University Radio Bath
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| Broadcast area | University of Bath - Local AM & Online (URB Online) |
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| Frequency | 1449 KHz (Univ. of Bath) Online (Rest of World) Mobile (Rest of World) |
| First air date | 1973 |
| Format | Contemporary Student |
| Owner | University of Bath Students' Union |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | URB Online |
University Radio Bath (commonly referred to as 1449AM URB) is the award-winning student-run radio station from the University of Bath, England. It is the only radio station broadcasting from the City of Bath.
University Radio Bath is run entirely by volunteers, all students studying at the University of Bath. The station broadcasts 24 hours a day throughout the year, although live broadcasts tend to only be during semester time. The schedule is made up of a variety of shows including entertainment, news, speech, drama and specialist music. With a new intake of students each academic year, the station's output can change significantly.
URB 963, launched on 16 May 1973. It was one of the first University radio stations built in the UK to broadcast on Medium Wave on an induction loop system across the campus. The station was built and designed by students Jonathon White (Electrical Engineering) and Stephen Ainger (Physics) and launched by BBC Radio 1's Annie Nightingale and Pete Bradey. The first year anniversary was hosted by the BBC Radio 1 Roadshow with Alan Freeman (DJ) in the Students' Union. In 1994 and 2003, URB also broadcast under short-term Restricted Service Licences across the city of Bath on the FM band. In 1995, Torch FM 106.2 used URB studios and presenters to provide a citywide radio service for the European Youth Olympics in Bath.
The station was originally broadcast from a landing in the Electrical Engineering Department and carried by induction loops in all of the campus residences. A year after launch the station moved the current studios in Norwood house but still retained the induction loop transmitters, which were updated and expanded as new residences were built on campus. Over the years loudspeakers playing URB were added to the campus laundrettes and the students' union coffee shop. In summer 1994 renovations to the Westwood blocks severed the wires to the loops there and after that URB 963 could only be heard in Eastwood, Wessex and Norwood. On 8 February 2001 at 14:49 1449AM URB launched as a low powered AM service covering the whole campus and the remaining induction loops on 963 were switched off. The addition of online and mobile streaming has also given the station a significant boost.
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