By MELISSA WALKER

Staff Writer

Give 89.1 KLPI a break -- they are trying.

Denton Sorrells, the program director of Tech's radio station and a senior biomedical engineering major, said things around the station are being turned around with the installation of their new equipment.

"We are undergoing an expansion process," Sorrells said. "This year we have expanded it to more popular music. Students hear it more often now."

Sorrells said the new play lists are now possible because of the automated computer system KLPI has recently purchased.

"The last computer we had could play a maximum of 175 songs," Sorrells said. "The new computer now has over 700 songs in rotation."

The new equipment also allows for disc jockeys to record voice tracks, which allows listeners to be informed of which songs are playing while DJs are not present in the station, he said.

Sorrells said listeners can also access information about the songs being played by going to KLPI's Web site http://www.891KLPI.org. The Web site lists the last five songs that were played, he said.

KLPI has also purchased a subscription to a music distributing service which includes specialty shows beginning at 8 p.m. that feature one genre of music, Sorrells said.

"We try and make sure every genre is represented," Sorrells said.

"We have everything but country and contemporary Christian, and that is because of graduated DJs," Sorrells said, referring to the lack of DJs because of their alumni status.

Will Seale, the general manager of KLPI and a senior mechanical engineering and physics double major, said the new equipment has improved the cohesive nature of the play lists.

"It limits the dynamic shifts," Seale said. "We no longer have a bluegrass song right after heavy metal. Bluegrass, the Hatfields and the McCoys don't go together."

Sorrells said he hopes the changes will affect students' opinion of the station.

"There are a lot of times when I hear people say, 'I don't like KLPI,'" Sorrells said. "I ask 'When was the last time you listened to KLPI?'"

Hilari French, a senior animal science major, said the last time she listened to KLPI was in her freshman year.

"It was just music I didn't like," French said. "I just haven't had an interest to listen to it since."

Seale said he hopes students like French will give KLPI another try.

"We have had to live with criticism from day one," Seale said. "But we are actively working on the problems."