Russ_Byth wrote:My first on air gig was at 250W CFKC Creston in 1980.
Anyone else start less than 1000W? Not a contest, just curious.
As you say, not a contest, but I realized that there were some CBC radio folks who actually worked on-air on 40 watt LPRTs, without being heard on the "master station". Don't know any who did their first gig on a 40 watt LPRT, but one of the more interesting folks who falls in that category is the late Tom Lodge, of British Pirate Radio fame. He began his career doing Mornings Day One when the CBC took over CFYK in Yellowknife in December 1958. But the next May, he moved to Fort Smith to do the Morning Show live on 40 watt CBDI-860. Not as a one shot deal, but a permanent gig.
In the early 1970s, CFPR Prince Rupert ran one hour a day separate from its dozen or so LPRTs, from 5-6pm weeknights, with a show called Line-Up. The LPRTs were also programmed live from Prince Rupert, but with a separate show done in the Production Control Room. Both shows were mostly music, of the announcer's choosing, but there was a heavy emphasis on short reports of community goings-on, both recent past and future. There were even short recorded reports from free-lance reporters in many of the local LPRT communities.
That was AM, but I guess there are some low wattage FM stations now. Only the 12 watt BCIT station comes to mind, but those are unpaid volunteers.