WDAV
| City | Davidson, North Carolina |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Branding | "Classical Public Radio" |
| Frequency | 89.9 MHz |
| First air date | 1973 (originally carrier current 1969-73) |
| Format | Classical music and public radio |
| ERP | 100,000 watts |
| HAAT | 246 meters |
| Class | C1 |
| Facility ID | 66503 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 35°26′54″N 80°50′23″W / 35.44833°N 80.83972°W |
| Callsign meaning | W DAVidson |
| Affiliations | NPR |
| Owner | Davidson College |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | wdav.org |
WDAV "Classical 89.9" is a non-commercial public radio station located in Davidson, North Carolina and serving the Charlotte, North Carolina market. The station, owned by Davidson College, airs classical music and fine arts programming along with hourly news updates from National Public Radio.
WDAV signed on in 1973 as a student-run college radio station, taking over from a carrier current station that had been on the air since 1969. The format included jazz, rock music and educational programs. In 1978, it was upgraded to a full-service professional operation. However, student volunteers quit because they did not want the station to go all classical, and it took three months to return to the air. WDAV became "Your station for the arts" and played mostly classical music.
The students asked for another carrier current station, and WALT came on the air, but operated off and on for years. WDAV began offering alternative rock for two hours a night on weeknights starting at 11:00. Flipsides, hosted by students, featured music from over 2000 albums and artists such as Hüsker Dü, Meat Puppets, Fetchin Bones, The Replacements, P.I.L., Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper. In February 1996, WALT became a permanent station at 1610 AM, later adding a webcast.
In 1985, WDAV made plans to increase its signal from 20,000 to 100,000 watts using a directional antenna to prevent interference with WEPR. The station was also moving from a small space in the college's union building to a new building. The power boost, approved in August 1988 and completed in mid-1989, would increase the listening area from 1702 to 2402 square miles, with as many as 850,755 listeners. On October 1, 1988, WDAV began broadcasting 24 hours a day. That same month, the station became an affiliate of American Public Radio, with Radio Kronos and High Performance with André Previn.
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