CKWX 950

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CKWX 950

Postby cart_machine » Thu Aug 29, 2019 2:15 am

At the start of the ‘40s, CKWX went through a quick number of changes. On June 30, 1940, the station put a more powerful transmitter on the air and changed from 1010 Kcs. to 950. The station would move again on March 29, 1941, thanks to the Havana Treaty, to 980.

Carson Pearson Taylor took over full management of the station in January 1941 (had on-line message boards existed then, people would be complaining about out-of-town ownership) and announced new studios at 543 Seymour would be ready by mid-March 1941. They weren’t due to engineering headaches; the earliest reference I can find to “one of the first [broadcasts] to be made in the new studio auditorium” is a Victory Loan party with Dal Richards on June 19, 1941. ‘WX had been operating out of the Hotel Georgia with another studio at 198 West Hastings. (The Vancouver Sun of November 15, 1941 has pictures of the new studios).

As well in 1940, ‘WX absorbed the programming of ordered-off-the-air CKFC, owned by the Sun, as well as its shortwave transmitter. It also inherited Frank Rutland from the CKFC staff.

The Sun of June 29, 1940 devoted a full page to the frequency change, and has a picture of the new transmitter and some of the staff. What strikes me as the most interesting thing is the 20 acres of land the station owned. What that land would be worth today.

I’ve transcribed two stories. The station’s news connection with the Sun would disappear during the war years when Sam Ross set up his own in-house news gathering. John Allan Farrell, who went by Jon Farrell, was an editor at the Sun who served in WW2, then remained in England until 1969, working for Reuters and appearing in plays and other broadcasts on the BBC. He died in 1971 in Vancouver at the age of 61.

We look forward to ‘WX bringing back “Edith Adams’ Cookery Corner.”

cArtie.

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CKWX Increases Power and Changes Dial Position Sunday Night Sunday
Ceremonial Program to Open New Transmitter
1000-Watt Station to Operate on 950 Kilocycles; Change Effective With Dedicatory Program

By RONALD ROSE
Increased coverage of British Columbia and the entire Pacific Northwest by Radio Station CKWX will begin with a ceremonial program Sunday evening, when the Western Broadcasting Company's new 1000-watt transmitter and antenna tower on Lulu Island go into operation on a frequency of 950 kilocycles.
Electrical engineers have been busy this last week putting finishing touches to the transmitter, which will formally carry its first program on the new wavelength when a switch is thrown during the dedicatory program at 6:30 p.m. Listeners who have tuned in on the old wavelength will be asked to turn over with the station from 1010 kilocycles to 950 kilocycles.
ON 20-ACRE SITE
The new station is housed in a small, compactly built bungalow, situated in the shadow of the new 250-foot antenna tower on 20 acres of land, bought by A. Holstead, general manager of the Western Broadcasting Company.
The bungalow contains living quarters for a staff of two technicians, Ted Fowler and Glen Robitaille, who will operate the transmitter.
The transmitter itself consists of two simple-appearing cabinets, which between them receive programs from CKWX's studios in Hotel Georgia through telephone wires, amplify the program, place it on the station's allotted frequency, then relay it to the antenna tower.
50,000 FOOT GROUND
The tower is grounded by 50,000 feet of copper wire, plowed into the land in a radial pattern. It rests on a conical porcelain base supported on a cement block, and is guyed down with heavy cable.
Installation of all the technical apparatus was directed by Ross Mclntyre, chief technician of station CKWX. The equipment was ordered through Canadian Marconi Company.
CKWX has previously broadcast with a power of only 100 watts, from a transmitter on Seymour Street. The move out to Lulu Island is in accordance with the federal regulation requiring stations using more than 100 watts to broadcast from outside cities.
WIDEN FIELD
The increase in power to 1000 watts is expected to greatly widen the station's field. In addition to this expansion, the shortwave facilities of CKFX, on 6080 kilocycles or 6.8 megacycles, will be used to distribute CKWX programs, making them audible throughout British Columbia and in the Yukon.
CKWX will broadcast on a frequency of 950 kilocycles with the new transmitter, moving from 1010 kilocycles.
The station, known by listeners for its variety of programs, which include Vancouver Sun news broadcasts, has for its program director Fred Bass, who will be remembered for his "Man on the Street" programs in connection with The Vancouver Sun Santa Claus Fund in years gone by. Reg. M. Dagg is commercial manager.


Greater CKWX Audience To Hear Sun Newscasts
Service to Listeners Extended by Power Increase; Short-wave Station Also Carrying News
The Vancouver Sun news broadcasts are heard four times daily over CKWX and with the station increasing its power to 1000 watts the news will be heard by a far greater audience. The move on the dial from 1010 kilocycles to 950 kilocycles will also enable a greater number of listeners to hear these newscasts.
For those in localities where shortwave reception is better, all CKWX programs will also be broadcast on CKFX, the shortwave station.
SPECIAL STUDIOS
The Vancouver Sun maintains studios in The Sun Tower, and all Sun newscasts and other Sun features originate from these studios. A special studio is used for newscasts.
The Vancouver Sun news broadcasts are heard at the following times, Monday through Saturday:
7:30 a.m., 12:05 noon, 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m.
On Sunday, latest bulletins on war developments are given at 10:45 a.m., 12:30 noon and 5 p.m. A complete roundup of week-end news is given as usual at 10 p.m.
VOICES OF THE SUN.
Three "Sun" voices are familiar to listeners— Bill Newell, radio editor and chief news announcer, who handles the noon, 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. broadcasts; Jon Farrell, assistant announcer who broadcasts the 7:30 a.m. news during Billy Browne's "Sunrise Program," and Frank Rutland, director of Sun radio features other than news who also is sometimes heard on the news periods. In addition to its newscasts, The Vancouver Sun broadcasts these features over CKWX and CKFX:
Father and Son, Aunt Edith Safety Club, Women's World, Edith Adams' Cookery Corner, Youth in Review and Sun Serenade.
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Re: CKWX 950

Postby jon » Thu Aug 29, 2019 7:39 am

cart_machine wrote:As well in 1940, ‘WX absorbed the programming of ordered-off-the-air CKFC, owned by the Sun, as well as its shortwave transmitter. It also inherited Frank Rutland from the CKFC staff.

At the beginning of 1940, CKWX and CKCD shared 1010, while CKMO and CKFC shared 1410. When CKCD and CKFC had their licenses cancelled, CKWX and CKMO got exclusive use of their respective frequencies, which should have given CKWX the airtime to absorb CKFC programming without eliminating any existing programming.

Interesting contrast: within a year or less, CKWX moved twice, from 1010 to 950 to 980, while CKMO did not change frequencies at all, staying on 1410. Nearly all except the lowest frequencies saw their stations move in March 1941 under the Havana Treaty. CKMO was one of the few exceptions.
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