On January 5, 1973, KUAF signed on the air.[4] It was a student-run station using a low-power transmitter, originally on 88.9 MHz.[5] The signal could only be heard around the U of A campus and parts of surrounding Fayetteville. The station was supervised by a faculty member in the Department of Journalism at the University of Arkansas. Students studying radio, television, and film were given the opportunity to volunteer for time slots available throughout the week. Aside from some public service programs, students were free to play whatever music was of interest to them. Many listeners referred to the station as "the 10-watt wonder".
In the early 1980s, the university got a construction permit from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to increase power to the 60,000 watts, and move to 91.3 MHz. It also began transitioning to a more professional operation. KUAF signed on its new, more powerful transmitter in 1985, and became Northwest Arkansas' first NPR member station. KUAF became the first station in its market to sign-on with an HD Radio signal in 2006.[6] That was coupled with an increase to 100,000 watts.
HD Radio
KUAF broadcasts using HD Radio technology. The station has three digital subchannels. KUAF-HD1 repeats the station's regular FM signal. KUAF-HD2 broadcasts around-the-clock classical music from Classical 24. KUAF-HD3 is known as "Jazz Works." It airs continuous jazz music and specialty programs.
