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Sarnia Radio Market

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Marcus
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Joined: Fri Jan 21, 2005 1:08 pm
Location: Sarnia, Ontario

Sarnia Radio Market

Post by Marcus » Fri Jul 29, 2022 4:48 pm

https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2022/2022-197.htm

Sarnia and Media Entertainment Inc. was turned down after applying for a LPFM. Blackburn is interested in moving CHOK over to the FM band but ownership limits prevent this. That signal on 103.9 does not cover all of Lambton County as it is designed to improve reception where the AM band including 1070 has interference. CFCO Chatham, Zoomer Radio Toronto and CKDO Oshawa (East of Toronto) all have similar operations.

This has me wondering if the CRTC will soon permit one company to own three FM signals in one radio market. Although this would be a bad thing for the biggest radio markets in the nation, smaller radio markets usually have enough space on the FM band to accommodate such transitions. In Ontario alone CKAT North Bay, CJBQ Belleville, CKPC 1380 Brantford, CFOS Owen Sound, CKNX Wingham along with both CHOK and CFCO would leave AM.

If that does not happen, then Blackburn would have to unload one of the radio stations before they make CHOK FM only. Here are the Commercial stations Sarnia / Port Huron area.

92.7 FM / 1590 AM WHLX Port Huron
96.9 WBTI from Lexington
99.9 The Fox, Sarnia (Blackburn)
102.3 WGRT Port Huron
Country 103.9 FM/ 1070 AM CHOK, Sarnia (Blackburn)
105.5 FM/ 1450 AM WHLS Port Huron
Cool 106.3, Sarnia (Blackburn)
Q Country 107 / WSAQ Port Huron
1380 WPHM Port Huron

I think there are about six non-commercial radio stations in addition to that list. There is also the impact of non local radio.



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Ben Zonia
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Re: Sarnia Radio Market

Post by Ben Zonia » Fri Jul 29, 2022 11:55 pm

This has me wondering if the CRTC will soon permit one company to own three FM signals in one radio market. Although this would be a bad thing for the biggest radio markets in the nation, smaller radio markets usually have enough space on the FM band to accommodate such transitions. In Ontario alone CKAT 600 10/5 U4 North Bay, CJBQ Belleville, CKPC 1380 Brantford, CFOS 560 7.5/1 U4 Owen Sound, CKNX 920 10/1 U4 Wingham along with both CHOK 1070 10 U4 Sarnia and CFCO 630 10/6 U4 Chatham would leave AM.
Along with the WRTH facility notations, these stations have some of the best AM facilities left in Canada. And many are in a sweet spot of conductivity, large areas 20 mS/m, and Lake St. Clair shows as 40 mS/m on a newer estimated map.

I strongly suspect that some of these stations are continually operating with Day facilities. Some of these stations receive or did receive a lot of US IBOC station adjacent channel interference, and the regulators may be looking the other way because of that. They interfere with US cochannel non IBOC stations greatly though.


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Colonel Flagg
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Re: Sarnia Radio Market

Post by Colonel Flagg » Sat Jul 30, 2022 10:31 am

It's listeners in the outlying rural areas in Canada who suffer when the good AM signals are shut down. I would think the heavy handed CRTC would have more to say about that. You can't cover Ontario's "Great Southwest" with a 6kw FM at 100 meters.


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Ben Zonia
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Re: Sarnia Radio Market

Post by Ben Zonia » Sat Jul 30, 2022 3:13 pm

Colonel Flagg wrote:
Sat Jul 30, 2022 10:31 am
It's listeners in the outlying rural areas in Canada who suffer when the good AM signals are shut down. I would think the heavy handed CRTC would have more to say about that. You can't cover Ontario's "Great Southwest" with a 6kw FM at 100 meters.
The whole "Great Southwest" is pretty much jammed up with FM assignments, many for government owned public stations and for special groups, and all French Language networks. These are unavailable for private broadcasting stations. Anything else would be lower power and highly directional. They couldn't begin to cover as much area as the 10000 watt low frequency AMs.


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Marcus
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Joined: Fri Jan 21, 2005 1:08 pm
Location: Sarnia, Ontario

Re: Sarnia Radio Market

Post by Marcus » Sat Jul 30, 2022 11:00 pm

Blackburn Radio only mentioned CHOK as a station that could someday be replaced. I figure that two FM signals would cover all of Lambton County with one of them being in Sarnia and the other on the CHCH-TV tower in Alvinston, serving Eastern Lambton County. This make it possible for them to move CKNX Wingham from 920 to 1070. From up there CKNX could use more than 10,000 watts during the daytime as Wingham is further away from Owosso, Michigan and the station on 1060 in Ohio. On 920 CKNX is at 1,000 watts nights and has been for years.

As for 630 CFCO I would hang on to it not only for its superior coverage, but also to prevent one of the Windsor stations from moving to that frequency.



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Ben Zonia
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Re: Sarnia Radio Market

Post by Ben Zonia » Sun Jul 31, 2022 1:58 am

CFCO has been heard coast to coast, at least on Day pattern and power. There are all kinds of DX reports on other message boards.


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Deleted User 15840

Re: Sarnia Radio Market

Post by Deleted User 15840 » Tue Aug 02, 2022 12:00 pm

There was at one time a station at 103.3 in Sarnia. It was a country station, I believe owned by First Nations community radio. The owners still have a station in Kettle Point, Ontario at 107.7 called “The Eagle” I do believe that the 103.3 Sarnia station is now an internet only station called “The Coyote” playing Country Music. Since we are on the subject of stations in Southwestern Ontario, what happened to the 50 watt station on 98.3 from Walpole Island, Ontario is that still in existence? I used to pick up that Walpole Island station from New Baltimore all the time a few years ago.



ChrisWL1980
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Re: Sarnia Radio Market

Post by ChrisWL1980 » Sun Aug 07, 2022 9:47 pm

Longwave wrote:
Tue Aug 02, 2022 12:00 pm
There was at one time a station at 103.3 in Sarnia. It was a country station, I believe owned by First Nations community radio. The owners still have a station in Kettle Point, Ontario at 107.7 called “The Eagle” I do believe that the 103.3 Sarnia station is now an internet only station called “The Coyote” playing Country Music. Since we are on the subject of stations in Southwestern Ontario, what happened to the 50 watt station on 98.3 from Walpole Island, Ontario is that still in existence? I used to pick up that Walpole Island station from New Baltimore all the time a few years ago.
Apparently it's still around. They even stream. I used to get it as far away as Romeo.
https://www.walpoleislandfirstnation.ca/cfrz-radio



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