted on nearly every street corner and public bulletin board, announcing to the local community that we will soon be back on the air for them to enjoy. Specifically, it would be advertising our big on-air celebration: a mini Bridging event. For as long as we possibly can, we will have different DJs play music or host shows 24/7. These shows can range from their usual blocks to specialized events such as a “podcast-in-the-park” type of talk show in the RPI Student Union building. If possible, we would also be hosting live shows from local bands, airing their live performances out to air and allowing students to come watch from within the station. We will also be hosting a massive social media campaign in order to reach the majority of our off-campus audience. From a countdown to our tower turning back on, to posts highlighting our returning DJs, and more, we hope to broadcast to everyone on the internet that we are back and louder than ever. Finally, we are also planning on hosting a mini party at the transmitter site itself, with good food, music, and games as we sit beneath the transmitter’s shadow. And that is just a taste of this campaign, as we are discussing designing special merch for our “Returning Era”, hosting monthly karaoke events in the station, and more throughout the year.

RRX: This is where you answer I didn’t ask. Comments? Remarks? Educate, enlighten, emote – the floor is yours.

Mari: As one of the newer faces here at WRPI, as I joined the club late last fall and am a current senior student here at RPI, I feel incredibly honored to be a part of this group of people and to be one of the spearheads for our return-to-form. Behind the scenes, our EComm board is filled with amazing individuals who have been working their butts off to ensure our transmitter gets fixed in a timely fashion. Without them and their persistence, WRPI’s current status and possible future would still be uncertain. WRPI is a true gem here at RPI, as it is an open space for anyone to be their true selves and to share what makes their heart sing. It provides students and community members an artistic avenue to express themselves, both on-air and within the station itself. While not sitting in Studio A speaking into the microphone, many of our members practice instruments in our live studio, or are in the tech department messing with technology. I consider WRPI to be a diverse and welcoming family, one that I have always been drawn to, and am glad that I finally took the leap to be a part of.

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