The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum / CHED Talk Radio In Edmonton Moving From 630 To 880 On Oct 9th

**Posted by paterson1** August 28, 2024 5:21 pm

Corus up until recently had two talk stations in Edmonton. The ever popular CHED 630 and CHQT 880 Global News.
Since the company reorganization a few weeks back CHED has been simulcasting on both frequencies. Come October the 9th, 630 on the AM dial will go silent and CHED will move to 880, which apparently is a stronger signal. More from the Edmonton Journal..https://edmontonjournal.com/business/local-business/edmonton-630-ched-moves-880-radio

**Posted by Saul** August 28, 2024 6:08 pm

paterson1 wrote:
Corus up until recently had two talk stations in Edmonton. The ever popular CHED 630 and CHQT 880 Global News.
Since the company reorganization a few weeks back CHED has been simulcasting on both frequencies. Come October the 9th, 630 on the AM dial will go silent and CHED will move to 880, which apparently is a stronger signal. More from the Edmonton Journal..https://edmontonjournal.com/business/local-business/edmonton-630-ched-moves-880-radio

That makes sense to me from my DXing in Ontario, though I don't know what the channels are like locally in Edmonton. I've heard 880 here in Kawarthas several times with WCBS off for maintenance (and I think once with help from a directional antenna). And CHED as well but with CFCO in the background. I'm listening to weather and local news from CHED back in 2017 on an audio clip I saved...the two stations were about equal in signal strength and I heard a bunch from AB that night. But CHED has been much less common than CHQT. There's an 880 in Brandon MB that gets out well. I didn't save a CHQT recording -- too bad.

**Posted by RadioActive** August 28, 2024 8:13 pm

A few additional though not entirely unsurprising details from the CBC article about the change.

"It plans to sell the land in Edmonton where the 630 CHED transmitter sits...The licence to operate at that frequency will return to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), which regulates Canadian broadcasting."

Which presumably means there could be an opening for someone to apply for the licence at 630 and try something else. Given the current state of radio - especially AM radio - it's unlikely, but you never know.

**Posted by mace** August 28, 2024 8:58 pm

Has anyone actually heard a station change frequencys? Back in 1971, I had my transistor radio tuned to 710 and my parents kitchen radio tuned to 1600. I was able to hear CJRN's move. Very cool.

**Posted by RadioAaron** August 28, 2024 9:01 pm

mace wrote:
Has anyone actually heard a station change frequencys? Back in 1971, I had my transistor radio tuned to 710 and my parents kitchen radio tuned to 1600. I was able to hear CJRN's move. Very cool.

Mid 80s, I heard CFGO Ottawa move from 1440 to 1200. A few years later, I heard CBC move from 920 to 91.5

**Posted by RadioActive** August 28, 2024 9:09 pm

The most famous (and weirdest) frequency change around here was in Leamington, when CHYR on 710 would sign off at sundown (to protect WOR in New York) and switch to 730 AM during the night, then reverse it again in the morning.

If I recall, they used to invite listeners to move down the dial to the new frequency and continue to listen and then would air a kind of tone that would fade out with the signal on 710 and begin immediately when they simultaneously powered up 730.

Wikipedia describes the transition this way:

"The switch in frequency was called 'fine tuning time,' and was accompanied by a Lou Tomasi voiced 60-second audio bed series of varying-pitched beeps which helped the listener re-tune (hopefully) to the station where they would be told "you're back on the beam with Cheer Radio".

Have to say I've never heard of anything quite like this before or since, although I suppose it might have happened elsewhere.

CHYR moved to 96.7 FM in 1993, where it remains to this day.

**Posted by Marc1178** August 28, 2024 10:11 pm

Here is a recording of when CHLO in the London area switched from 680 to 1570. The story behind it is also mentioned.

https://rockradioscrapbook.ca/arc-feb14.html

**Posted by zed** August 28, 2024 11:21 pm

RadioActive wrote:
"The switch in frequency was called 'fine tuning time,' and was accompanied by a Lou Tomasi voiced 60-second audio bed series of varying-pitched beeps which helped the listener re-tune (hopefully) to the station where they would be told "you're back on the beam with Cheer Radio".

In the late 60's I listened to CHYR, it was a pretty good 'wannabe BIG 8' sound... I was in Stratford and when the frequency change happened, try as I might I never found the night time signal. Apparently it was a very weak power output.

**Posted by mace** August 29, 2024 7:59 am

zed wrote:
RadioActive wrote:
"The switch in frequency was called 'fine tuning time,' and was accompanied by a Lou Tomasi voiced 60-second audio bed series of varying-pitched beeps which helped the listener re-tune (hopefully) to the station where they would be told "you're back on the beam with Cheer Radio".

In the late 60's I listened to CHYR, it was a pretty good 'wannabe BIG 8' sound... I was in Stratford and when the frequency change happened, try as I might I never found the night time signal. Apparently it was a very weak power output.

Until 1967, CHYR was strictly a daytimer. When the station requested permission to operate on a 24 hour basis, the BBG came up with the two frequency solution. Night power was 250 watts but was increased to 500 watts around 1975.

**Posted by tvguy** August 29, 2024 12:22 pm

Two frequency changes in the GTA that I recall hearing. #1 - CKEY moved from 580 to 590 kc. #2 CJCL moved from 1430 to 590 kc.

**Posted by Dale Patterson** August 29, 2024 2:08 pm

I remember quite vividly the morning CKEY went from 580 to 590. It's one of my earliest radio memories. That was January 6, 1964, according to the CCF site. My recollection is that it took place around 8 a.m. I would have been 11 at the time and in Grade 6.

**Posted by Marc1178** August 29, 2024 4:24 pm

Many AM broadcasters changed dial positions over the years. Here are the Ontario stations from about 1950 to now.

CBEF : 540 to 1550 Windsor
CHYM : 1490 to 570 Kitchener*
CKTB : 620 to 610 St. Catharines
CFGM (a) : 1310 to 1320
CFGM (b) : 1320 to 640 Richmond Hill
CHFI : 1540 to 680 Toronto
CJRN : 1600 to 710 Niagara Falls
CKGB : 680 to 750 Timmins
CIAO : 790 to 530 Brampton
CHAM : 1280 to 820 Hamilton*
CFTJ : (a) 1110 to 1320
CFTJ : (b) 1320 to 960 Cambridge
CKKW : 1320 to 1090 Kitchener
CKJD : 1250 to 1110 Sarnia*
CJMR : 1190 to 1320 Mississauga
CHWO : 1250 to 740 Oakville / Toronto*
CHLO : 680 to 1570 St. Thomas / London
CHNR : 1560 to 1600 Simcoe
CKEY : 580 to 590 Toronto
CKSL : 1290 to 1410 London
CFOS : 1470 to 560 Owen Sound*
CKDO : 1350 to 1580 Oshawa
* = vast improvement

**Posted by albertaboy4life** August 29, 2024 10:29 pm

On RadioWest we have an aircheck of CHQR Calgary's 1986 move from 810 to 770 kHz -

https://radiowest.ca/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=42995

And the final hour on 810 ahead of the 770 launch -

https://radiowest.ca/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=42947

Acknowledging the upcoming move of 630 CHED to 880 kHz, we have a link to CHED's 25th anniversary one hour special from March 1979, kindly uploaded by Marty Forbes -

https://radiowest.ca/forum/viewtopic.php?p=12869761#p12869761

**Posted by ED1** November 1, 2024 8:55 pm

Last night, 630 kHz in Edmonton was officially powered off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUVa3LNu9M4

**Posted by fybush** November 1, 2024 10:08 pm

ED1 wrote:
Last night, 630 kHz in Edmonton was officially powered off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUVa3LNu9M4

They went early!

When I was out there last month, they were planning to turn it off on Nov. 10.

**Posted by ED1** November 2, 2024 1:32 am

fybush wrote:
ED1 wrote:
Last night, 630 kHz in Edmonton was officially powered off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUVa3LNu9M4
They went early!

When I was out there last month, they were planning to turn it off on Nov. 10.

Corus must've sold the land already and needed to get off of it ASAP.