300kw is the max erp, minimum is about 45kw. theyre directional and the ERP depends on the direction the signbal is headed to go fccdata.org and search CFPL
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London, Ontario AM Bandscan Highlights,
- Thread starter cyberdad
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300kw is the max erp, minimum is about 45kw. theyre directional and the ERP depends on the direction the signbal is headed to go fccdata.org and search CFPL
One station that CFPL-FM protects is WHNN 96.1. It is 45.9 kW at 300 degrees toward WHNN.
CFPL 980 had a Top 40 type format in the 1960s, and had a decent signal into Michigan, along with CHLO 680. The CHLO call letters are now on 530 in Brampton, ON, with 1/0.25 U1 WRTH notation facilities.
July 21, 1967 CFPL 980 Survey.
CFPL_1967-07-21_1.JPG
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The AM station formats from Canada in the late 1960s were nearly identical to US stations.
Many people who listened to Top 40 in Eastern Michigan listened to the following stations:
CHLO 680
CHYR 710/CHIR 730
CKLW 800
CKNX 920 in Northeast Michigan
CFPL 980
CKWW 580, CFCO 630, and CHOK 1070 were more MOR/AC and appealed more to Adults.
Even if you counted CHLO 680/1570, there were only four AM stations then in the London Area. CKOT 1510 was too far up the dial to hear well.
Many people who listened to Top 40 in Eastern Michigan listened to the following stations:
CHLO 680
CHYR 710/CHIR 730
CKLW 800
CKNX 920 in Northeast Michigan
CFPL 980
CKWW 580, CFCO 630, and CHOK 1070 were more MOR/AC and appealed more to Adults.
Even if you counted CHLO 680/1570, there were only four AM stations then in the London Area. CKOT 1510 was too far up the dial to hear well.
I did. I'm sure you're right but the coverage map doesn't look very directional. Tiny null to the south might affect reception for the Lake Erie fish.
This sounds like me being the same distance from WISN and never hearing it at night. Although that's only 10kw. Where I was in southeast Iowa (Mount Pleasant) in the late '60s, 1220 was almost always XEB from Mexico City. Weak, but not much to stop it.
Canada always considered that authorizing too many stations reduced the ability of the existing stations to provide good program services, so they had plenty of FM channels available when the move to that band from AM began.
They also limited to very few the number of daytimers (of course, that far north, a daytimer was terribly limited!).
In exchange they regulated programming much more than the US has done, with things like CanCon and limits on how often a hit can play each day on an FM. But, yes, they change the rules over time but definitely have a tighter rein over content.
In the very early 60's from Cleveland, I would spend a couple of bucks about once a month to call XEB in the all night show to request a song. The DJ got to know me, and would always put me on the air with mention of how many kilometers away "La B Grande" was heard and enjoyed.
For a young teen, it was quite a thrill to be "on the air" via a 100,000 watt radio station.
Reminds me of "my first time" as a teenager in Honolulu calling in to Sam Fisk's all night talk show on KULA (690). Only 10,000 watts, but still, I was a star on the radio for thirty seconds. (Fisk's talk show was known for "the dial dance".....when he put on a record once an hour so he could take transmitter readings.)
I'm guessing that WGAR was off the air.
In the early 60's, WGAR was still a traditional MOR station that signed off at midnight. That let XEB pound in most nights.
In Cleveland... even on the far east side... "Cheer" was a nice alternative to WHLO, WHK, WERE and whatever 1100's Call Letters du Jour were at the time.
In Omena, CKNX was a nice choice if 1210 from the Saginaw / Bay City market or WLS were not coming in well.
WKNX 1210 Saginaw did have an awesome signal, though just 10000 watts. With its three half wave slight dogleg tower array, which appeared like a typical 3 tower inline end fire setup from I-75, it mainly protected WCAU/... during CH. Built like a I-B Night DA. Toward the Tri Cities, it was the equivalent of a 50 kW Class B nondirectional. They added a fourth 1/4 wave tower when they repurposed it for 1250 as WJMK, with 5/1.1 U3. The noise level is such that the signal is nowhere near the old days on 1210, and has no AM signal to speak of to the South. It airs MeTV FM with a translator on 99.3, though the modulation levels and processing need work on both AM and FM. The founder was a big fan of KNX Los Angeles, and copied the call sign.
There have been on the order of 10-20 new and used FM allotments and stations in Canada, most using DAs, away from the US, or protecting cochannel and first adjacent stations in the US, that have come on in the Detroit Windsor, Chatham, and Port Huron Sarnia areas in the last 20 years or so. Most are accepting second adjacent channel interference from US stations.
Canada has allowed this, even though it doesn't conform with traditional domestic rules, or international agreements. The US has limited this to allowing interference from Canadian stations to US domestic protection rules. This is usually protecting US stations to the 60 dBu Class A domestic protected contour (occasionally to Class B1, C3, C2, or C1 protected contours), rather than the 54 dBu contour specified in the International Agreement.
Were you able to hear CKNX, CKCY, and WOKY on 920 in Omena in the Daytime by turning your loop antennas? Could you get both WTAC/WSNL and WLST/WBDN/WCHT on 600 Days? How about both WDOR and WFDF on 910 Days (might be tricky given the directions)?
Canada has allowed this, even though it doesn't conform with traditional domestic rules, or international agreements. The US has limited this to allowing interference from Canadian stations to US domestic protection rules. This is usually protecting US stations to the 60 dBu Class A domestic protected contour (occasionally to Class B1, C3, C2, or C1 protected contours), rather than the 54 dBu contour specified in the International Agreement.
Were you able to hear CKNX, CKCY, and WOKY on 920 in Omena in the Daytime by turning your loop antennas? Could you get both WTAC/WSNL and WLST/WBDN/WCHT on 600 Days? How about both WDOR and WFDF on 910 Days (might be tricky given the directions)?
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All those were tunable on the HQ-180 with the loop. 600 was WTAC; the other just did not make it. Neither WDOR nor WFDF were easy ones... some of those, of course, came from areas with poor ground conductivity (despite the more optimistic FCC maps). As has been said, "too much iron in the ground". Or maybe, like much of the area west of Traverse City up to Leland, too much sand... like Long Island, NY, but with more cherry trees.
I wish I had access to the three tower in line pattern of WLST 600 when it was near Ford River. They reduced from 1000/191 watts to 570/134 watts from a new site with two towers NW of Escanaba with a shallow null. The old site may have had a deep null in the direction of Omena.
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neither link worked for me
I don't know if most Canadian AMs have migrated to FM. But my guess would be that the percemtage is close to 50%, if it hasn't already exceeded that.
And yes, the Canada has more regulations for commercial stations than we have in the U.S. Most notably "Can Con" rules. One day about 25 years ago I was driving across northern Minnesota listening to Burton Cummings (lead singer of The Guess Who) hosting afternoon drive on CKY. He was telling his guest how he was outspoken against Can-Con rules when they first went into effect. But over time, he saw that it was benefitting dozens, if not hundreds, of Canadian artists who otherwise might not have gotten airplay....and/or access to the U.S market...without Can Con.
Then there's the matter of the CRTC getting involved in determining formats. The prime example is Toronto's CFZM. When the CBC migrated its Toronto flagship to FM, there were 23 applicants seeking to take over the CBC's 50kw flamethrower on 740. CHWO (now CFZM) was the winning applicant by virtue the CRTC determining that the over 50 population was the most underserved demo in the Toronto market.
And yes, the Canada has more regulations for commercial stations than we have in the U.S. Most notably "Can Con" rules. One day about 25 years ago I was driving across northern Minnesota listening to Burton Cummings (lead singer of The Guess Who) hosting afternoon drive on CKY. He was telling his guest how he was outspoken against Can-Con rules when they first went into effect. But over time, he saw that it was benefitting dozens, if not hundreds, of Canadian artists who otherwise might not have gotten airplay....and/or access to the U.S market...without Can Con.
Then there's the matter of the CRTC getting involved in determining formats. The prime example is Toronto's CFZM. When the CBC migrated its Toronto flagship to FM, there were 23 applicants seeking to take over the CBC's 50kw flamethrower on 740. CHWO (now CFZM) was the winning applicant by virtue the CRTC determining that the over 50 population was the most underserved demo in the Toronto market.
One article I read specifically about CKLW said that the exposure on CKLW got Canadian bands booked as opening acts in Detroit
Also, US acts like Motown, and other lesser known artists, got airplay on CKLW and went on to be hits. The large Eastern Night lobe toward New York and New England caused songs to quickly "go viral", especially if the kids knocked the dial 30 kHz off from WABC, and called Rick Sklar's secretary the next day and asked why Cousin Brucie wasn't playing it. Forgive me if the timelines don't match up, as I don't know the years they were there.
There is a glaring error in the Clint Eastwood directed movie "Jersey Boys". It says that it was WJR who first played "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" by Frankie Valli. CKLW was the first really big station to play it. The Four Seasons were booked at the Roostertail in Detroit, very near the tunnel and bridge to Windsor. They went one day to try to convince Paul Drew (as I recall) to play it. He didn't think it would be a hit, but agreed to put it in rotation for a couple weeks. The rest is history.
I think what really happened is that the producers of the movie approached CKLW about using their callsign, but the owners wanted an exorbitant fee for use. They approached Cumulus and WJR and Dirty Harry got it done dirt cheap.
There is a glaring error in the Clint Eastwood directed movie "Jersey Boys". It says that it was WJR who first played "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" by Frankie Valli. CKLW was the first really big station to play it. The Four Seasons were booked at the Roostertail in Detroit, very near the tunnel and bridge to Windsor. They went one day to try to convince Paul Drew (as I recall) to play it. He didn't think it would be a hit, but agreed to put it in rotation for a couple weeks. The rest is history.
I think what really happened is that the producers of the movie approached CKLW about using their callsign, but the owners wanted an exorbitant fee for use. They approached Cumulus and WJR and Dirty Harry got it done dirt cheap.
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