Art Gregory, the acknowledged expert of all things related to Idaho broadcasting. Sent me this post after a reader asked about a radio station licensed to St. Michael’s Cathedral.
Art sent this:
Yes there was a station licensed to St. Michael’s Cathedral, the first church in Idaho to obtain a broadcasting license. The call letters were KFDD and it was a 10-watt station on 833 KC (which was 360 “meters” – that was the way frequencies were assigned early-on).
They were licensed Oct 22, 1922, about three months AFTER KFAU (the Boise High station) was licensed (July 18, 1922).
They did share time for a while with KFAU (the Boise High station) but moved to 1310 in May 1923. They had several other moves to different frequencies (which was very common in the early days of radio) and increased their power to 500 watts in 1924. They increased their hours slightly in 1927 but mostly were on from 11:15 am to 12:30 for Church services and then from 8 pm-9:15 Sundays only. Their slogan was “The Voice of Saint Paul.” Perhaps because Saint Paul is the patron saint of writers and publishers.
According to an article in the Intermountain Observer in 1968 (when KBOI went to 50KW) KFDD’s equipment was supposedly stolen from the church during a break-in that looks like it took place in early 1927, because the license was deleted in April of 1927. Licenses were only good for three months at a time! So, they probably lost their license by being off the air with no plans to replace the stolen equipment. By that time, 1927, KFAU was 4,000 watts by day and 2,000 watts at night.
If you enjoy broadcast history, be sure to check the History of Idaho Broadcasting Foundation website.
Art sent this:
Yes there was a station licensed to St. Michael’s Cathedral, the first church in Idaho to obtain a broadcasting license. The call letters were KFDD and it was a 10-watt station on 833 KC (which was 360 “meters” – that was the way frequencies were assigned early-on).
They were licensed Oct 22, 1922, about three months AFTER KFAU (the Boise High station) was licensed (July 18, 1922).
They did share time for a while with KFAU (the Boise High station) but moved to 1310 in May 1923. They had several other moves to different frequencies (which was very common in the early days of radio) and increased their power to 500 watts in 1924. They increased their hours slightly in 1927 but mostly were on from 11:15 am to 12:30 for Church services and then from 8 pm-9:15 Sundays only. Their slogan was “The Voice of Saint Paul.” Perhaps because Saint Paul is the patron saint of writers and publishers.
According to an article in the Intermountain Observer in 1968 (when KBOI went to 50KW) KFDD’s equipment was supposedly stolen from the church during a break-in that looks like it took place in early 1927, because the license was deleted in April of 1927. Licenses were only good for three months at a time! So, they probably lost their license by being off the air with no plans to replace the stolen equipment. By that time, 1927, KFAU was 4,000 watts by day and 2,000 watts at night.
If you enjoy broadcast history, be sure to check the History of Idaho Broadcasting Foundation website.
No, that's not a radio tower on Saint Michael's Cathedral in Boise, but there was once a radio station associated with the church.
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