A casual listener would hardly know anything was about to change by looking their web site.

630 CHED

Some 630 CHED jingles from the late 80's..https://radiowest.ca/forum/viewtopic.php?p=12870098#p12870098

Binson Echorec wrote:

RadioActive wrote:

will move down the dial to 880

RadioActive wrote:

Venerable radio station CHED moving up the dial

Time to settle this one once and for all - is moving from 630 to 880 to be considered moving UP the dial or DOWN? Both instances are used in the OP, and both have been used in the industry for decades but I've never encountered any consistency with usage.

I'm leaning toward UP in this instance: 880 is a greater number than 630, so to me, you're moving UP the dial.

What is the argument for using DOWN to describe the move from 630 to 880?

This has always driven me crazy, and as I often say, it's not a long drive. In my mind, I picture one of those old analogue radio dials, and to get from 630 AM to 880 seems to me to be going down the dial from the left side to more in the middle (in this case.) 

A few years ago, I posted a question here about this very thing, and got replies indicating both ways from different contributors. So while it may in fact be up, because the frequency is higher, I can't get that old analogue dial out of mind showing it - to me, at least - going down. Hence my use of the term. Proving, if nothing else, that old habits are hard to break. 

So far in the current ratings period, 880 is getting about 20% of the 630/880 listening.

Adding to the confusion of UP and DOWN mixed usage:

I recall having a kitchen radio where the tuner moved vertically...so the bar literally moved up and down; unlike a car radio where it would move from side to side. And I'm pretty sure that vertically scrolling tuner had 550 at the top and 1600 would have been at the bottom...lending some credence to the usage of DOWN for moving from a lower frequency to higher.

How, then, would you characterize this radio dial? It's the manual tuning option for my 2024 Mazda 3. It's a giant circle.



(By the way, if you care about the Entertainment System in a car, never buy a Mazda 3. It's so poorly designed, it's almost unusable. And don't expect any help from Mazda of Toronto, whose service has been absolutely terrible.)

Global News Edmonton did a quick video hit on the change Wednesday. Its story notes that not only is the station giving away breakfast to listeners this Friday, it's also offering chances to see Bruce Springsteen and the Oilers play (although not at the same time!)

Wonder which on-air personality will be the first to accidentally say "630 CHED."

880 CHED’s ‘Reset Your Preset’ drive-thru party happening this Friday
 

I'm on a GO train heading home from Pearson after a few lovely days in Alberta, in part to hear the CHED move.

The loop of promos on 630 will go away Nov. 10 and 630 will fall silent entirely.

The signal comparison is interesting. 880 is as good or better than 630 across metro Edmonton, and better than 630 to the north, for whatever that's worth.

But down highway 2 toward Red Deer and Calgary, there's no comparison. 630 is loud and clear in Calgary, while 880 is weaker during the day and gone entirely at night to protect KRVN in Nebraska.

(In fairness, CHED lost one of six towers at the 630 site and has been non-directional for a few months.)

ED1 wrote:

CHED Edmonton has officially moved its programming from 630 AM to 880 AM. Logos on the website have been updated. There is also a series of promos running on 630 AM telling people to find the station on 880. 

Plus, the following legal ID... "630 CHQT Edmonton, a Corus Entertainment radio station."

Did they swap the calls between the two frequencies - putting CHED on 880 and CHQT on 630?

fybush wrote:

I'm on a GO train heading home from Pearson after a few lovely days in Alberta, in part to hear the CHED move.

The loop of promos on 630 will go away Nov. 10 and 630 will fall silent entirely.

The signal comparison is interesting. 880 is as good or better than 630 across metro Edmonton, and better than 630 to the north, for whatever that's worth.

But down highway 2 toward Red Deer and Calgary, there's no comparison. 630 is loud and clear in Calgary, while 880 is weaker during the day and gone entirely at night to protect KRVN in Nebraska.

(In fairness, CHED lost one of six towers at the 630 site and has been non-directional for a few months.)

I'm driving up Highway 2 late this evening so I'll have to listen to 880 when I reach Red Deer. I suppose if people in Red Deer wanted Corus Radio programming they can tune to 770. However when it comes to Oilers/Elks games, unless there's a local station in Red Deer that's part of the Oilers/Elks Radio Network, they'll have listen online. 

As far as this morning is concerned, the drive-thru party mentioned earlier in this thread is happening. Lots of CHED alumni also visiting the station this morning. Former Elks football host/sales guy Bryan Hall rattled on nicely about the history of CHED a few minutes ago. As of typing this post, the mayor of Edmonton is still calling the place "630 CHED" haha. 
 

Last edited by ED1 (October 11, 2024 11:52 am)