For those who may have missed this from my post regarding "Last remaining CBC LPRT AM transmitter in eastern Ontario moving to FM" posted on September 21, 2022 https://gta.boardhost.com/viewtopic.php?id=8530

The CBC (ICI Radio-Canada Premiere) received an approval from the CRTC on November 28, 2022 to convert the low-power relay transmitter CBOF-4 in Rolphton, Ontario from AM 1400 kHz to FM 98.5 MHz.

Link to CRTC Decision from November 28, 2022:
https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2022/2022-324.htm

This leaves at least 5 more LPRT's left in Ontario and also making AM 1400 the last graveyard frequency in Ontario to be shutdown.

Here's a list of the five remaining LPRT's in Ontario (both English and French networks). Source Wikipedia.

•CBES 690 AM Ignace - CBC Radio One

•CBON-12 1090 AM Mattawa Ici Radio-Canada Première

•CBLO 1240 AM Mattawa CBC Radio One

•CBLE 1240 AM Beardmore CBC Radio One

•CBLF 1450 AM Foleyet CBC Radio One

There's still a handful of CBC low power relay transmitters across Canada with most of them in British Columbia and Quebec. It's unknown when these remaining CBC LPRT's in Ontario and the rest of Canada will either move to FM or shutdown completely.

I remember when CKNR AM 1340 Elliot Lake, Ontario with AM transmitters operating at 730 Blind River and 930 Espanola all moved to one FM signal at 94.1 MHz with 90,000 watts in 1997 and the station was mono to start with until Haliburton Broadcasting took over CKNR-FM and switched it to FM stereo with the Moose FM branding in 2004 or '05. The former AM signals in Elliot Lake, Blind River and Espanola were all shutdown after the move to 94.1 FM to cover all of Algoma, Manitoulin and the North Shore including the Sudbury area.

The odd thing is that the high-powered main 94.1 FM transmitter for CKNR-FM Elliot Lake is on Manitoulin Island while they have a low-power 50 watt FM repeater in Elliot Lake (the city of license) operating at 98.7 MHz.

Link to CKNR-FM 94.1:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/CKNR-FM

paterson1 wrote:

I would have given FLOW some more time or if that was not in the cards opted for a New Country format.

There's actually a country music radio station at 95.9 FM in Toronto but is a repeater of CJKX-FM 95.9 "KX96" out of Ajax, Ontario with another at 89.9 FM in Sunderland. Not sure if another country music station or even classic country would work in Toronto.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/CJKX-FM

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We should remember that the format only changed two weeks before the rating period, so these numbers don't mean much.  They would have lost half of their audience they had with FLOW. I would have given FLOW some more time or if that was not in the cards opted for a New Country format. Canada's largest radio market should have a country outlet.  Country works great in Vancouver, a city that is just as diverse as Toronto. It would work here like it did for CISS in the early 90's.  Change of ownership, too many pop songs and cross overs ruined that station.  CISS was trying too much to cater to a non country audience that would never listen to them anyway.

Today radio with this format sorely needs some promotion, which doesn't seem to be happening.  If Stingray sticks with this plan it will be a while for the audience to find them if there is no promotion.  I am always doubtful when I hear of a station changing format and seemingly overnight they are number one or go magically from the bottom of the ratings into the top 5.  This never happens in Toronto.  

Personally, I don't really mind Today's format or music.  Some of the chats seem staged and the talk should move along  quicker, some topics are on a bit long.  The stations out west with a similar format have been doing this longer.  Some like NOW in Edmonton have live studio cameras so you see the announcer  when they are live.  Also they have a live feed of the texts coming in, so you can read some of the comments before they are

Found out the other day while reading the news on the Lake 88.1 website https://lake88.ca, it's now known as https://lanarkleedstoday.ca/

The station, CHLK-FM in Perth, Ontario recently purchased by My Broadcasting Corporation, sounds pretty much the same including the Lake 88.1 branding.

My Broadcasting Stations banner as of 2022

I heard that a radio station in Aurora, Ontario was approved to sign on the air in 2016 and I'm wondering if CHRA-FM 101.5 Voice of Aurora Community Radio ever did sign on the air? I can't seem to find any websites or information online but CHRA-FM Aurora is listed in some list of radio stations in Ontario pages.

Low-power community radio station in Aurora - March 24, 2016 - Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2016-114
https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2016/2016-114.htm

Hi there, I hope you don't mind me sharing this throwback! I'm sure that CHOG AM 640 Toronto when it was Top 40 received many phone calls, song requests from listeners from hundreds and hundreds of kilometers away during the nighttime hours.

I thought I'd like to share this audio of my phone in song request to AM 640 with Kenny The Hitman from when I lived up Sudbury, Ontario in 1995. It was Janet Jackson's "Runaway" that I had requested and one of my favorite songs at the time when I was 17. We didn't have a CHR/Top 40 radio station in Sudbury in the mid 1990's and had to listen to Much Music or AM 640 at night but wasn't too long before AM 640 became "Talk 640".

Note that I only kept my song request and cuts off at the beginning Janet Jackson's song when I digitalized the cassette tape.

Here's the YouTube link to hear my request. I hope you enjoy! Note that I only went to the beginning of the song when I digitalized the cassette tape.

https://youtu.be/VnXYkH4oG0A

I tried to upload this video on here but appears that it only accepts images.

I remember hearing about the CBC Radio One transmitter CBCP-FM in Peterborough, Ontario that changed frequencies from 93.5 MHz to 98.7 MHz in the 1990's leaving 93.5 empty in Peterborough and a vacant frequency for Toronto which is now occupied by CFXJ-FM.

CBC Radio One frequency change in Peterborough:
[url=http://Decision CRTC 98-516]https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/1998/DB98-516.HTM[/url]

Noticed today (January 21, 2022) after looking for history on a radio station, it appears that the Canadian Communications Foundation website http://broadcasting-history.ca/ account has been suspended. I'm not sure how long it's been down for. Anyone know anything about this and if the website will be back up and running again?

If you try accessing any of the radio CCF / Broadcasting History webpages it will automatically redirect you to a suspended site. Example CBLA-FM:
http://www.broadcasting-history.ca/listing_and_histories/radio/cbla-fm

Sounds like that all or most of the myFM stations owned by My Broadcasting Corporation  have gone all Christmas such as CJGM-FM 99.9 myFM in Gananoque, Ontario which I had noticed today (December 9, 2021) while fine tuning the radio.

Even Bell Media's CFLY-FM Move Radio 98.3 in Kingston, Ontario is all Christmas!
https://www.iheartradio.ca/move/kingston/move-98-3-is-kingston-s-christmas-music-station-1.16556614

I don't ever recall 99.9 myFM Gan and Move 98.3 (formerly FLY FM) Kingston playing all Christmas music before!

Scarboroughbluffsradiof99 wrote:

they could put a station on 101.5, 106.1, 92.3 or 92.7 fm
but, I think the am band has more space.
North GTA needs it's own news/talk station

 
And maybe use 91.5, 95.1, 96.9 FM. Very hard to find an open FM frequency in the GTA these days!

Not too sure if there would be room for a news/talk radio station on FM in the northern GTA but would probably work on AM which may take forever to sign on this day in age!

Would be nice if the French-language network Radio-Canada Première CJBC AM 860 would have an FM rebroadcaster in Toronto. If there's room they could possibly use 101.7 which is a second adjacent frequency to 102.1 CFNY-FM. Example: 98.7 CKFG-FM is already a second adjacent frequency to CBLA-FM 99.1 in Toronto or use other frequencies for CJBC 860 on 89.9 FM, 92.9 FM, etc.

I have a great spot for FM radio DX'ing on top of Spy Rock on Foley Mountain in the Conservation area that overlooks the village of Westport, Ontario which is approximately 55 kilometers north of Kingston.

Spy Rock on Foley Mountain Conservation area overlooking the village of Westport. Camera facing the southerly direction.


My Grundig G8 Traveler II Digital radio. The FM is AMAZING on this thing just something like a car radio. The LW/AM and shortwave aren't the greatest however. Note I saved this image from the internet as some of the print has been worn off on my radio.


The farthest FM signal from the west I've received via tropo on Spy Rock/Foley Mountain was on September 19, 2021 when I heard WFUM 91.1 Flint, Michigan "Michigan Radio" and WLLZ 106.7 rock Detroit, Michigan.

The farthest eastern FM signal I heard via tropo was Sherbrooke, Quebec but from in the village in August 2021. The southern most FM signal I heard was Binghamton, NY and WCIH 90.3 Ridgebury, Pennsylvania until CBC Radio One's transmitter relocated from 104.7 to 90.3 at Belleville, ON which is pretty much all I hear now. To the north such as Arnprior, Renfrew and Pembroke are usually blocked off with some interference on the Ottawa stations and CHLK-FM 88.1 transmitter in Perth, Ontario approximately 31 kilometers from my DX location is blocked by WSLZ 88.1 Cape Vincent, NY/Kingston, ON.

I've also received a 250 watt translator W221CL on 92.1 FM which rebroadcasts news/talk WYSL 1040 AM and some WHEC NBC 10 newscasts in the Rochester, NY area.

When there's no tropo, I can still receive CJRT-FM 91.1 Toronto, ON on top of the mountain almost any day which varies from almost local sounding to nearly nothing!

Looks like not much FM tropo in the forecast maps from Hepburn's DX Info Centre sit

RadioAaron wrote:

Because those in the know lurk and sometimes post, why did CBC pick 104.7 in the first place? 90.3 was allocated and was in the end the right choice, while WBBS is strong enough to stop the seek function in cars in the area.

I believe it's Industry Canada that picks frequencies for broadcasters and they possibly chose 104.7 MHz for the CBC Radio One outlet in Belleville, ON. I knew the whole time that 104.7 wasn't going to work for Belleville and the surrounding areas. Someone else awhile back posted online that WBBS 104.7 near Syracuse, NY was strong enough to drown out the CBC Radio One signal just east of Belleville and stop on WBBS on the seek function on radios! 89.5 MHz is also an allocated frequency in Prince Edward County and Belleville area with others to name a few. Glad they chose 90.3 MHz as it's a better frequency and hopefully no other interference from other radio stations such as CJBC-FM Toronto won't interfere with Belleville's new 90.3 FM during certain atmospheric conditions such as tropo.

Found out late Monday evening November 1, 2021 that CBC Radio One's outlet CBO-FM-1 Belleville, Ontario had changed frequencies from 104.7 FM to their new frequency at 90.3 FM with a much better signal! This change was necessary due to interference with WBBS 104.7 Fulton near Syracuse, NY.

And I forgot Eaton's and I'm pretty sure there's a few more department stores that were around when I was growing up in the 1980's.

Great memories! 🙂 I bet many of you here remember Woolco?