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SOWNY » RIP “Fly Guy” Rob Valentine » January 16, 2024 12:55 pm

Juggie1
Replies: 8

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Rob De Cicco, who’s worked at CHUM and MIX 999 doing traffic reports, has passed away. 

I remember going up with him many times in the plane in the afternoons to correct some technical issue when he was at CHUM. 

Here is the link to the funeral home.

https://memorials.albion.bernardofuneralhomes.com/roberto-de-cicco/5361318/index.php?_ga=2.247927936.66909973.1705423720-144686453.1705423720&_gl=1*8csq4*_ga*MTQ0Njg2NDUzLjE3MDU0MjM3MjA.

SOWNY » The B.C. FM Station Whose Call Letters Start With "VF" » August 14, 2023 1:22 pm

Juggie1
Replies: 6

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I have come across the XJ to XO calls in the business 2 way and stl communications, particularly in the 450 and 950 MHz band.  One of the stations I worked for had a 2 way to the planes and we had to identify each communication with the license calls XMJ225.  I think that those licenses have since been handed back as they no longer have an airplane.

SOWNY » Where Were You When The Lights Went Out? » August 14, 2023 10:30 am

Juggie1
Replies: 33

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RadioActive wrote:

Longtime CFRB's staffers are recalling that on that day, they were the only station still left on the air, thanks to having a back-up generator. 

I wonder if that's true. I find it hard to believe no other station in town had any power source on standby just in case. Wasn't 680 also able to stay on? 

Frankly, it was such a hectic night, I can't quite remember what I listened to in the dark. There wasn't much else you could do than turn on the radio - another reason the medium is so vital in an emergency. But I do recall CFRB being the station I tuned into for updates most often.

 
1050CHUM was on the air, too!   I was working that night making sure that all the equipment was working.  The generators at the CN Tower failed so none of the fm’s or tv stations that
had their transmitters there were on the air. 

Once we realized it was going to be a long night, we all got into a routine.  I checked that generator many times and also our links to CP24, as we had access to all of those reporters they had in the field.  Assisted the newsroom as needed.

We set up speakers on Yonge Street playing 1050 and handed out every bottle of water we had to people walking up the street.  I remember people standing outside the building listening trying to get information. 

Looking down Yonge street was very strange.  It was dark except for a few buildings that had emergency power.  A few floors of the taller buildings were lit up and when the power started to return, they did it in segments.  We could see the power come on a few blocks at a time.  We got power back at 1:30 AM and CFRB was just shortly after that.  We were able to get CHUM FM back on then, too, as it had power to its alternate site return.

SOWNY » Why You Won't See The Jays Or Shohei Ohtani On Sportsnet Friday » July 28, 2023 9:23 am

Juggie1
Replies: 14

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Unfortunately there are 2 more Apple TV games to go.  The schedule has August 11 and August 18 also listed only Apple TV.  Even Sportsnet doesn’t have those game listed.  Ugh

SOWNY » What Is This Toronto "Radio" Station? Does It Still Exist? » July 17, 2023 11:53 am

Juggie1
Replies: 9

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I see from the Nav Canada site that they have decommissioned this site as of December 29, 2022!   Explains why it is no longer on the air.

SOWNY » What Is This Toronto "Radio" Station? Does It Still Exist? » July 17, 2023 11:38 am

Juggie1
Replies: 9

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There is a NavCanada NDB near Sherway Gardens.  It is the Queensway NDB at a frequency of 368 KHz.  It’s active and also has a precision approach beacon collocated with it as this location is on the approach for runway 32.   I’ll get a picture of the tower next time I am near there.   The station id is ZYZ.

SOWNY » Weather Or Not: When TV Forecasters Differ Completely » July 4, 2023 8:04 pm

Juggie1
Replies: 13

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I think the thing to remember is that there are more than just one data set and data models in use.  There are more than 10 different models in use and each one uses its own dataset.  Note all services use Environment Canada’s dataset.   Some use their own dataset’s from sensors that they only have access to! 

A great example is Environment Canada yesterday issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Bobcaygeon yesterday yet both Accuweather and another service didn’t issue a warning for the same area.  It didn’t rain at all in Bobcaygeon yet Fenelon Falls got dumped on!   In fact it was sunny almost the entire time the warning was issued.

   I remember when I was working that there were many choices as to what dataset and models  available and the costs were all very different.   Not all used Environment Canada’s data, either.

It all comes down to what service and dataset that the individual station had access to. 

Don’t blame the on air people.   It’s how the different services available use their respective data.

SOWNY » Bell Cuts 1,300, Closes 6 Stns., Including CJBK, Selling CKOC & CHAM » June 15, 2023 10:20 pm

Juggie1
Replies: 218

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So at 10 AM local time, the carriers of the 2 Vancouver stations as well as 1290 CFRW was shut down, ending transmission from those stations.  Heard the announcement on 1290 in London before 10.  Went to see this afternoon if it was still the but didn’t hear a carrier so I gather that it, too, was shut down this morning.

SOWNY » CITY Stanley Cup Simsub » June 27, 2022 7:37 am

Juggie1
Replies: 5

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Also the delay would be there to prevent any profanity or other such things getting to the US market!   I have a friend working in the truck who says they have someone ready to mute audio or black out the video, if necessary, in case any bad words or visuals happen.  As CITY is getting the feed after this point, they would have that delay.

The Sportsnet feed has no profanity delay and we get to hear all of the language that is on the ice!

SOWNY » BlogTO: CP24/CTV To "Temporarily" Leave 299 Queen West » March 14, 2022 5:31 pm

Juggie1
Replies: 20

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Maybe they might move to the Pinewood Studios in the Portlands!   Bell owns that property and there is lots of space to do what they would want to do.  No lease or money out for rentals, plus they could stay a while.  Once built, there would be no reason to move out!

SOWNY » All Sports Stations Contemplate What's Next With Omicron » December 20, 2021 9:27 pm

Juggie1
Replies: 3

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World juniors are still on.  It’s the Spengler Cup in Davos that they have pulled out of.  World Juniors are in Edmonton again this year.

Official website is here. 

https://www.iihf.com/en/events/2022/wm20

SOWNY » Toronto Sun Turns 50 On Nov. 1st » November 2, 2021 8:45 am

Juggie1
Replies: 13

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turkeytop wrote:

I was a Telegram reader. I sure missed that paper. The Sun wasn't available where I was living. I tried the Star for a while, then settled on the Globe. Been reading the Globe ever since.

Now I'm considering switching to the Star. The Globe's quality has been going downhill in the past few years, since they became part of Bell Media.

Bell sold most of the shares and all of its control to Woodbridge, an investment arm of The Thomson Family in 2010..  Bell has only 15 percent of the Globe now.  They sold off most of their Globe holdings to buy CTV and part of that deal was selling off most of the stake in The Globe.

SOWNY » The End Of ISDN Lines » September 5, 2021 4:35 pm

Juggie1
Replies: 14

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Now as to the ISDN, yes most markets in the States no longer offer it and most markets in Canada also dont offer it anymore.  Bell generally will not even tell you its possible but if you have a contact in Bell, you can still get it in some areas because they haven't removed the switching equipment that handles the format.  The biggest issue now is if it is indeed available, there is no one who knows how to set it up properly and even confirm that it is indeed working.  I would be using IP based technology whenever I could get it.

SOWNY » The End Of ISDN Lines » September 5, 2021 4:30 pm

Juggie1
Replies: 14

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I just ordered a POTS line and I am in south Mississauga.  The DSLAM that I have for Internet cannot handle the IP phone system that Bell uses as it is very old and is a bonded line to get that into my Bell Home Hub 3000 modem!  I can only get 50 Meg down and 10 Meg up for internet and that is the fastest that they can get for me and I am just across the street from Long Branch Go Station.  If I add TV, then my internet drops down to 25 and 10.

Now I do have to install my own jacks as they now just terminate the line (demarcation) out on the street and they did supply me with the DSL filters to put on the copper line for the phone.  Funny thing is across the street is Toronto and the orange Bell Fibre line is right there as I can see the designation tag and the fiber splitter.  They just wont run it across the street into Mississauga.!

SOWNY » HD Radio In Toronto » June 18, 2021 8:38 pm

Juggie1
Replies: 62

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In Phase wrote:

Tim Brown 2016 wrote:

tvguy wrote:

CHUM FM will not be running HD any time soon, from what I hear. 
The balance of stations which broadcast from the CN Tower, will need to have an upgrade to the "Master FM" antenna

Thanks for this tvguy... To be precise, is it not the CN Tower FM combiner that needs replacement to accommodate HD Radio? Why would the actual antenna need to be replaced? From what I recall (40 years ago), that's a broadband antenna up there. Is it a polorization issue?

The antenna itself probably does not need any changes as it is broadband.  The main issue is the FM combiner.
 
A multi-station combiner is really a set of filters interconnected such that all signals "combine" to feed a common antenna all the while preventing each stations signal from getting back into each other’s transmitter.
 
Due to FM band frequencies, each “filter” is physically large (about the size of a big hot tub), and there are multiple filters per station.
 
The filters are finely tuned to pass only a single FM station, within a specific frequency & bandwidth.  Adding HD signals expands the bandwidth such that the existing filters will chop off some of the HD signal.  Each stations series of filters would need to be retuned and/or replaced to permit HD transmission.  That’s a big job and would involve coordinating with all other players using the combiner.
 
Unfortunately, I don’t have a personal photo of the CNT FM combiner but a simple search reveals a picture taken by Mr. Fybush during one of his site visits.  Perhaps he has more images to share.

https://www.fybush.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/cn-combiner.jpg
 

 

Unfortunately the antenna cannot handle the peak voltage when all of the stations go HD!   Splitters and câbles will also need to be replaced.   

Plus when the HD is added into the safety code 6 calculations, the Space Deck becomes unusable!   Too much radiation.   So the best plan is

SOWNY » HD Radio In Toronto » June 16, 2021 6:31 pm

Juggie1
Replies: 62

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Biggest issue with FCP is Safety Code 6!   With the current load of rf stations including tv, fm, and communications companies, the rf level is at or just below the level where power reductions would start happening.  Adding stations up there would further reduce the current power levels of existing stations and may even mean that the top floors may not be useable.

Also, FCP is just under 1000 feet and the CN master fm antenna is just under 1600 feet up!   That height difference means much better reach at a much lower power level and a big hydro savings!   Also lower maintenance costs at CN tower as only one antenna system to maintain.   FCP would have to either spend lots of money for a common antenna system or each station would have to put big filters in to prevent reradiation issues!

SOWNY » Stupid Question #46: Why Can't They Expand The FM Band? » May 16, 2021 1:28 pm

Juggie1
Replies: 14

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In 2008, the FCC asked for public comment about turning the tv channels 5 and 6 into the fm band once that repack was finished.  This didn’t really go anywhere since then and with the most recent repack, it doesn’t look like it will happen.

SOWNY » Stupid Question #46: Why Can't They Expand The FM Band? » May 16, 2021 1:01 pm

Juggie1
Replies: 14

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Unfortunately the most recent repack brought back vhf low tv channels in some areas of the United States.  This puts the move of fm below 88 almost impossible. 

I was involved with the Bell Media change of CFTO from 9 to 8 and saw the list of vhf channels that were being used across North America in the most recent repack and was surprised to see some locations reactivate the low vhf band again

SOWNY » How Far Does That AM Radio Signal Go At Night? » May 14, 2021 9:54 pm

Juggie1
Replies: 13

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Also noticed that 900 CHML Hamilton and 640 are both missing for day and night!

SOWNY » Stupid Question #46: Why Can't They Expand The FM Band? » May 14, 2021 6:57 pm

Juggie1
Replies: 14

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Unfortunately there is no room on either side of the fm band.  Below 88 MHz is the low tv vhf band channel’s 2 - 6, which are back in use since the repack of tv.   Above 108 is the aviation band.  In fact, one of Pearson’s ILS approach frequencies, is just above the FM band at 110.95 MHz!

SOWNY » Do You Still Have Your Old VCR Or Other Equipment? » May 11, 2021 1:30 pm

Juggie1
Replies: 43

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Greetings All.

For those of you that have old tapes and they are starting to shed, here is a way to reduce or even correct the problem.  The issue is called Tape Stiction or Sticky Shed Syndrome, and can be corrected by "baking" the tape for many hours at a low temperature, like around 120 to 140 degrees F (50 to 60 degrees C).  We did this at CHUM many years ago when we digitized many of our old tapes that were 20+ years old!  We used a food dehydrator and then let it do its magic overnight.  We were then able to get the audio from the old tapes.  You will only get a few tries to get the audio in reality, but it does work for most tapes!  This may not work very well on some of the thinner tapes but it worked great for all of the professional Ampex type tapes we had (406, 806, 456, etc).  Didn't try this with video tape but it should work with this as well.  Just may take longer in the "oven".

Here is a link to read more about this issue.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sticky-shed_syndrome

 

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