1 of 1- RadioActive
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Can't Get CKTB In The GTA All Of A Sudden? Here's Why.
For the past week or so, I've had a terrible time pulling in CKTB from St. Catharines, whose signal on 610 usually comes in like a local. I thought it might have just been me, but it was bad on every radio, including the car when I was in different neighbourhoods.
And now I know the reason why. A caller phoned Tom McConnell on Wednesday and complained he was having trouble getting the station. McConnell explained they were working on their transmitter and operating at a "lower" power - although he didn't say what that was or when it would be back to normal.
The good news is that it will eventually be restored to its louder self. The bad news is that if you're listening to it off air for the next little while, you won't be hearing it very well. But like The Terminator, they promise "I'll be back."
Hopefully as strong as before.
- DeepTracks
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Re: Can't Get CKTB In The GTA All Of A Sudden? Here's Why.
Hey "RA". On my way in to the city from up north, ~ 5 AM, I tune to 610 just as I pass Barrie, on the 400. I give a listen to the first half hour of C2C.
I can't say I've taken any notice of lack of signal strength. It has come in these last few days as it has always - more than enough to override other, more distant, transmitters.
- RadioActive
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Re: Can't Get CKTB In The GTA All Of A Sudden? Here's Why.
Can't account for that except to say that they may have moved to a more directional beam while they work on whatever it is they're upgrading. Here in northern North York, the signal is noisy, weak and if you turn the wrong way, it all but disappears. If anyone knows what power they're currently putting out, please post it. I'd be curious to know.
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Thread Starter- Saul
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Re: Can't Get CKTB In The GTA All Of A Sudden? Here's Why.
For people within CKTB listening range (B contour should include Toronto and a bit beyond maybe), I would expect no meaningful difference from the posts here. We're close to the summer solstice, which means mostly daylight conditions and very little skywave. At night Toronto is still close enough.
I'm two hours northeast of Toronto. If it was fall or winter I'd get my directional AM DX receiving antenna out and give 610 a whirl. Most likely, with CKTB's signal nulled, I'd get WTVN in Columbus Ohio as the dominant station, followed by WIP in Philly. From there it would be interesting. Sometimes Duluth MN comes in. I've had Cuba. Kansas City. Even Mexico City. And a few others. But the antenna will stay in its summer hideaway. In summertime I'd rather drag my fingernails across a chalkboard and amplify the sound into my delicate ear canals than listen for distant AM signals, what with the mostly daytime non-skywave conditions coupled with extreme crackling noise from lightning - I can hear lightning hundreds of miles away from any actual storms. But I will get out my portable and see if 610 registers...
- mace
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Re: Can't Get CKTB In The GTA All Of A Sudden? Here's Why.
Yesterday when I was driving down Avenue Rd. south of the 401, I checked out CKTB. Signal was noticeably weaker but still listenable. I called the station this morning to get some more details about current operating power and how long the transmitter work would last. The Bell Media receptionist [the phone is answered Bell Media not CKTB] could only confirm that the transmitter work is expected to be completed today. When I asked if I could speak to someone in the engineering dept. to discuss transmitting power, pattern changes etc. the receptionist responded that she couldn't as he is at the transmitter site. They only have one person in the engineering dept? I have never worked in the radio business. Maybe with all the advances in engineering technology, you don't need many people today. Mike Cleaver. From what I understand, you have many years of experience in the technical/engineering/transmitter side of the business. Your thoughts?
- RadioActive
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Re: Can't Get CKTB In The GTA All Of A Sudden? Here's Why.
By sheer coincidence, I also called CKTB just prior to making the original post, probably got the same receptionist as you and was connected to the engineering department. I got voice mail, which didn't really surprise me all that much, and didn't leave a message for the guy who I suspected would not have called me back anyway. (I eventually heard a caller talking about it on air and Tom McConnell confirming they were having signal issues.)
But I have to believe the Bell group in St. Catharines has more than one engineer. It would be almost impossible to think of so many stations, on 24/7, with only one person as back-up.
While I'm sure he was supervising the changes to the equipment, it reminds me of an engineer I worked with at one of Toronto's biggest radio stations in the early 80s. Everyday, someone would ask "Where's Tom?" and everyday we'd get the same answer.
"He's at the transmitter."
The fact that the stick was located fairly far out of town meant he was almost never there and would be gone all day, and many of us began to doubt this endless excuse, which went on for months and months at a time.
No matter what day it was, no matter who was looking for him, Tom was always "out at the transmitter," even though there didn't appear to be any problems at that location.
Finally, a group of us came to the conclusion that somewhere in Toronto, there was a secret pub called "The Transmitter Bar & Grill," that only engineers knew about or were allowed into. And thus when Tom said he was 'going to the transmitter,' that's really where he ended up.
Can't prove it, of course, but it was a source of fun and rumour around the place for a while. (And by the way, as far as I know, he may still be out there.)
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