RadioActive wrote:

And of course the big question remains: when they finally do sign on, whatever century that may be, will they keep that varied playlist or go back to the traditional 300 songs that have worn out their welcome with most listeners?

THE Bigger question is, how much does it cost to be in, what seems like "test mode" forever? 
If there's no ad time, where is the money coming from to pay for the tower...etc? 

 

RadioActive wrote:

I came across this almost by accident on the CRTC site and I'm wondering if anyone here can explain it. If you scroll down to the fourth entry, you'll notice a numbered company, listed as "10070394 Canada Inc." the owner of the new CFAJ in St. Catharines.

The list of languages for the station is what intrigued me. It says "Ethnic" which clearly the place is not (or at least it isn't supposed to be. That's what got the previous owner in so much trouble that they eventually lost the licence.) Is this just because it's owned by Radio Dhun, which IS an ethnic broadcaster? Or is this a preview of something to come? 

Why would it be listed that way?

CRTC Licensing Page 

My best guess is that it's exemption status is based on the fact the station is still in "testing" phase and hasn't been granted its certificate from ISED.  Maybe?

I think I may have accidentally stumbled on the one employee that we know works at CFAJ. His name is Peter Borbely and he spent a decade or so at CKTB in St. Catharines. His Facebook page, which hasn't been really updated in a long time, lists him as "Announcer/Music Director at 1220 CFAJ Radio." 

Whether that's still the case, it's hard to say. 

Not sure if he's the guy doing the occasional IDs, but the CFAJ Facebook page from a few months ago said they had one tower up at 1,000 watts and eight more to go. Eventually, they'll be at 10K but you have to wonder how long that's going to take. This thread began way back in February. I was listening to it on the weekend for about an hour but there's still no word of any official sign-on date. 

http://classic1220.ca/ is claiming to be their website, but it's "Coming soon..."

Fitz wrote:

I tried CFAJ a few days ago and the signal seems to be getting better. I left the radio on the station and when I turned it on about an hour ago I was surprised that I was still getting the station at night. Not that great but the signal was not obliterated by that Virginia religious station. In the sample below you will hear the night time signal from tonight until 4:50 and then a few minutes of the daytime signal from a few days ago. They are running PSA's now:

CFAJ Night and Day

Interesting. The person doing the station ID's...is that the same person who used to ID the former 1220 CHSC?
The voice sounds familiar. 

RadioActive wrote:

It may be Peter Borbely, the one known employee at the station until they finally sign on. He's listed as the Music Director and  Announcer at CFAJ on his Facebook page. I'm guessing they're not likely to hire any other on air people until they're ready to actually program the thing fulltime - whenever that is. 

But I do agree with Fitz that their signal seems to be a lot stronger than it used to be. I assume it's because they're finally getting some of their sticks up and running.  

I've been able to listen to it in my car while driving around Whitby,  recently.
 

It's been a while since I checked out CFAJ at 1220 in St. Catharines. Turned it on this weekend for a few minutes and sure enough, they're still in "test mode."

Now that we're officially in November, that makes it 21 months since they first signed on in Feb. 2020. And they're still "testing!"

Not sure if that's a record but by the time they finally DO get it officially on the air, the music being played today will probably qualify as oldies! 

I'm curious about the rules on this - if there are any. Is there a CRTC-mandated time frame for a station to actually begin full service to its market of licence? Or can they go on like this in perpetuity as long as they have an actual signal up and running?

RadioActive wrote:

Not sure if that's a record

Aboriginal Voices Radio CKAV-FM stations across Canada never got past Test Phase, in the sense of getting to the programming that they were licensed to provide.  Second place would go to CFQR-600 Montreal, who is still in Test Phase as far as programming is concerned.

Never had it confirmed, but I assume the CFAJ is awaiting Industry Canada approval of what is undoubtedly a difficult directional pattern to get right, given the number of towers involved.
 

Last edited by jon (November 5, 2021 3:00 pm)

Even if Zoomer or Moses didn't buy the station, CFZM's pattern already goes everywhere 1220 covers with a clear signal. They would likely want to have a somewhat different format at least for some of the day for St. Catherines.

Regardless the reason for the delays, and we can't forget about how COVID no doubt played a big part, the longer they wait now, the harder it is going to be to sell advertising.

This station could have been on the air before COVID blew up and be established.  Locally St. Catherines and area has been hearing about the new 1220 for years, and they are still not officially broadcasting.   Wouldn't potential advertisers in town be doubtful about an operation that is taking so long to get off the ground?  Some stations are on the air five months after approval, not five years. 

Here is Zoomer Radio's daytime and nightime coverage maps.  Sort of like City tv...they are EVERYWHERE!!