First Live@WREK Broadcast

August 20, 2004

On Tuesday the first Live@WREK show was broadcast from the new space. Funk band "Cadillac Jones" performed on the stage, with live sound being mixed for the audience and another mixer in the production studio providing the air mix. Communications between the two were conducted over IM (a snake carrying the audio channels had been strung only a day beforehand). A few students dropped by, and the employees of Jackets (the "Irish Pub") came out to enjoy the show, as well as Student Center Director Rich Steele. Congrats to the Live@WREK crew for a successful first show in the new space!

New Equipment On-Air

August 6, 2004

The new air studio console is now on the air! It took about a week for the new equipment to be properly assembled and connected to the air chain, but the new air studio is now operational. Through a lot of hard work the remaining equipment has been removed from the old studios in the Coliseum Annex, and Facilities will soon move in. Photos here.

In the coming weeks the current station staff will be trained on the new equipment and a wave of fresh faces from the incoming Freshman and others will start out as "dummy-ops" as they work toward full Op status in state-of-the-art surroundings.

We will continue to raise funds for WREK through the Momentum Fund; we have received several contributions in the past month that are moving us closer to our goal of funding the move, but we are still short of our minimum goal. Please read about how you can help. Thank you.

Sign-On Available

July 30, 2004

If you'd like to hear the sign-on sequence compiled by Chief Engineer Thomas Hildebrandt, it's available in MP3 format here (1.5Mb). This was the first sound heard by WREK listeners when the station came back on the air at 12:03pm Tuesday, July 27th.

Live from our new studios!

July 27, 2004

Today at 9:30am, Chief Engineer Thomas Hildebrandt signed the station off for the final time from the studios at 165 Eighth Street NW. Alums Jim Evans and Adam Preble, and students Richard Cross and Markus Haas packed up the critical components in the air chain and moved them to the new, temporary air studio for the cut-over sign-on.

With a crowd present to witness the event, at approximately 12:03pm WREK returned to the airwaves with a compilation of legal ID's (W-R-E-K Atlanta) created by Thomas that spanned WREK's entire history, with familiar voices old and new. RoseMary Wells, chair of the Radio Communications Board, offered a few words about the event, and the first song - "Spooky" by The Classics IV, also the first song aired when WREK first signed on March 25, 1968 (read more) - was introduced by Adam. Photographs of the event, taken by Technique photographer Ethan Trewhitt, are available here. Thanks to Ethan for making these photographs available.

There remains much to do before the move is complete - remaining equipment and history from the old station must be moved, as well as the installation of the new studios, expected in the next couple of days. Finally, we are still trying to reach our minimum fundraising goals in order to prevent eating into WREK's unchanged-in-30-years operating budget. Please consider helping this effort.

Temporary Air Studio

July 26, 2004

This weekend the old production studio equipment was moved to the new station's air studio. Tomorrow, July 27th, WREK will sign off from the Coliseum Annex building and sign back on from the temporary air studio in the new space! The new furniture should be arriving this week, as well as the new equipment for the air studio (the production studio will follow, due to some delays). Sign up on the e-mail list to receive updates.

We are still in need of your help to make the move a success and ensure that the station will have operating money in the upcoming year. To find out more, click here.

Momentum Fund Update

July 9, 2004

With the changeover day is less than 3 weeks away, we do not yet have enough money to cover the necessary costs to move the station. Read more...

Getting the Word Out

July 9, 2004

Photos from June have been posted, showing the lobby furnuture, as well as the cleaned-up racks in engineering.

At the suggestion of Richard Crouch, WREK's first General Manager, we have added an e-mail list - subscribers will receive news of the move and fund progress by e-mail. You can also post to the list and communicate with others interested in the move.

We have also added a Donors page recognizing the people who have contributed thus far to the Momentum Fund.

Promo spots have recently begun running on WREK, notifying listeners of the move. Voicing the spots are Jeremy Varner (Operations Manager), Thomas Hildebrandt (Chief Engineer), and Adam Preble (GM 2000-2001).

Furniture is Arriving

May 7, 2004

New chairs and cabinets are arriving, and the new studio doors are being installed. More photos. Once the "punch list" items are addressed, WREK can begin occupying its new space! We still need your help to cover costs for custom studio furniture, new equipment and wiring necessary for a smooth transition. WREK thanks the Student Government Association for committing nearly $15,000 for new shelving for the vault.

New Space Almost Complete!

March 8, 2004

The walls are up, and the new space looks fantastic! A few more conduits, AC/network/phone wiring, and the future home of WREK Atlanta will be ready to be transformed from a pretty nice set of rooms to the most cutting edge (in more ways than one) radio station in the world. You can see the photos, and also read about photos, and also read about how to help make this happen.

Drywall Going Up

February 18, 2004

The new studio is taking shape: walls, doors, and windows are cropping up in these new photographs (here) taken by Jim Evans.

BuzzWords Article

December 1, 2003

BuzzWords, the monthly GT Alumni Association newsletter, has an article about the upcoming move in the December issue.

Vault Update

November 18, 2003

The architects have provided a peek at the new vault layout. You can find it here.

New Construction Photos

November 06, 2003

Jim Evans has taken a few photographs of the new space under construction: here.

Floor Plans

July 11, 2003

Floor plans as of July: here.

New Space Photographs

June 01, 2003

At right is the exterior of the future home of WREK Atlanta. More photographs of the old bookstore are available here.