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ok I'm driving to work on the 401 this morning and around Bayiew I start to scan the dial and on 104.9 I hear something about 1050 CHUM. Signal is distorted but from Bayview to Keele I hear old airchecks snippets featuring Jackson Armstrong, Brian Skinner, J Michael Wilson, Roger Ashby, Woffman Jack and others. Also "CHUM contemporary news and some old CHUM promos. Mostly a song intro and then the song. I heard Elenore by the Turtles, a few tracks by CCR, Peter and Gordon and others. One annoucement seem to refer to July 15 and a CHUM reunion from 1967 to 1977.
Coming home this evening I got much of the same with the signal fading in and out from Keele to Markham Rd.along the 401. Signal strength was best around 401/DVP and had completely faded by the time I took the first exit into Pickering. I googled the frequency and I think there's a low power Christian channel somewhere outside the GTA and that did come in briefly for periods.
Did I miss something is this a pirate ?
Should you happen to be close to the DVP/401 try the 104.9 frequency.
to what morning show do you normally listen & what repetitive commercial led you to hit the scan button?
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geo wrote:
to what morning show do you normally listen & what repetitive commercial led you to hit the scan button?
I don't really have "a must listen to" morning show anymore. The last one was The Stephanie Miller show on the now defunct liberal talk station in Buffalo. She's very funny and has a great team. Loved her pokes at conservatives and conservative media figures such as "gasbag" Rush.
Sorry I don't remember what I was listening to before ( maybe CBC radio 1 or 2).
I tend to mostly scan the dial now when I have the radio on hoping to find something interesting and today I did. I wish I knew what it was and that it came in clearer. Was strange to hear these old airchecks with no explanation.
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Today I had an off site meeting near Yonge and Finch and I heard 104.9 playing the 1050 CHUM content again. The signal was quite good where I was parked and I even made a recording on my cell phone. I feel sort of like Dylan's Mr. Jones "something is happening here and you don't know what it is do you".
I will say that I heard at least two recordings made recently by high profile Toronto radio people from back in the day and one referenced the Pan Am Games and the other spoke of a CHUM reunion slated for July 15, 2015. Aside from that I think it was mostly vintage CHUM content on a loop. Sounded almost like one of those pre-station launch teases but I don't recall anything about a new station coming to 104.9 but some pro’s recorded promos for whatever it is that on the air at 104.9 FM
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The Ashbys of Don Mills are hosting a huge bash this evening
Connection? Ashby Pirate Broadcasting network?
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All I get is french from 105.1 overlapping on 104.9 FM.
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The July 15 1050 CHUM reunion of staffers (who were there between 1967 and 1977) was an outstanding affair. And that 104.9 signal was a part of the festivities, pumping out at a magnificent 1-watt. This event was an amazingly well-planned and well-attended blast from the past with the turnout numbering close to 100.
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Radiowiz wrote:
All I get is french from 105.1 overlapping on 104.9 FM
Is Ashby bilingual? Bilingual lads from Waterloo are usually fluent in Pennsylvania Deutsch + a smattering of English
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Kilgore wrote:
Radiowiz wrote:
All I get is french from 105.1 overlapping on 104.9 FM
Is Ashby bilingual? Bilingual lads from Waterloo are usually fluent in Pennsylvania Deutsch + a smattering of English
105.1 is licenced for the Toronto area:
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Well Mr. Ashby is not on any of the promos that I heard but he was on at least one aircheck. One interesting bit of audio has Bob Mcadorey when he was on CFTR and he goes to the phone and the caller says "I listen to CHUM."
Radiowiz what part of Toronto are you in ?
The epicenter of the broadcast might be Young/Sheppard/Finch and 3 or 4 KM's out from that may not pull in the broadcast.
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iPatch wrote:
The July 15 1050 CHUM reunion of staffers (who were there between 1967 and 1977) was an outstanding affair. And that 104.9 signal was a part of the festivities, pumping out at a magnificent 1-watt. This event was an amazingly well-planned and well-attended blast from the past with the turnout numbering close to 100.
I missed your post Ipatch. Thanks for the the update. 1 watt wow. I guess it will be gone anytime now.
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Any chance he streams it anywhere for those of us not near the signal?
Last edited by RadioActive (July 27, 2015 2:52 pm)
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RadioActive wrote:
Any chance he streams it anywhere for those of us not near the signal?
I heard some fantastic airchecks that captured the fun and excitement of a bygone era but I have not heard anything else on that frequency since July 15 and 16. I`m only within signal range during my weekday commute.
Now if he has that much tape perhaps he can consider something like this:
KFAT is the only dead radio station you can listen to on your computer. It doesn't even smell up your speakers - not too badly, anyhow.
Click here to listen. (requires a broadband connection & a decent MP3 player like Winamp or iTunes).
Last edited by Fitz (July 27, 2015 9:16 pm)
parking lot @ David Dunlap Observatory was packed yesterday evening
astronomers looking for Pluto? No
teenagers necking? No
it was wall-to-wall old codgers tuned to FM 104.9 desparately hoping to catch Al Boliska air checks
Last edited by geo (July 28, 2015 8:28 am)
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Well Geo, your lame attempt at humour once again actually has a nugget of truth. In actual fact, there are NO Al Boliska show airchecks (at least from his morning program). Bob Laine and I looked everywhere in the CHUM building, but nothing exists. SInce then, I haven't found anybody who has a complete hour from his 6 to 9AM show. We have some World's Worst Jokes and there is an hour of him in the early 1960's doing the noon to 1PM show..a shift he hated doing by the way. He basically did nothing but time and temperature and did not do anything remotely funny doing that shift.
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Here's the Al Boliska 'check Doug is referring to (third aircheck on the page). I'd love to find an aircheck of him from the morning show, where he did his best work.
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geo wrote:
parking lot @ David Dunlap Observatory was packed yesterday evening
astronomers looking for Pluto? No
teenagers necking? No
it was wall-to-wall old codgers tuned to FM 104.9 desparately hoping to catch Al Boliska air checks
Good one Geo and has a ring of truth for this radio fanatic !
Al Boliska was a bit before my time but I would climb the highest hill to hear Tim Thomas on CHUM FM from 1971-72. One of my all time fave jocks and I have not heard any of his work from CHUM FM. Oh how I long to hear an aircheck of him playing the Jim Kweskin Jug Band into the Lovin`Spoonful.
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I remember when Tim Thomas played "The Anniversary of World War III" by the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band.
One minute and 36 seconds of silence.
Last edited by Dale Patterson (July 28, 2015 8:44 pm)
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I remember hearing The West Coast Pop Experimental Band`s version of The Smell Of Incense on CHUM FM a few times. Before that I had assumed that the version by The Southwest FOB which charted on 1050 CHUM (fall of 1968?) was the original.
Tim Thomas was the first radio announcer I ever spoke to. I called him up and remember discussing various musicians including Bruce Palmer of the Buffalo Springfield. He had come up to Toronto post Springfield and worked a bit with Luke and The Apostles and was not easiest musician to work with. I also remember asking TT, during that same conversation, what became of Brian Skinner and I think he mentioned something about a connection to Astrology.
Last edited by Fitz (July 28, 2015 9:47 pm)
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The first radio announcer I spoke to was Don Daynard at CKFH in the fall of 1967. They had a contest so I called in and won a K-Tel album (which I still have). It was a very short conversation but quite a thrill for me as I was 14 at the time.