CKYL Peace River Wants to Move to FM

Radio news from Alberta

CKYL Peace River Wants to Move to FM

Postby jon » Mon Oct 03, 2016 2:56 pm

Alberta's original 6-30, CKYL in Peace River, wants to move to FM from its long-time home of 610 KHz. The station originally signed on to 630 KHz in 1954, moving to 610 a few years later.

The CRTC announced the application as one of eight to be heard during a Hearing in Gatineau, Quebec, on December 7th.
ref. - http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2016/2016-392.htm#bm7

What makes this application a bit unusual:
  1. "So much for that story circulating several years ago that CKYL 610 would NEVER flip to FM." - Dan Sys on Canadian Radio News
  2. CKYL already has a nested FM repeater in Peace River, and the application is to increase the power and tower height on the same FM frequency, then shut down CKYL-610 after 3 months of simulcasting
CKYL's FM repeaters in Manning, High Prairie, Fairview, Valleyview and Saddle Hills will continue to operate.
User avatar
jon
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 9256
Joined: Mon May 08, 2006 10:15 am
Location: Edmonton

Re: CKYL Peace River Wants to Move to FM

Postby TRENT310 » Mon Oct 17, 2016 11:44 pm

Sad, but as I mentioned in the other thread, to overhaul the equipment would be more costly than to shut it down unfortunately. This came up in a previous discussion when I was working with Peace River Broadcasting regarding their CFFC-FM translator at our site which also has been since removed from service (around the time CFXW-FM-1 98.1 came on air).

They won't be able to boast about being "all across the Peace" anymore.

These last 4 years we've lost pretty much every radio station I grew up listening to throughout the '90s.
TRENT310
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 235
Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2007 11:40 pm
Location: Whitecourt/Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Re: CKYL Peace River Wants to Move to FM

Postby jon » Fri Jun 16, 2017 5:19 pm

The CRTC plans to announce their decision on CKYL's shutdown of their AM transmitter, and move to FM, next week.
User avatar
jon
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 9256
Joined: Mon May 08, 2006 10:15 am
Location: Edmonton

Re: CKYL Peace River Wants to Move to FM

Postby jon » Tue Jun 20, 2017 9:31 am

From Dan Sys' Canadian Radio News:
(CRTC) AM TO FM FLIP APPROVED FOR CKYL 610 PEACE RIVER

Peace River Broadcasting got the go ahead today to convert CKYL 610 AM in Peace River, Alberta to 94.9 FM, a frequency currently occupied by nested repeater CKYL-1 which will be upgraded from 2,500 watts to 62,000 watts (100,000 watts maximum ERP). Antenna height will be raised from 63.0 to 219.9 metres (EHAAT), The radiation pattern will change from non-directional to directional.The transmitter will be relocated.

CRTC DECISION:
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2017/2017-206.htm
User avatar
jon
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 9256
Joined: Mon May 08, 2006 10:15 am
Location: Edmonton

Re: CKYL Peace River Wants to Move to FM

Postby Rocky » Tue Jun 20, 2017 7:01 pm

Too bad NL got bought by Newcap before CKYL's move to full-power FM.

Maybe a real radio owner would have considered taking a shot at NL's plans from '76 for a bump to 50,000 watts.

I doubt they'll even consider asking for 25,000 watts at night.
User avatar
Rocky
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 179
Joined: Tue Mar 19, 2013 4:47 pm
Location: Didsbury, AB

Re: CKYL Peace River Wants to Move to FM

Postby jon » Tue Jun 20, 2017 7:53 pm

Given that the Kamloops Newcap cluster includes two FMs, CHNL-610 cannot be flipped to FM.

With Newcap's recent move of CFCW from 790 to 840, they might be more open to trying to get 50KW for CHNL on 610. Sounds feasible now that Trail, Whitehorse and Peace River are leaving or have already left 610 KHz.

Even now, CHNL is the dominant station on 610 here in Edmonton 90% of the time that I tune to the frequency at night.
User avatar
jon
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 9256
Joined: Mon May 08, 2006 10:15 am
Location: Edmonton

Re: CKYL Peace River Wants to Move to FM

Postby TRENT310 » Wed Jun 21, 2017 2:07 pm

And the signs are gone from the side of Highway 43 at Fox Creek, both for CKYL and CFFC.
TRENT310
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 235
Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2007 11:40 pm
Location: Whitecourt/Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Re: CKYL Peace River Wants to Move to FM

Postby Dan Sys » Wed Jun 21, 2017 2:47 pm

Peace River Broadcasting shut down CFFC 92.1 in Fox Creek last year after Newcap launched a rebroadcaster for Whitecourt's CFXW (The Rig) on 98.1 in Fox Creek. Not sure about CKYL's presence in that town though as I have no record of YL having a rebroadcaster there.

In yesterday's decision the following rebroadcasters for CKYL were listed:
CKYL-2 92.1 High Prairie
CKYL-3 88.5 Fairview
CKYL-4 88.7 Valleyview
CKYL-5 88.9 Saddle Hills

These Peace River Broadcasting owned CKYL rebroadcasters are shown as being on the air in the ISEDC database:
CKYL-6 93.3 Manning
CKLA 92.1 La Crete
CJRA 92.1 Rainbow Lake
Anyone know why they also weren't listed in yesterday's decision? Have they left the air?
User avatar
Dan Sys
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 1887
Joined: Tue Apr 25, 2006 7:05 pm
Location: Aldergroove, B.C.

Re: CKYL Peace River Wants to Move to FM

Postby TRENT310 » Fri Jul 07, 2017 12:20 pm

Yeah I helped take the CFFC transmitter out of the rack, they were co-located on our tower within the pump station just west of town.
CFFC used to rebroadcast CKYL before switching to CKKX later on (CRTC # 2002-436). Service was delivered on a landline broadcast loop by Telus/AGT, which made the service sound like telephone hold music at best. The antennas are still on the tower for now, likely coming down next time we have other tower work going on.

I also came across paperwork (on Peace Pipe Line letterhead!) detailing the tower co-location details from 1996.
TRENT310
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 235
Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2007 11:40 pm
Location: Whitecourt/Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Re: CKYL Peace River Wants to Move to FM

Postby TRENT310 » Thu Mar 08, 2018 3:40 pm

CKYL testing phase for the higher power FM on their same frequency as the translator.
I noticed one of the job postings for Peace River Broadcasting mentioned an "exciting rebrand this spring" so I suspect the AM shutdown might happen at the same time.

TRENT310
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 235
Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2007 11:40 pm
Location: Whitecourt/Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Re: CKYL Peace River Wants to Move to FM

Postby skyvalleyradio » Fri Mar 09, 2018 5:14 pm

This is the same test announcement I heard two nights ago "DXing" 610 CKYL for what will probably be one of the last times received here. While there's no argument for keeping the AM signal alive, it is sad to note that this provides one less night-time source of regional radio for the vast expanse of the north with isolated residents. There's only a few AM signals left to serve northern residents & most of these are in Edmonton. Otherwise 890 CJDC 900 CKBI & 1050 CJNB are the only reliable signals heard in many parts of the north :canflag1:
User avatar
skyvalleyradio
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 1109
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2006 1:16 pm
Location: The Goofy Islands

Re: CKYL Peace River Wants to Move to FM

Postby jon » Fri Mar 09, 2018 9:23 pm

skyvalleyradio wrote:This is the same test announcement I heard two nights ago "DXing" 610 CKYL for what will probably be one of the last times received here. While there's no argument for keeping the AM signal alive, it is sad to note that this provides one less night-time source of regional radio for the vast expanse of the north with isolated residents. There's only a few AM signals left to serve northern residents & most of these are in Edmonton. Otherwise 890 CJDC 900 CKBI & 1050 CJNB are the only reliable signals heard in many parts of the north :canflag1:

CJNB does not have a reliable signal into Northern Alberta because it is still protecting the former CFGP-AM Grande Prairie, since they both shared 1050. Some nights, here in Edmonton, CJNB is non-existent, and it is XEG-1050 in Monterey, Mexico, all alone with their 100,000 watts.

As for Edmonton serving the North, we have lost both CKUA-580 and CHFA-680, which served the rural and remote areas not reached by the many CKUA-FM and Ici Radio-Canada Première FM repeaters.
User avatar
jon
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 9256
Joined: Mon May 08, 2006 10:15 am
Location: Edmonton


Return to Alberta

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Neumann Sennheiser and 118 guests