[IRCA] CBA Comments and Info.

["Karl J. Zuk" <karlzuk@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I was listening to both medium wave and Internet from 11:45pm through about 1:15am.
 
No test aired. CBA was broadcasting parallel with the Eastern Time zone stations like CBE 1550 Windsor.
I don't remember this happening before. Why were they out of sync, or is this a Sunday evening thing I haven't noticed?
CBA is usually an hour ahead of CBE Windsor, Ontario due to the time difference. They are on Atlantic Standard Time. 
 
Conditions at my QTH were somewhat auroral. I had deep fades every 15 minutes or so like clockwork. 
CHOK was in pretty well to the west of me. My Superadio and SRF-59 had to be nulled to hear CBA fairly clearly.
 
I feel bad that the test did not run. Saul put a lot of time and effort into trying to arrange this for us and we should offer him applause.
Why CBA didn't run the test is irrelevant. It was rude to say they would run the test and then not run it. We don't understand.
 
The CBC is a big nationwide bureaucracy and lumbers along often not gracefully. Their programming is very good. Their local staffs are workhorses that are only on the air part-time. I got to know the crew at a similar station in Sydney, Nova Scotia. The recent CBC strike really demoralized them. The excellent pair of people handling their version of Information Morning eventually retired. I presume the strike had something to do with their early retreat. Outside of local content for 2 1/2 hours every morning and little bursts afternoons and weekends, these stations are on auto-pilot repeating the feeds coming out of Toronto. 
 
CBA used to be open and clear on 1070. After CHOK was established, it became much harder to hear around my QTH north of New York City. Losing CBL 740 Toronto was a blow, as well. When WTIC 1080 Hartford put on its IBOC embarrassment, it really became difficult to hear especially with any sort of pleasure. The complete resolution? Internet access in our cars. Wait a few decades and get back to me. 
 
Good luck to CBA and their 106.1 operation. Hopefully, the local content will hold on for awhile. 
By the way, check out CBC's show with former Bachman-Turner Overdrive guitarist Randy Bachman called Vinyl Tap.
What a great show if you love rock and guitars! Look for it from 7 to 9 pm Saturday nights.
Web site: http://www.randysvinyltap.com/.
 
One final thought: Why were the English MW outlets turned off in Moncton and Toronto while the French outlet in Toronto continues?
Do lots of people actually listen to French medium wave broadcasts? CBF 540 Windsor is the same way. 50 kW of French going where? Am I ignorant? Are these transmissions heard by larger audiences than the English broadcasts? This must be bilingual politics at work. 
 
Sincere thanks to Saul Chernos and good luck to everyone at CBA.
 
Karl Zuk  N2KZ
 
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