CKNW 1955 PNE Parade

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CKNW 1955 PNE Parade

Postby radiofan » Sun Feb 08, 2015 9:27 pm

Here's the CKNW Crystal Palace heading east on Hastings Street in the 1955 PNE Parade ...

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Re: CKNW 1955 PNE Parade

Postby jon » Sun Feb 08, 2015 9:34 pm

Is that Norm Grohmann looking out the window on this side of the Crystal Palace?
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Re: CKNW 1955 PNE Parade

Postby Neumann Sennheiser » Sun Feb 08, 2015 11:52 pm

Mascot costumes have certainly come a long way since then.
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Re: CKNW 1955 PNE Parade

Postby Tape Splicer » Mon Feb 09, 2015 1:15 am

How many incarnations of the "Crystal Palace" have there been?
The above trailer looks reasonably light weight as it's being pulled by a station wagon.
I've seen the NW trailer being pulled by what appeared to be a tow truck over the bridge from Surrey into New Westminster in the mid 70s.

Was the setup in the above trailer an announcer behind a mic with all other operations from the station, or did the announcer operate for himself?

I seem to recall seeing the "Crystal Palace" at the PNE and it looked like it was full of studio equipment.
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Re: CKNW 1955 PNE Parade

Postby radiofan » Mon Feb 09, 2015 9:36 am

Tape Splicer wrote:How many incarnations of the "Crystal Palace" have there been?
The above trailer looks reasonably light weight as it's being pulled by a station wagon.
I've seen the NW trailer being pulled by what appeared to be a tow truck over the bridge from Surrey into New Westminster in the mid 70s.

Was the setup in the above trailer an announcer behind a mic with all other operations from the station, or did the announcer operate for himself?

I seem to recall seeing the "Crystal Palace" at the PNE and it looked like it was full of studio equipment.


There was two Crystal Palaces. This is the original, it was probably brand new in 1955. It was replaced in the late 1970's with one that was almost identical built by Meridian Trailers in PoCo. That one still exists today and is used as a community events vehicle for at functions in PoCo courtesy of Meridian. NW retired it in the late 1990's when they moved onto a new Hino truck with the studio in the back.

The Crystal Palace was fully functional. It had a board, two turntables and a Magnecorder reel to reel machine for playing commercials. All the commercial sets were recorded by a board op the night before a remote. All the music and commercials were played from the remote location. All that originated from the station was news, sports and other features.

In those days the remote was more than just cut ins 3 or 4 times an hour. Whoever was on the air would do their show from the remote location along with whoever was doing the cut ins.

CKWX's answer to NW's Crystal Palace was their Golden Palace.
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Re: CKNW 1955 PNE Parade

Postby radiofan » Mon Feb 09, 2015 10:26 am

jon wrote:Is that Norm Grohmann looking out the window on this side of the Crystal Palace?


Norm didn't join NW until 1961. In 1955 he was working at CHWK in Chilliwack.
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Re: CKNW 1955 PNE Parade

Postby Tape Splicer » Mon Feb 09, 2015 10:42 am

I seem to recall seeing CJVB's "globe" remote trailer in a photo hanging over Mr. Vanbruchem's office door. It looked like a large clear plexiglass orb on wheels .. The announcer sat inside and did the remote from what would be a hot environment in the sumer. Perhaps skyvalleyradio might know more about this trailer as it was gone before I arrived at the station.
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Re: CKNW 1955 PNE Parade

Postby radiofan » Mon Feb 09, 2015 11:39 am

Tape Splicer wrote:I seem to recall seeing CJVB's "globe" remote trailer in a photo hanging over Mr. Vanbruchem's office door. It looked like a large clear plexiglass orb on wheels .. The announcer sat inside and did the remote from what would be a hot environment in the sumer. Perhaps skyvalleyradio might know more about this trailer as it was gone before I arrived at the station.


From the 1975 PNE (outside The Gardens) ...

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Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who couldn't hear the music.
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Re: CKNW 1955 PNE Parade

Postby Tape Splicer » Mon Feb 09, 2015 12:06 pm

radiofan; Thats the "globe" i saw in the picture in mentioned above... The image I saw was a close-up of an announcer inside the globe doing a remote broadcast. thanks for the image.
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Re: CKNW 1955 PNE Parade

Postby Firedog » Mon Feb 09, 2015 12:07 pm

During the last week of August, 1961, C-FUN was broadcasting from the P.N.E. The current C-Funtastic Fifty survey #75 was being handed out from the "studio on wheels." I was 14 years old at the time and having got my copy of the survey, I asked the D.J.'s to autograph the back of the survey. Cameron Bell, Dave McCormick and "Frosty" Forst did just that. I still have that survey.

Are there any pictures of the C-FUN remote studio from that era?
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Re: CKNW 1955 PNE Parade

Postby J Kendrick » Mon Feb 09, 2015 5:00 pm

radiofan wrote:
jon wrote:Is that Norm Grohmann looking out the window on this side of the Crystal Palace?


Norm didn't join NW until 1961. In 1955 he was working at CHWK in Chilliwack.


Isn't that Bob Hutton?
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Re: CKNW 1955 PNE Parade

Postby Tom Jeffries » Mon Feb 09, 2015 6:22 pm

I think CKVN wins the award for cheesy 'remote' homes.

The PNE, 1972 - a cardboard Radio - and a mike and a chair - in blue and orange - the wonderful 'station colours'....got to do 6 days a week....and funny - even all these years later, the smell of cardboard and I am back at the Fair...

We sure had fun. Little donuts and a TON of coffee.
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Re: CKNW 1955 PNE Parade

Postby skyvalleyradio » Mon Feb 09, 2015 8:03 pm

Tape Splicer - I can't remember too many details about the CJVB globe. Pat Karl & Nick Sands got to do the remotes. I was the guy back at the studio on Richards St 'running the board' inserting ads, IDs, filling out the log etc so never got the opportunity to examine it
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Re: CKNW 1955 PNE Parade

Postby jon » Mon Feb 09, 2015 8:12 pm

I've heard things on air that really shouldn't be called Remotes at all, but I'm sure they were sold to the client as a Remote: an announcer or promotions person calling in from a payphone.

The cheapest remotes I've ever read about were where the announcer in the studio had to phone a payphone number to save the Remote announcer the Dime each time he did a cut-in.

Presence at a Remote would often be as cheap as the announcer wearing a T-Shirt, and maybe a ball cap, with the station's call letters on it. Cheesy banners are a stage up.

All of which make WKRP Remotes look impressive and expensive.

Other than CBC shows done on a stage somewhere before a live audience, and aired later, it has been more than a decade since I last heard a music station "take the music with them" to a Remote. As for Talk stations, beyond the two relocations of CHQR to Edmonton, and Play by Play Sports, I've recently heard "complete" CHED shows done live from Show Homes, Home Improvement Shows, Hospital Fundraisers and the like. They always have an Operator back in the studio playing the commercials and cutting in for the News.

As for music stations, they tend to have a mic. and a tiny table at a local watering hole.
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Re: CKNW 1955 PNE Parade

Postby Tom Jeffries » Mon Feb 09, 2015 9:42 pm

Any remote horror stories? Love to hear some - I bet we all have had the odd disaster.
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