texas tech's first radio station wasn’t a true broadcast radio station, but a carrier current station, where a low-power am signal is sent to receivers through a building's electrical wiring. signal reception was limited to receivers either plugged directly into the building's electrical system or placed close enough to the power lines which would act as a leaky feeder. the signal was limited to the building in which it was broadcast, because the electrical transformers and switch gear that supplied electricity to the building, would prevent the signal being passed elsewhere. additional wiring had to be run directly to other buildings for the signal to be heard in them. carrier current stations are not licensed by the fcc, but operate under the code of federal regulations, title 47, part 15 (title 47 cfr part 15). such stations are not issued official call signs nor are they subject to federal regulation as commercial radio stations are. despite their limited range, carrier current stations offer several benefits: their transmitters are rather cheap and easy to construct, they can operate on any am frequency, and if the signal originates on the campus of an educational institution, there is theoretically no power limit. by increasing the transmitter power and using inline filters, the signal quality is improved and a greater number of buildings can be served. it was these qualities that made carrier current stations quite popular among many educational institutions throughout the 1950s, including texas tech.