Oh wow its happening and by May 2024 the document I believe said it is to be complete and has been worked on since 2020?  This must be quite the feat.  Are they bringing equipment up thru the skypod and up the ladder? 

Last edited by markow202 (February 8, 2024 6:52 pm)

Curious, as a DXer, if this will involve any planned shutdowns while work is going on?
 

Any updates with how this is going?  I believe its going to be up and running in May 2024. 

Back when broadcasting from the CN Tower first began, I was living up on the Bruce Peninsula. Reception from Toronto stations was irregular and unreliable. After they went up on the tower, reception from Toronto became even more challenging.

RadioActive wrote:

It's funny how you don't remember stuff like this, but back in 1973, before the CN Tower was even a reality, CFTO wanted to get on the structure - not just to improve reception here, but to be seen in Buffalo! (Well, really the Niagara Region, but it was pretty much the same in that area.)

The Buffalo stations only had 37% viewership in the GTA in 1973? Perhaps over a 24 hour period. But in those wonderful pre-simsub days, primetime viewing of 2, 4 and 7 would have been well over 50%.

paterson1 wrote:

Not sure about 2,4,and 7 having well over 50% of the GTA in prime time.  The Canadian networks often would run the US shows before the Buffalo stations and had much of the audience first for various shows.  If you had a regular anntenna depending on where you lived in the GTA, Buffalo stations didn't always come in clear. In our case we lived in north Etobicoke and Buffalo TV was often interfered with by large vehicles like trucks and even air travel from the airport nearby.

I remember we would always watch Ed Sullivan and Bonanza on CBC because it's signal was clearer and less interference than either channel 4 or channel 2
You are right that Bassett was likely referring over the broadcast day, and CFTO and the other Canadian stations would be strong especially during the evening and late news.  

You could be right P1. I had a cousin that lived in Willowdale. His family was under a flight path to Pearson airport. Whenever a plane flew over, which seemed to be several times per hour, the picture would flicker on the Buffalo channels. Growing up in Oakville, the only interference we received on 2, 4 and 7 was lightning from approaching thunderstorms.

Grundy Telcom Integration Inc. on LinkedIn: The new antenna which will replace the more than 40 year old system at…


 

It has been a busy year for Grundy...  The new CHCH Tower project commenced around this time last year, then they were onto Stoney Creek to start on the decommissioning of the tower there. 

And now the Master FM project...  High heights, and tight spaces!


 

[url=https://www.linkedin.com/posts/grundy-telcom-integration-inc_nabshow-fm-activity-7184348937791713281-CcXN]Grundy Telcom Integration Inc. on LinkedIn: #nabshow #fm

Slowly getting there! [/url]

Hrick wrote:

The CRTC has now received applications from CHUM-FM and CKFM-FM and some of the other stations. CHUM-FM will have HD. However, these two applications are sloppy - they refer to wrong station in parts of the briefs including the contour maps. Broadcasting Applications Report (crtc.gc.ca)

Whats funny here is numerous times especially on this forum, its been mentioned that CKFM since about 2017 has been on their own antenna (since that cn tower antenna mast fire in 2017)  but in their application its basically stating they are on the old masterfm and filing for what everyone is else, to move to new antenna. 

Initially, the intent was to transmit the HD signal only from a single bay panel antenna installed at the top of the Channel 9 aperture.  It was recognized at the outset that there was the potential of interference to the host signal because of the difference in vertical antenna patterns and centres of radiation of the two antennas. This means that the desired-to-undesired ratio between the host analog signal and the digital IBOC signal varies with distance, creating concentric doughnut rings of interference extending several kilometres from the tower.  These theoretical zones of inteference in fact materialized, so the decision was made to transmit a hybrid signal at reduced ERP from the single bay antenna. The temporary authorization certificate on the ISED Spectrum Management site shows an analog ERP of 12,800 watts with each digital sideband at -16.2 dBc (307 watts).

Saul wrote:

Anyone know if any work has yet to be done that might send the transmitters off-air and/or onto auxiliary systems, and when that time frame might be? If so I would try and DX those channels...

I assume sometime soon but would probably be very short lived and I think I read the whole changeover should be done by the end of the month. That must be hell installing in that mast. 

Hardly hear Jazz FM in Peterbough tonight and it is not full quieting in Port Hope like it normally is. Something up on the tower???

markow202 wrote:

Wondering if the new antenna now in use?

I'm hearing end of this month.

   The coverage in fringe areas will be nearly the same. In Downtown Toronto the higher antenna might make the signals clearer in some locations due to slightly less multipath (the same signal hitting the antenna twice). They also expect the overloading to be reduced a bit because of the lower ERP's. Years ago when CKLN was on 88.1 FM, the CN Tower signals used to take it out on some portable radios at Union Station.