I sometimes wonder why Bell, with all its cutbacks looking to save every cent, keeps this station going after all these years. Especially now that you can stream it online.

turkeytop wrote:

I've heard that the CFRB engineering staff maintain the equipment on their own time.

I don’t think CFRB or bell media in Toronto has any engineering staff…

According to Wikipedia, here's the list of former Canadian shortwave stations. As noted, CFRX is the only commercial station in the country still using the band. The only other one I remember was CHNS in Halifax from a childhood long gone!

List of shortwave stations in Canada

There are examples of commercial stations in the U.S. trying their hand at shortwave, most notably WBCQ out of Monticello, Maine. It offers a host of paid time shows, among others. 

But the one I recall most fondly was the ill-fated WRNO from New Orleans, which actually simulcast its FM rock format for a while. It was lousy quality but great to have on that band in those pre-Internet days. They also accepted paid time shows to help foot the bill. Sadly and predictably, it didn't last long. 







Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt!

turkeytop wrote:

WRNO is still around. But they are plagued with technical problems and are off the air more than they're on.

WRMI in Miami is a big one and still thriving.

I haven't heard them in years. What do they broadcast if they're still around?

Oh I forgot time station CHU so I guess that's two Canadian-based shortwave stations.

CFRX was apparently initially intended for listeners in Northern Ontario and elsewhere in the province beyond the reach of 1010 AM in hopes of making the station truly province-wide. Instead it became relatively popular for a time among snowbirds and other Canadian tourists traveling in the US wishing to keep up with happenings at home in the pre-internet age.

I think now its only listeners are the shrinking number of aging shortwave hobbyists - no more than a few thousand - maybe even a few hundred. I doubt CFRX will still be around in ten years. Even if the equipment is in good condition and the station is maintained by volunteers there are still expenses that won't escape the notice of Bell's cost-cutting accountants forever.

Last edited by Hansa (January 22, 2024 10:49 pm)

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 actual 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). 

 

Last edited by Hansa (September 14, 2024 10:30 am)

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). 

 

I'd have died for that radio back in the day. But we were dirt poor back then and I could only dream about it.
 

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.

Last edited by darcyh (February 3, 2024 10:04 pm)

I digitized this years ago and don't remember where and how I got the tape but here is a bit from CFRB's Starlight Serenade where the announces actually mentions the program airing on CFRB AM, FM and CFRX shortwave which means it must have been recorded prior to the point in 1963 when CFRB FM became CKFM with unique content  as opposed to a simulcast  of CFRB.

CFRB AM FM CFRX

Last edited by Fitz (February 4, 2024 4:09 am)

Just found this. Notice how in this program log from 1972, it lists not only CFRB but also CFRX in the top left corner. And we think they have a lot of commercials now!

I don't have a lot of memories from CFRB in those days, but as I look at that log I can only wonder: when the hell did they actually feature any programming?

Looking at the 6 o'clock hour, for instance, there are mostly one minute commercials scheduled at 6:04, 6:06, 6:10, 6:12, 6:14, 6:18, 6:20, 6:26 and 6:29! That entire half hour is one long spot break. 

I can't imagine staying tuned through all that. It's bad now, but at least their 5-minute breaks these days come only every quarter hour. This was ridiculous. Yet it was still riding high atop the ratings in those days. How I can't understand. 

I'm surprised you didn't have carpal tunnel syndrome with all that switching around of carts!

One summer morning in the early 1970's, my dad was driving to the Islington subway station from Oakville. Of course CFRB was on. Music was dreadful. I prayed for the commercials. Only four records actually got played in one hour.

Hansa wrote:

How much would the electricity needed for CFRX to broadcast 24 hours a day at 1 kW actually cost?

see my Oct 20, 2021 (1:53pm) comment about hydro cost

 

RadioActive wrote:

I don't have a lot of memories from CFRB in those days, but as I look at that log I can only wonder: when the hell did they actually feature any programming?

Looking at the 6 o'clock hour, for instance, there are mostly one minute commercials scheduled at 6:04, 6:06, 6:10, 6:12, 6:14, 6:18, 6:20, 6:26 and 6:29! That entire half hour is one long spot break. 

I can't imagine staying tuned through all that. It's bad now, but at least their 5-minute breaks these days come only every quarter hour. This was ridiculous. Yet it was still riding high atop the ratings in those days. How I can't understand. 

I'm surprised you didn't have carpal tunnel syndrome with all that switching around of carts!

RA, as I remember back to the deep dark mists of the past, my parents kept CFRB playing non-stop.

Why? The music? Probably not. The personalities and newscasters? Yes, absolutely! There was an air of excellence in those days. My parents didn't want to miss any of them.

RadioActive wrote:

Just found this. Notice how in this program log from 1972, it lists not only CFRB but also CFRX in the top left corner. And we think they have a lot of commercials now!

Pardon the hijack, but I noticed the 'Consumers Distributing' ad.  Remember the unique experience in buying from that sort of store?  NY state had 'Brand Names' and 'Century' stores that were the same method.  I once asked in an online forum why this type of store disappeared; it was answered that changes in tax laws eliminated the advantages of the catalog type stores.