WRVL (88.3 FM) is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Lynchburg, Virginia, United States, and serving the New River Valley. Owned by Liberty University, it broadcasts a Christian Contemporary format known as "The Journey." The studios and offices are on Candlers Mountain Road in Lynchburg. WRVL's transmitter is sited on Uphill Trail in Altavista. Programming is also simulcast on 19 rebroadcasters and FM translators in Virginia and North Carolina.
History Early years WRVL signed on the air in July 1981. It had been powered at 100,000 watts, the maximum for most FM stations in the U.S. but on a shorter tower than it uses today. It originally broadcast Christian talk and teaching programs, including those of founder and televangelist Jerry Falwell, who started Liberty University. WRVL faced a series of technical problems in its early years revolving around interference to television reception near the station site.
In December 1981, the Federal Communications Commission ordered the station to greatly reduce its effective radiated power (ERP) from 100,000 to 5,000 watts. In 1982, its tower was brought down by vandals. While the station was off the air, viewers reported better reception of WDBJ Channel 7, the CBS network affiliate for Roanoke-Lynchburg. WRVL later moved to a new tower in Altavista, reducing interference with Channel 7.
WVTW subchannel In 2009, WRVL broke ground by forming a partnership with NPR broadcaster 89.1 WVTW, owned by Virginia Tech. This allowed WRVL to repeat Victory FM programming on WVTW's HD-3 digital subchannel in Charlottesville, Virginia. This is noteworthy because it makes WVTW perhaps one of few HD radio stations in the nation funded by the federal Public Telecommunications Facilities Program (PTFP).1n grant year 2007, the PTFP funded a project to increase the power of WVTW, extending its signal coverage to about 193,000 additional persons.
On December 26, 2014, WRVL dropped nearly all its Christian talk and teaching programs, switching to a Contemporary Christian music format. The station's moniker also changed from "Victory Radio Network" to "The Journey". It uses the slogan "Life, Hope, Music."
Simulcasts "The Journey" is carried on several stations and HD Radio digital subchannels in Virginia and North Carolina.
Call sign Frequency City of license State Facility ID Class ERP(W) WVRL 88.3 FM Elizabeth City North Carolina C2 50,000 WVRA 107.3 FM Enfield North Carolina A 4,100 WVRH 94.3 FM Norlina North Carolina A 6,000 WVRP 91.1 FM Roanoke Rapids North Carolina A 2,000 WVRD 90.5 FM Zebulon North Carolina A 1,200 WBOP 95.5 FM Buffalo Gap Virginia A 6,000 WVTW-HD3 88.5-3 FM Charlottesville Virginia B1 1,000 WVRI 90.9 FM Clifton Forge Virginia B 1,000 WVTR-HD3 91.9-3 FM Marion Virginia C2 4,500 WHRO-HD3 90.3-3 FM Norfolk Virginia B 8,800 WRXL-HD3 102.1-3 FM Richmond Virginia B 20,000 WVTF-HD3 89.1-3 FM Roanoke Virginia C 100,000
Notes:
Translators "The Journey" is relayed by additional translators to widen its broadcast area. W236BO at 95.1 served Burlington, North Carolina prior to 2013, until WPCM took it over.
Call sign Frequency(MHz) City of license State Facility ID Class ERP(W) Rebroadcasts W246DD 97.1 Charlottesville Virginia D 99 WVTW-HD3 W234CT 94.7 Marion Virginia D 99 WVTR-HD3 W293AS 106.5 Pulaski Virginia D 10 WVTF-HD3 W235AI 94.9 Richmond Virginia D 16 WKHK-HD3 W293AX 106.5 Roanoke Virginia D 10 WVTF-HD3 W297BH 107.3 Suffolk Virginia D 25 WHRO-HD3 W270BO 101.9 Wytheville Virginia D 10 WVTR-HD3
References
External links The Journey Online