Halifax Station on 550

[JIBGUY]

Back in the 1980's there was a station on 550 AM. It wasn't there long (a couple years maybe?) And i think it has some really low power like less than 500 watts. The station was listed in the Chronicle/Herald radio listings as a legit station. Does anyone know the story of this station? I forget the callsign, but it wasn't similar to any other stations in Halifax.

 

[b-turner]

I recall a couple of Newfoundland stations didn't use C but used V (ie: VOCM). Might that be the case with this station? Now I'm curious.

 

[davideduardo]

I recall a couple of Newfoundland stations didn't use C but used V (ie: VOCM). Might that be the case with this station? Now I'm curious.

The "V" prefix was limited to Newfoundland and Labrador. The use of "V" dates back to before 1933 when what is now a Canadian province was a dominion of Great Britain. It gave up its independence to join Canada.

550 in the Maritimes has been as far back as the 30's, CFNB in Fredrickton, N.B.

 

[b-turner]

I learned something. I always wondered why the V prefix was used for call letters in Newfoundland on a couple of stations. VOCM used to be on C-band satellite back in the late 1980s/early 1990s that allowed me to hear the station when I'd visit a ranch along the Texas/Mexico border. It was a great full service CHR back then, comparable to KFYR in Bismarck, ND before it sold to (then) Clear Channel.

I'd love to hear about that mysterious 550 in Halifax.

 

[crainbebo]

So were a couple dozen other Canadian FMs and AMs. All uplinked on the C-Band dishes, and with the audio carriers it was like having satellite radio pre-XM. According to this list of transponders in 1993: http://prevueguide.com/Satellite/ssv2n10.txt
...Anik E2, tp 23 also carried CHFI Toronto and CHON-FM in the Yukon on the same transponder, with video used by a scrambled WJBK. Tons of other Toronto, Edmonton, Yukon, Vancouver, etc. stations also carried. Wish I would have experienced it for myself. Streaming is not the same.