How about the song "The Disadvantages of You" from the band The Brass Ring. This catchy instrumental was used for Benson & Hedges cigarettes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDv4iqdwH60

RadioAaron wrote:

In the US, most AM stations that went HD have since stopped. I think the reason was it was making a mess of the band for analog radios.

I think you are correct. The wider bandwidth of the HD AM signal really interfered with reception from signals on adjacent frequencies especially at night. A good example was and WBBM 780 Chicago would wipe out reception of WABC 770 New York. Even using a narrow bandwidth setting if your receiver supported it did not help much.

Also the HD signal did not do well with sky wave night time propagation.   
 

I meant to post this a few weeks ago. As of around the end of February I was in south London Ontario in the vicinity of the former CJBK AM transmitter site. The station has been silent since around August 2023?

I expected the rather impressive 8 tower array, tuning houses, and cinder block transmitter building with open three phase electrical feed would have been dismantled. I was quite surprised to see everything still standing and appear in tact. I did not take Bell very long to dismantle the old CKSL site once they silenced the station. Hence my surprise that this site still stands.

I would like to think that the station could be resurrected by a broadcaster with deep pockets but that will not happen. Still wondering why the site is still standing?

 

CFCO 630 AM has a robust, well traveled signal. 

The land around Chatham is fairly flat, but a 1.25 KW FM signal even from a tall tower will not carry very far especially into buildings. Maybe 25 miles? I don't expect the new FM signal to reach London or Grand Bend.

Given CFCO already had a FM repeater at 92.9 to cover the city with a stereo signal, I am not sure there will be much advantage shutting down the powerful AM signal and replacing it with an anemic FM one. Perhaps they will sell the land for the AM transmitter site and save some electricity costs.
 

paterson1 wrote:

I am going to see if I can take in the play as well.

Still say that Wingham should have a bar called "Doc's Place" filled with old CKNX pictures, memorabilia, even equipment.  An original CKNX TV studio camera from 1955 is still kicking around along with some old monitors.. They could run a loop of old CKNX productions and commercials in the bar.  Everyone drives through Wingham on hwy 4, but Doc's Place would give people a reason to stop, have a snack or a beverage In "Canada's Radio and Television Town."   

What a great idea for radio enthusiasts! I'd take a drive there myself.

Not sure it would have a wide enough appeal to be sustainable after the novelty wears off.

I believe the old CKNX TV studios are still in Wingham. It would be interesting to see if there is anything left of the old TV station.

This was mentioned some time ago in a separate post, but tickets were not available at the time. Now they are.
The show runs August 20 - September 20, 2025 at Blyth Festival (Playhouse) 423 Queen St, Blyth, ON N0M 1H0

Actually not very far from where 'Doc' started the station. There are some afternoon performances available. I already ordered tickets.

From the Blyth Festival Website:

In 1926 Wingham, Ontario, self-described “tinkerer” Doc Cruickshank managed to build a working radio transmitter in his garage. Eventually blossoming into CKNX, one of Canada’s most influential radio and TV broadcasters, that transmitter ushered in Canada’s answer to the Grand Ole Opry. From The National Farm Radio Forum to the Saturday Night Barndance and The Circle 8 Ranch, Doc’s programming reflected his stubborn belief in the power of radio to unite people and build community.This newly commissioned country musical celebrates CKNX and its beloved founder, and features live performances of the music of Earl Heywood, the Ranch Boys, Ernie King, Cora Robertson and more.

https://blythfestival.com/radio-town-the-doc-cruickshank-story/
  

Interesting that two stations so close were on the same channel / frequency; both directional and fairly significant power too (5 & 10 KW) I could never copy either station very well in London.

One time Cleveland's 105.7 FM ran a 1260 WIXI tribute weekend where they recreated 1260's top 40 format and jingles. It was fun to listen to. Radio locator shows both stations should have covered their town of licence quite well with the transmitter south of the city and the majority of the power radiating north, but I cannot confirm this.

In addition to low ratings usually brought on by programming cuts I am guessing the transmitter facility is ageing out and would need significant cash. Assuming the land is owned it is probably worth more than the station. Sad.

What station(s) in Ontario are next?

It would not necessarily be a bad thing to see the heard thinned; and allow programming to be improved on the stations that survive, but we know that is not likely to happen.
 

paterson1 wrote:

Rush Limbaugh was only a big deal on American radio.  In Canada virtually nobody listened to him and no stations carried his show.  So other than appearing on the TV news when he said something outrageous, ordinary Canadians knew next to nothing about him.  So his impact on radio here was more or less zero.

WJR 760 Detroit, a 50KW clear channel signal gets quite far into Southern Ontario, WTAM 1100 Cleveland another 50KW frequency, 930 WBEN Buffalo 5KW, WSGW 790 Saginaw MI 5KW and WMIC 660 time delayed by 2 hours with 1KW all carried Limbaugh. In the car it was easy to pick up the show in southwestern Ontario usually from WJR. Once you got past London heading east it became harder until you got within range of WBEN. I do not believe Limbaugh was ever on satellite radio probably by choice.

Eventually The Dan Bongino Show occupied the time spot of noon - three pm on many of the stations that carried Limbaugh. Yesterday, March 14, 2025 was Bongino's last show. He was hired as a Deputy Director of the FBI. 
 

Has CKTB returned to the air?

Looking at Google maps it appears the building where the transmitter lives it is located at the end of a long driveway. I doubt regular snow removal is done at a site so just getting the snow removed for access may take some time. There is a lot that can go wrong at a directional tower site especially if maintenance has been deferred. I don't think many stations keep broadcast engineers on payroll any longer especially smaller stations. Finding someone who can tackle the problem will take time. Usually a station will have a back up transmitter and some redundancy; obviously this is not working. 

At one time this would be an embarrassing situation for a station. 
https://www.google.com/maps/place/43%C2%B002'12.2%22N+79%C2%B009'58.2%22W/@43.0362898,-79.1673775,409m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m4!3m3!8m2!3d43.036722!4d-79.166158?hl=en&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDIxMi4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D 

I recently drove by this stations attractive studio on Speedvale Ave. in Guelph. I occasionally listened in to it when I lived in Kitchener many years ago. At that time it was a full service operation with a middle of the road music format.

It was about 4:10 pm on Tuesday February 11, 2025 when I tuned into CJOY. I thought there would be a live drive show. There was an occasional traffic / weather update but no announcer. I was surprised that this coveted time slot appeared to be automated.

Is there any live programming on CJOY?
 

Great question and I should know the answer but really don't remember the first album.

I do remember my first 45 RPM single. It was "Crimson & Clover" Tommy James and The Shondels. Paid 69 cents for it at Dutch Boy food market on Margaret Avenue in Kitchener. I still have the record and it will play albeit very scratchy.

My father in law had a dodge product form the early 80's. It came with an AM stereo receiver. In London I was pleasantly surprised how good CJBK and CKSL both sounded. Good frequency response (for AM) and great channel separation.

SpinningWheel wrote:

Chrisphen wrote:

*Switches to 1010*
"Ah Christ. Not Spence again..."
*Switches to 99.1*
"Ah Christ, not Martha Chavez again..."
*Switches radio off*

Oh for the good old days.....   Here's a picture from inside a TTC bus circa mid 1970s, notice the ad.     A link to his Flickr album of Toronto in the 1970's is HERE.

(Credit 'queenstwest' on Flickr.



 

Love that oscilloscope sine wave in the CFRB logo.

RadioActive wrote:

I honestly thought the era of analog TV was gone with the wind years ago. But then I came across these two applications to the CRTC to show I was wrong. 

The first is a request from CKY-TV in Winnipeg to shut down the analog transmitter of rebroadcaster CKYB-TV in Brandon, Manitoba.

"Bell Media indicated that the deletion of the rebroadcasting transmitter is necessary because it is out of function and cannot be repaired. Bell Media also cited significant maintenance costs and a lack of revenue generated from CKYB-TV."

The second request is from across the country, where CJCH-TV in Halifax wants to turn off the non-digital TX of its rebroadcaster in Caledonia, Nova Scotia. Bell cited the exact same reasons as the Winnipeg case above. 

The CRTC acceded to both applications, but it amazes me that all these years later. there are still a few non-DT stations around. Is anyone actually watching them? Doesn't sound like they were even being used, but it's amazing they were still on the licence. 

" Bell Media also cited significant maintenance costs and a lack of revenue generated from CKYB-TV."


Geeze, that was the same reason given for shutting down the now dead CKSL 1410. Who was in charge of its maintenance and programming?