That 1500 watts won't go too far considering the terrain. Especially for a local grade signal. Not sure how well it would get into places like Wiarton and Meaford. Maybe okay in the car but not on a low cost clock radio. It is too bad they could not find a frequency where they could operate with 10 or 20 kilowatts. There won't be much to listen to north of Owen Sound on the way to Tobermory.

Thanks for the story RA.

I regularly watched Star Trek when I was a kid. A great show with compelling plots. I was disappointed when the show was cancelled. The series stands the test of time very well.

paterson1 wrote:

darcyh wrote:

I believe that building was built from scratch for CJBK. In its day it was quite a modern looking structure. I went there a couple of times to pick up an album I had won. It had a beautiful reception area.

As Bell acquired more London radio stations, former fierce competitor CKSL AM 1410 and CIQM 97.5 were moved into the building for a total of 4 stations broadcasting from this facility.

The building has been up for sale for a while. The FM stations now operate from the CFPL TV building on Communications Rd. Both AM stations were shut down are are now silent. 

Yes the building was constructed for CJBK and you are right, it was a very modern and attractive structure for it's day.  I think they were asking $1.9 million for the building and property. 

CFPL TV was doubled in size and had a major renovation in 1985.  This was back in the days when they were making money and still a CBC affiliate.   At this time the station had about 200 employees.  CFPL TV is a nice looking building and would have lots of room for the radio stations.  Wonder how many people work in that facility now? 

Last June I took my 6 year old grandson for a tour of some of the tower facilities around London. I tried to explain as simply as possible how radio signals were emanating from the towers. Maybe radio would interest him as it did me. We drove up to the CFPL TV studio and tower. You are right it is a nice looking facility with plenty of parking and no trespassing signs too. I did not think anyone would mind a little boy getting out of the vehicle and looking at the very tall tower adjacent to the studio. What struck me is how much land the facility occupies with its tower. This is in the very desirable Westmount area of London. The land must be worth a fortune. More the the TV station is worth?

Here's the Google Earth link if you want to see for yourself.
https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Communications+Rd,+London,+ON/@42.9509802,-81

I believe that building was built from scratch for CJBK. In its day it was quite a modern looking structure. I went there a couple of times to pick up an album I had won. It had a beautiful reception area.

As Bell acquired more London radio stations, former fierce competitor CKSL AM 1410 and CIQM 97.5 were moved into the building for a total of 4 stations broadcasting from this facility.

The building has been up for sale for a while. The FM stations now operate from the CFPL TV building on Communications Rd. Both AM stations were shut down are are now silent. 

Thanks for providing all the great pictures.

If I understand correctly, when CHCH initially aired, they transmitted from the Wavestack antenna which was essentially mounted on the ground. The height of the antenna was only that of the height of the hill above average terrain. Would this not have severely limited the station's range?

FWIW, growing up in Kitchener in the 60's we always got a good signal from CHCH with the outdoor antenna mounted on the roof of our house.

Their proposal would have CFOS at 89.3 on the FM band with 1.5 kilowatts of power. Not sure what frequencies are available in the area but given the terrain of the Grey Bruce area (rocky and hilly) that 1.5 kilowatts won't cover that much territory with a solid signal even if radiating from a tower at 600 feet.

Bayshore knows what they are doing and I wish them luck.

Hansa wrote:

I used to be a shortwave listener and I'm sorry I mislaid my old Panasonic RF-2200 which is now considered  the "holy grail" of shortwave radios by some hobbyists (amazingly they're selling on eBay for over $300 which is unbelievable for an almost 50 year old radio that has an old dial tuner.)


(this isn't the acutal radio I had but it's a picture I found online of the same model)

I now have a tiny SW radio I bought of Amazon about 5 years ago for $50 but can't catch a thing with it because there's almost nothing to catch, particularly in North America. I'd buy a decent radio, maybe even the same model I used to have for old time's sake, but what's the point? (Although actually, the RF-2200 is also an excellent AM/FM radio as well and is great at pulling in far away signals if you're out in the boonies or on the road). 

 

The Panasonic RF-2200 is widely considered to be the quietest and most sensitive AM / MW portable. There is no digital circuitry to generate internal noise. As an owner of one these I can attest to its high performance on all the bands. There are many switches and potentiometers that often need to be cleaned. The rotating antenna on the top moves so the radio does not have to. The four D cells that power the radio last a very long time. Fidelity is quite good with bass and treble controls. Panasonic hit a home run with this radio. New they were in the $200 - $250 range. I was fortunate enough to have one in the early 80's during the Falklands War when there was much to listen to on shortwave. I parted with the radio as we needed the money at the time. At some point in the early 2000's I purchased one in good condition on ebay.

During the 70's and early 80's there were many fine radios being produced by Sony, Panasonic, Sanyo, Zenith not to mention the European producers like Grundig and Normende.

I would sure give it a fair chance with an extended listen. Hopefully the news won't be recorded repeats updated periodically. Of course it would depend on the music selection.

RadioActive wrote:

I just noticed their logo on the station's website, which, by the way, is "kingstondaily.ca." 

How did the FCC buy that they were going to serve Watertown, N.Y.?

Unlike the CRTC I don't think the FCC particularily cares who the station caters to. Around 2004 I recall a station in New York state near the border that tried to get a foot hood into the Ottawa market. They targeted then classic rock CHEZ with a better mix of music (in my opinion) and no forced Cancon which they proudly declared. I think they did an admirable job; Ottawa traffic, weather a fair amount of local news and they were able to get several local ads. It was a great run while it lasted for a year or so. Ultimately they gave up. While they experienced some limited success what did them in was the strength of their signal. It was a 50 kw FM 50 miles south of Ottawa. Given the geography the signal into the city was decent and easy to pick up in a vehicle but did not have the penetrating power of a local signal to get into offices and homes. When in Ottawa I stayed in a hotel and I could not pick the station up on the cheap clock radio in the room. This would preclude an audience in most buildings.
To improve the signal they really needed an additional 50kw of power and a higher antenna, something that was probably technically possible.

 

Generally I like Christmas music. There are thousands of songs by thousands of artists spanning the history of recorded music. Problem with most of today's stations is the narrow play lists that result in way too many repeats.  For those who appreciate some variety tune to CJBQ 800 Am Belleville this Sunday December 24 from 13:00 - 17:00 as Jim Wright will be playing all Christmas music. He always presents a wide variety. Expect a lot of cancon. I will be recording this on my mini-disc recorder. I am reasonably sure he is live on this show.

Their stream is decent sounding stereo too.

https://www.cjbq.com/player/?playerID=1711

 

Although nor directly related, some companies and banks (RBC) are now charging you for the privilege of sending a paper statement. RBC wants $2.25 someone else wants 75 cents.
They can go to hell. So far I have been successful in getting this waived by promising to take my business elsewhere.

As for late payment fees, it would not be hard to program their computers to forgive any late charge if the customer has a good payment record. But they won't.

It's rare but I occasionally miss a bill and will accept the penalty as my penance, but it still annoys especially when you often pay an account before the due date.

No wonder many companies are held in low esteem and again, they don't care.

Sounds like something out of the 1980's.

As for Shazam, although helpful it is far from perfect.


 

I am wondering what the remaining life is for the CKOC and CHAM transmitter facilities. With their directional signal and 50 kilowatt RF output these sites need to be maintained. Not too long ago I believe CKOC 1150 khz was given permission to drop night power from 50 KW to 20 KW so it could stay on its day pattern. This would reduce maintenance costs associated with operating on the night time directional pattern. Things like high power switches, feed lines, etc. and save them some electricity too. Just makes me wonder...

A great video if you like the technical side of medium wave (AM) radio. Not sure if mentioned in the video but I believe the station is KMOX, 1120 khz, St. Louis MO. It can be easily received during the night in Southern Ontario.

I believe CJBQ Belleville is 10 kilowatts. From radio locator although they have been known to be wrong.

https://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/finder?call=CJBQ&x=8&y=4&sr=Y&s=C