[IRCA] BC/AB radio update

[Tim Hall <timhall1@xxxxxxxxx>]

>From a driving trip through southeastern BC and western Alberta June 4-19, 2005:

 570 (CKEK)  BC  Cranbrook - The 5 former "E-K radio" stations have
all gone off the air on AM and have been replaced by 2 FM stations.

 580  CKXR  BC  Salmon Arm - Has not moved to 99.7 FM yet.  Still
//CKIR-870, CKCR-1340, CKGR-1400 with "easy rock" slogan.

 740  CBKR  BC  Parson - Still active and getting out well. 

 740  CBUN  BC  Salmo - Still active and getting out reasonably well.

 800  CKOR  BC  Penticton - Still active and still //CJOR-1240 and
CIOR-1400 but not CHOR-1450.  None of the Okanagan Valley stations get
out as well as they used to.

 860  CBXB  AB  Banff - Still active and getting out well, but is
reportedly seeking a move to FM.

 860  CBXL  AB  Blairmore - I was so distracted by finding CBXC-1450
and CJEV-1340 on the air that I forgot to try for this one when I was
in Blairmore.  By the time I remembered I was outside of their
coverage area and only got a faint trace of a signal.  I think this
one is on, but this is odd given that there is another CBC LPRT right
next door in Coleman.

 860  CBXJ  AB  Jasper - Has already started simulcasting on 98.1 FM. 
Expect this one to go away soon.

 860  CBRD  BC  Field - Still active and getting out fairly well.

 860  CBRJ  BC  Grand Forks - Still active and getting out well.

 860 (CBRA) BC  Revelstoke - Moved to 91.3 FM.

 880 (CKKC) BC  Nelson - I think this one has moved to FM but I'm not
100% sure (they had a CP for 106.9).  Sister station CFKC-1340 in
Creston is still on AM.

 900  CBWD  BC  Donald - Still active and getting out well.

 900  CBRK  BC  Kimberley - Still active and getting out well.

 940 (CJIB) BC  Vernon - Has moved to FM.

 970  CFXE  AB  Edson - (ex-CJYR) The former Yellowhead Radio stations
are now "the fox".  2 of the stations (Hinton and Jasper) have moved
to FM, one (Edson) has a CP to FM, and the other (Grande Cache) is
apparently remaining on 1230 AM for now.  I assume this is where
things will remain, as they have had their vans re-stenciled with this
information.  Slogan is "the fox, playing all kinds of stuff."

1050 (CICF) BC  Vernon - Has moved to FM.

1150 (CBTK) BC  Midway - There is no CBC LPRT in the town of Midway in
southern BC near the Okanagan Valley.  Maybe there is another town
called Midway in some other part of BC?

1200 (CFIW) BC  Canal Flats - The 5 former "E-K radio" stations have
all gone off the air on AM and have been replaced by 2 FM stations.  I
think I read something about the new owners wanting to restart the
1200 operation, but it was definitely not on when I drove through
Canal Flats this time.

1230 (CBPB) AB  Athabasca Falls / Columbia Icefields / Maligne Canyon
- I had seen some reports from 2002-2003 indicating these stations
were back on the air, but unfortunately this is not the case.  Unlike
Banff, I did not notice any new FM stations to replace them.

1230 (CBPG) AB  Banff East Gate / Banff Townsite / Castle Junction /
Saskatchewan Crossing - These have been permanently replaced by a
single set of stations in Banff (101.1 English, 103.3 French).

1230  CFXG  AB  Grande Cache - (ex-CIYR1) This one is still on 1230 AM
but gets out very poorly.

1230 (CIYR) AB  Hinton - Has moved to 97.5 FM and is now "the fox".

1230  CBPD1 BC  Rogers Pass (Glacier Park) - This station, which was
seemingly abandoned at least 4 years ago, is actually still running OC
from the visitor center at Rogers Pass.  (I was staying in the lodge
about 100 feet away so it was unmistakable).  Nothing on 1490 though.

1230 (CB??) BC  Yoho National Park - These stations are long gone.

1240 (CFEK) BC  Fernie - The 5 former "E-K radio" stations have all
gone off the air on AM and have been replaced by 2 FM stations.

1240  CJOR  BC  Osoyoos - Still active and still //CKOR-800 and
CIOR-1400 but not CHOR-1450.  None of the Okanagan Valley stations get
out as well as they used to.

1260  CBPM  BC  Sicamous - Still active and getting out well with
Environment Canada weather in English and French.

1340  CFKC  BC  Creston - Still active but gets out poorly with their
250w.  Only seems to get out to the south (noted middays to Bonners
Ferry, ID).

1340  CJEV  BC  Elkford - Station is active //CJPR-94.9 (ex-1490). 
Slogan is "Cat country / mountain radio."  Ironically, one of the
promo announcements said "when you hear good country music, you know
you're in Alberta."  I guess they forgot they have a sister station in
BC.  There does not seem to be a studio for CJEV in Elkford though the
transmitter is obviously around there.  The local Chamber of Commerce
had not heard of CJEV and they were not in the local phone book.  Gets
out reasonably well to Sparwood, and some times to points further east
and west such as Fernie, BC and Bellevue, AB.

1340 (CKGF) BC  Grand Forks - Moved to FM.

1340  CIVH  BC  Vanderhoof - Still "97 FM the wolf" //CJCI.

1350  CBKY  BC  Keremeos - Forgot to check this one as I drove through
the Okanagan Valley in a heavy rainstorm.  They were on when we drove
through Keremeos in 1998.

1350 (CBKI) BC  Valemount - Moved to 90.3 FM.  

1400  CKOR  BC  Princeton - Still active and still //CKOR-800 and
CJOR-1240 but not CHOR-1450.  None of the Okanagan Valley stations get
out as well as they used to.

1400 (CJEK) BC  Sparwood - The 5 former "E-K radio" stations have all
gone off the air on AM and have been replaced by 2 FM stations.  (Note
there was also a listing for 1440 for a while, which appears to just
be a redundant entry for CJEK?  Sparwood is a rather depressed mining
town which seems to be losing the battle for tourism dollars to Fernie
to the west and the Crowsnest Pass region to the east, so a new AM
station there seems unlikely).

1450  CBXC  AB  Coleman  - This one is listed on some web sites as
"Northern Alberta", and the call signs make it sound like a CBX relay,
but it is in fact a CBR relay in the Crowsnest Pass area of SW
Alberta.  This one seems to get out only to the east and west, which
is not surprising given the surrounding terrain.

1450  CBWI  AB  Grande Cache - Still on the air //CBX-740.

1450 (CKYR) AB  Jasper  - This one has moved to 95.5 FM where it is
now CFXP "the fox."

1450  CHOR  BC  Summerland - Still active but is now "oldies 14-50"
and occasionally the same feed as used by CKFR "oldies 11-50."  Not
//the other Okanagan Radio stations on 800, 1240, 1400.  Seemed a
waste to have all these stations in the same market running the same
programming...

1460 (CKKI) BC  Kimberley - The 5 former "E-K radio" stations have all
gone off the air on AM and have been replaced by 2 FM stations.

1490 (CBPB) AB  Athabasca Falls / Columbia Icefields / Maligne Canyon
- I had seen some reports from 2002-2003 indicating these stations
were back on the air, but unfortunately this is not the case.  Unlike
Banff, I did not notice any new FM station to replace them.

1490 (CBPG) AB  Banff East Gate / Banff Townsite / Castle Junction /
Saskatchewan Crossing - These have been permanently replaced by a
single set of stations in Banff (101.1 English, 103.3 French).

1490 (CJPR) AB Blairmore - has moved to 94.9 FM.  Sister station CJEV
Elkford, BC remains on AM.

1490 (CBPN) BC  Golden - The station appears to have been permanently
replaced by a programmable sign that gives up-to-date highway
information.

1490 (CBPR) BC  Revelstoke - The station appears to have been
permanently replaced by a programmable sign that gives up-to-date
highway information.

1490 (CBPC1) BC Rogers Pass (Glacier Park) - Nothing here despite the
OC on 1230.

1490 (CB??) BC  Yoho National Park - These stations are long gone.

1540  CBXD  AB  Edson - Seems to still be on the air (I got bits and
pieces from Hinton).

1580  CBPK  BC  Revelstoke - Still active and getting out well with
Environment Canada weather in English and French.  Logged from Jasper,
AB at night.

Otherness:

The N-L radio network (CHNL-610, CJNL-1230, CINL-1340, CHNL1-1400)
remains intact.

Standard Radio Group operates two sets of stations which use the "easy
rock" slogan.  CKXR-580, CKIR-870, CKCR-1340, and CKGR-1400 are
usually (always?) parallel to each other, as are CKOR-800, CJOR-1240,
and CIOR-1400.  Sometimes there is a slight delay between stations
running the same feed.

73, Tim Hall

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