WRUC collection

The station now known as WRUC was at first given the name 2ADD, and it signed on October 14, 1920. The first program was monitored as far as 105 miles away, and it was broadcast by students Wendell King and William McCaig. The equipment for this initial broadcast was set up by a General Electric employee and Union College alum of the Class of 1916 named G. Glen Mercer. Much of the early development in radio transmission was made possible through the work of Charles Steinmetz during his time as the head of Union's Electrical Engineering department. In 1922, the government issued a broadcast license to the College for the call letters WRL, which was used for regular broadcasting, and 2XQ, used for short wave and morse code.

The enthusiasm for broadcasting soon waned, and the Radio Club's focus returned to experimental work. WRL's license was allowed to expire in 1923, and the station was formally deleted from the government list of active stations in 1924.

The Radio Club reorganized in 1932 and moved its equipment to the Electrical Engineering building where it received the call letters W2GSB for short wave work.

In the mid-1930's, the Union College Radio Workshop was formed to provide students with practical radio experience. Initially the group worked with General Electric in radio programming production.

In 1941, an experimental transmission line was strung between the Electrical Engineering Building and North College for a proposed on-campus network. With the encouragement of President Fox, the Union Broadcasting System began.

The Radio Workshop group merged with the Radio Club, forming the Union College Radio Society. The new organization contained both an amateur section and a broadcasting section. Utilizing the new broadcasting technology, the carrier current station became known as the UCRS Network in 1942.

1947 saw the split between the broadcasting organization and the amateur section. W2GSB was shut down during WWII and reestablished in 1947 as the Union College Amateur Radio Club (later Society) separate from the main broadcasting station. In 1962 it became W2UC.

As a result of a student contest in 1947, the broadcasting station name changed from UCRS to WRUC (sometimes referred to as Wireless Radio Union College). In 1966, WRUC entered a joint venture with Skidmore College which proved untenable and only lasted a couple of years. In 1975, WRUC switched from AM to FM and was provided a 100 Watt frequency, about a five mile radius, of transmission. It currently transmits on 89.7 FM and online.