As I recall, KQRR went on the air with 25kw and later applied to increase to 50 but were turned down for the reasons stated.
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Vancouver's 50,000 Watt AM Stations
- Thread starter Gregg.
- Start date
CKWX DID file a complaint. It was rejected on the merits of the NARBA treaty.
The KQRR allocation meets all of the international treaty requirements.
It ignores the possibility of skip outside of the hard sunrise to sunset times listed on licenses for stations that are not one of the original "Clear Channel" Class A stations.
The KQRR allocation meets all of the international treaty requirements.
It ignores the possibility of skip outside of the hard sunrise to sunset times listed on licenses for stations that are not one of the original "Clear Channel" Class A stations.
I think history may explain the reasons why some of the interference persists east into the valley.
Historically, the population center of Vancouver has been focused closer to the ocean than the valley. For many AM stations in the region, directing most of the signal towards the population center made complete sense. The population has since spread out easterly to areas in the valley, making it difficult for (some of) these AMs to be heard clearly if there is interference persists. I suppose an omnidirectional antenna pattern could remedy that, but it could never be done when there are other stations that need to be protected.
Historically, the population center of Vancouver has been focused closer to the ocean than the valley. For many AM stations in the region, directing most of the signal towards the population center made complete sense. The population has since spread out easterly to areas in the valley, making it difficult for (some of) these AMs to be heard clearly if there is interference persists. I suppose an omnidirectional antenna pattern could remedy that, but it could never be done when there are other stations that need to be protected.
Listening to KRPI 1550 as I type this at 5:40 a.m. Hearing Sikh prayer chants / singing, sounds clean except for a click noise every second or so. Clean sounding ID, so the mod seems clean, just the click on the music audio. For a while I heard San Francisco's KZNG in the background now and then, until KZNG faded out completely, while KRPI continued. 'Click' noise isn't on KXPA 1540 or KVAN 1560, so I know it's not the Sony XDR radio, or something in the house....
Will any of the Lower Mainland, now-shuttered, AM stations come back with new ownership? The AM dial is really getting quiet.
Meanwhile, I found the well-hidden audio stream of a Surrey-Burnaby low-power station. It's "VF2689", Media-Waves , running just 33 watts on 106.9. You better understand Punjabi (or Hindi). The audio is at http://66.183.140.177:8000/index.html?sid=1 . The website is : Media Waves Live
The adverts for "The best goat in Surrey" make me hungry for some good South Asian food.
(I think Media-Waves used to lease time on AM 1600 south of the border.)
Meanwhile, I found the well-hidden audio stream of a Surrey-Burnaby low-power station. It's "VF2689", Media-Waves , running just 33 watts on 106.9. You better understand Punjabi (or Hindi). The audio is at http://66.183.140.177:8000/index.html?sid=1 . The website is : Media Waves Live
The adverts for "The best goat in Surrey" make me hungry for some good South Asian food.
(I think Media-Waves used to lease time on AM 1600 south of the border.)
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Not to mention, that extremely modern tower site is still sitting vacant on the side of highway 99 in Delta. I'm not an engineer, so I can't comment on how one would go about transitioning that facility to operate for another radio station. But with that being said, that site seems far superior to some of the other sites in the area. Ripping that down would be a waste. I ride my bike by the CBU tower site in Steveston all of the time, and that site looks like it's seen better days.
I'm doubtful we'll see 1040 or 1410 ever pop back up on the dial, but both of these frequencies (and signals) were not bad.
I have to admit I wouldn't mind that force field of extremely bright strobe lights being taken down, since it really detracts from gazing out at the view of the Vancouver and Burnaby skylines and the mountains behind them from any location south of it. If one of the economic reasons for their licensees to shut 'em off was the expense of running those directional 50kw signals, I wonder how much lowering the power bill to operating 10kw signals could help with the power bill, without significantly reducing listenability.
Since CBC Radio One went to using both towers with a directional signal on 690 at 25kw out of Richmond, instead of just the one at 50kw, their signal is reduced below the electronic noise level now when listening in the Subaru around the Seattle area. Of all times for US listeners to be able to hear Canadian views and news, the expected political chaos of the coming year would be a good argument to find the money to boost their signal for their neighbours to hear it more clearly again. Every little bit of sunshine helps.
Growing up in Seattle, CBU on 690 was always an easy catch. It was always easy to pick up out on the coastline as well. But you are correct, after the transmitter fire, it hasn’t been the same. I can still hear it on a good radio around the Seattle area, but it’s definitely not listenable. 1130 is stronger at a full 50 kw, and the pattern is favorable.
For whatever reason, it seems like AM is challenging in Vancouver. I live in Richmond, therefore I can hear all of the local AMs crystal clear. But it seems like you start to run into interference issues pretty quickly as you move away from Lulu Island. When I was driving back to Seattle, some of the AMs (except for 1130 and 730) were starting to sound pretty rough the second I reached the border. It probably doesn’t matter as much for many of the multicultural stations, as they seem to be able to hit their target audiences well, but it seems surprising that major station like CKNW has to deal with reception issues.
I never had issues like that in Seattle. Even with most of the transmission sites being on Vashon Island (for the major AMs, at least), most of the stations come in loud and clear around the market.
This is one of the reasons why I wondered if CKNW could just move all of their operations to 730. 730 is another powerful station that comes in reliably around the lower mainland, whereas 980 doesn’t.
Well, you called it!
Indeed the call is correct. A story also appeared on Global TV BC tonight.
globalnews.ca
"Beginning on Monday, Feb. 24, we will be moving 980 CKNW to a new home on the radio dial, switching to 730 CKNW...."
A more insightful story, especially about downtown reception, is here:
dailyhive.com
Will the CKNW AM 980 facilities be torn down or lie dormant like AM 1040 (CKST) or AM 1410 (CFUN/CFTE)?
Yes, AM 730 (CKGO, formerly CKLG) has a better signal than 980 in most parts.
980 CKNW will have a new home at 730 CKNW, beginning Feb. 24 | Globalnews.ca
This switch is an exciting one for Corus’ talk radio offering and listeners, as it will provide a clearer and better, and more widely accessible signal for our Vancouver audience.
globalnews.ca
"Beginning on Monday, Feb. 24, we will be moving 980 CKNW to a new home on the radio dial, switching to 730 CKNW...."
A more insightful story, especially about downtown reception, is here:
CKNW Radio finds a new home on beloved Vancouver frequency | News
A beloved Vancouver radio frequency is going to be the new home for a just as beloved news and talk station.
dailyhive.com
Will the CKNW AM 980 facilities be torn down or lie dormant like AM 1040 (CKST) or AM 1410 (CFUN/CFTE)?
Yes, AM 730 (CKGO, formerly CKLG) has a better signal than 980 in most parts.
The Daily Hive also has a story about the continued loss of Traffic 730 to the suffering area commuters.
dailyhive.com
Vancouver drivers are still mourning defunct all-traffic radio station | News
Over 200 days ago, Vancouver lost a radio station that was all traffic, all the time. People are still mourning the station's loss.
dailyhive.com
This is why they need to hire me over at Corus lol
I'd agree with some of the comments in that article. Google Maps can show me a "red" time on the display after I've set off, to tell me that there'll be traffic somewhere on the route, but unless I pull over to start interacting with the phone, it doesn't tell me where. Radio traffic bulletins, done well, let me know there's a problem in a specific place, and I can work around it.The Daily Hive also has a story about the continued loss of Traffic 730 to the suffering area commuters.
Vancouver drivers are still mourning defunct all-traffic radio station | News
Over 200 days ago, Vancouver lost a radio station that was all traffic, all the time. People are still mourning the station's loss.
I absolutely appreciate having real over-the-air traffic reports. It's far better than Google Maps in most situations. An app can give a general sense of how long it will take you to get from point A to point B, but it really can't do much more than that. It's a lifesaver if you get lost and need to figure out some directions to get back on the right track, but it lacks the intelligence to give you all of the information you need. Not to mention, it often recommends horrible routes that end up being completely counterintuitive to what makes logical sense (in the hope of saving a fraction of a gallon of gas, or shaving a second off your travel time). You can easily end up in a worse situation where you may not be comfortable driving.
Back to the topic of over-the-air traffic reports, simple reports on the :10's, :11's (or whatever) seems perfectly sufficient for most cities in the US. Using Seattle as an example (since it's my home city), you can easily get the information you need from either KIRO 97.3 or KNWN 1000. Both stations concentrate on traffic flow on the major freeways, where most commuters are likely to be. Arterial routes also get a shoutout from time to time when something major is happening. But in general, the information I need is right there.
The situation in Vancouver is different. There really aren't any major freeways that carry traffic around the area (outside of Trans Canada 1). Sitting on a freeway in traffic can be annoying, but it's usually not that hard to at least figure out where you're going. After moving to Vancouver, I found that it was pretty difficult to navigate all of the side streets to get from point A to be B (while also accounting for counterflow traffic, closures, accidents, and the other general nuances of driving around Vancouver. I can absolutely see why people miss a radio station that was dedicated to providing in-depth information.
Exactly this. In my local area, I find Google quite regularly suggesting I turn off down a little country track through the hills that I know is wholly unsuitable, or some little side street that I know will bring me out at a dangerous intersection, or whatever, just because it thinks it'll be "1 minute faster". In places, it's meant they've actually had to put traffic humps in on roads that people keep getting routed down. In my own area, I know to ignore it and avoid those routes. In unfamiliar areas, I've found myself on some awful roads by following it.
These days I've reverted to the old road atlas and signs, with the GPS as a backup. If I'm going to York and see a big sign saying "York" straight ahead and my GPS is saying "no, turn off left down this little lane, it'll be faster, it'll save you a thimble of gas" I follow the sign! I have a basic knowledge of where things are in the country, so I can navigate myself around pretty well until I get into a very urban area, and I think this base knowledge of "Birmingham is south of Manchester" is disappearing with younger people.
Today's Vancouver Sun has an article about the demise of AM radio in BC. (Note: The article mentions Typhoon Freda 1962 - for the Americans that would be the well-documented "Columbus Day Storm".)
vancouversun.com
"CKNW was the only station north of California to remain on the air thanks to an emergency battery backup system. It became an emergency coordination and information centre, telling people what they needed to know."
AM radio stations across B.C. are going dark. What does that mean for listeners?
AM radio stations across Canada have been knocked around like bumper cars by new technological changes
vancouversun.com
"CKNW was the only station north of California to remain on the air thanks to an emergency battery backup system. It became an emergency coordination and information centre, telling people what they needed to know."
It is incredible to think about how many AM radio stations have left the airwaves in Vancouver. AM stations do get shut down periodically in the US, but what we've seen in Vancouver over the past few years is pretty incredible. Here's a basic breakdown of what is left:Today's Vancouver Sun has an article about the demise of AM radio in BC. (Note: The article mentions Typhoon Freda 1962 - for the Americans that would be the well-documented "Columbus Day Storm".)
AM radio stations across B.C. are going dark. What does that mean for listeners?
AM radio stations across Canada have been knocked around like bumper cars by new technological changes
"CKNW was the only station north of California to remain on the air thanks to an emergency battery backup system. It became an emergency coordination and information centre, telling people what they needed to know."
550 KARI (a border blaster airing religious content)
600 CKSP (Punjabi)
650 CISL (Sports)
690 CBU-AM (CBC Radio One)
730 CKNW (or CKNW after 980 shuts off officially)
1070 CFAX (Victoria station, but I'll count it)
1130 CKWX (All News)
1200 CJRJ (Punjabi)
1320 CHMB (Primarily Cantonese)
1470 CJVB (Mandarin and Cantonese)
1550 KRPI (a border blaster airing Punjabi)
1600 KVRI (a border blaster airing Punjabi)
Overall, the AM dial is getting increasingly sparse. And interestingly, there are many parts of the region that receive little to no FM reception at all. There are many highways out on Vancouver Island where no FM stations can be heard, but stations like 690, 730, and 1130 all come in clear. The Sea to Sky Highway is also a complete FM dead zone for Vancouver FM.
The unique terrain of the region seems to make radio complicated. Mount Seymour seems like a great FM site overall. It's far more accessible than many sites of a similar height (Tiger Mountain in Seattle comes to mind), but the geography isn't ideal. I think CBC probably would like to decomission 690 at some point, but I am not sure they can, as there's plenty of listeners who probably can't hear 88.1.
That is a good point! Google Maps became a real issue when there was some road construction on Oak Street in Vancouver. The Google Maps algorithm recommended a terrible route for many commuters, and created chaos on the side streets. That alone was a lesson in why not to completely rely on the app.
Remember, part of this has to do with Canada's gradual "phasing out" of AM over the last few decades. A lot of Canadian stations exchanged AM for FM. In larger markets where there might not have been FM channels, the general decline of AM listening contributed to the closure of some large market AMs, too.
Several friends in the business in Canada have also mentioned to me that the more "intense" regulation of content, including format limitations and CanCon made profitability harder to attain. One friend mentioned that the inability to do things like a single foreign language content on minority-targeted stations and the restrictions on French and English crossover material in some markets also made viable format options impossible to implement. Finally, limits on religious formats took that option away from some AMs
All very good points. The one saving grace for AM that I see has to do with geography. Even in Vancouver, there are tons of communities, towns, and regions that are outside of Vancouver that have no significant broadcast FM radio coverage. The major 50kw stations might be the only radio stations a person in these areas can hear reliably during the day.
Though, I think that geography has also handicapped many of these stations. Looking at nearly all of the coverage maps, most of the signal is blasted west and northwest to Vancouver Island. The AMs start to get choppy as you travel east, with even CKWX 1130 (arguably the most powerful station in town) having serious reception issues by the time you reach the Fraser Valley. That can’t be a good thing, since you’d want your core listening area to be serviced well by your station.
From an engineering standpoint, it seems like other west coast cities don’t need to worry about this problem nearly as much.