VILLAGE 900 (CKMO) VICTORIA TO LEAVE THE AIR ON MARCH 4th

[Dan]

CKMO 900 in Victoria will go dark on March 4th. This comes after an agreement with Rogers to maintain CKMO's transmitting equipment for the past 10+ years came to an end and funding was not available for the station to continue operating on the AM band. Village 900 will continue on as an internet based station, but they will be sacrificing a ton of terrestrial radio listeners all up and down the West Coast who currently have access to that huge signal on 900.

http://www.villagenow.net/2012/02/village-900-embraces-evolution-to.html

[Bongwater]

WOW. I thought they were going to be doing this NEXT year!

[Goldilocks94941]

I had heard recently that the entire operation was shutting down in a few weeks, due to lack of funding.  The signal does cover a lot of ground, pretty good into metro Vancouver, and coastal parts of Seattle, and everywhere in between, but it's obvious the transmitter and grounding haven't been maintained to optimize its output for years.  You get a mile inland on the Washington coast and their moderately strong signal along the shore melts into mush. 

Seems like a lack of entrepreneurial spirit in this case in Canada is part of the problem, and I guess it's too late now to try to find a way to emulate non-comm radio funding in the US.  I do hear commercials on CKMO during the Grizzlies hockey games, but that's it.  Never heard any fundraising appeals to raise money on CKMO, and their website makes it appear they have a staff of one now.  As much as I like a lot of the music (despite the mispronunciations of student announcers), I confess I forget to tune it, since the AM 900 signal gets buried by KIXI on Interstate 5 now. 

I am a big fan of "world music," and remember when the PD at 96.1 CHKG in Vancouver tried to extend that format beyond the morning and midday dayparts on that big signal.  I even have a CD he gave me of the world music artists they were promoting in 1998.  In that attempt to create a world music "format," it sounds like he didn't have the backing of the Hong Kong-based ownership at Fairchild Media. I think it's all Mandarin-based and Hindi pop music in separate dayparts now.  I just now realized the CHKG call letters probably stand for "Hong Kong."

Wonder if anyone else will try get the license for AM900?  I suspect it will be another big AM to go dark for good.  And that's really not good for our industry. 

[Bongwater]

I had heard recently that the entire operation was shutting down in a few weeks, due to lack of funding.  The signal does cover a lot of ground, pretty good into metro Vancouver, and coastal parts of Seattle, and everywhere in between, but it's obvious the transmitter and grounding haven't been maintained to optimize its output for years.  You get a mile inland on the Washington coast and their moderately strong signal along the shore melts into mush. 

Seems like a lack of entrepreneurial spirit in this case in Canada is part of the problem, and I guess it's too late now to try to find a way to emulate non-comm radio funding in the US.  I do hear commercials on CKMO during the Grizzlies hockey games, but that's it.  Never heard any fundraising appeals to raise money on CKMO, and their website makes it appear they have a staff of one now.  As much as I like a lot of the music (despite the mispronunciations of student announcers), I confess I forget to tune it, since the AM 900 signal gets buried by KIXI on Interstate 5 now. 

I am a big fan of "world music," and remember when the PD at 96.1 CHKG in Vancouver tried to extend that format beyond the morning and midday dayparts on that big signal.  I even have a CD he gave me of the world music artists they were promoting in 1998.  In that attempt to create a world music "format," it sounds like he didn't have the backing of the Hong Kong-based ownership at Fairchild Media. I think it's all Mandarin-based and Hindi pop music in separate dayparts now.  I just now realized the CHKG call letters probably stand for "Hong Kong."

Wonder if anyone else will try get the license for AM900?  I suspect it will be another big AM to go dark for good.  And that's really not good for our industry. 

I'll bet whoever bought 1110 in the hopes of beaming the signal back to Vancouver Island is probably SERIOUSLY kicking themselves now.........

[crainbebo]

After March 4th, you'll be able to hear CKBI Prince Albert, Sask after dark if you haven't heard them yet.

-crainbebo

[Dan]

After March 4th, you'll be able to hear CKBI Prince Albert, Sask after dark if you haven't heard them yet.

Also look out for KKRT Wentachee and KBIF Fresno around sunrise/sunset. I've logged both of these stations with CKMO on the air. CHML Hamilton has been known to pay a visit out this way every now & then too.

[bobdavcav]

I've heard the Wenachee station with CKMO on the air, but flipped right away because I knew the signal wouldn't be reliable over CKMO. Hopefully another option to listen to the Mariners at night. I don't know if it's the radio we have or what, but KIRO fades in and out very badly at night. Note, this is the same radio I mentioned in the other thread about KPLZ coming in very badly on sometimes, not sure why that happens. Since the antena was taken off the wall last week, it hasn't happened. NOAA weather radio reception seems to be bad on both radios I have that pick it up.

[Goldilocks94941]

>>After March 4th, you'll be able to hear CKBI Prince Albert, Sask

I wonder if they do a lot of "canned" programming? 

-- faint drumroll, please. . .

[crainbebo]

After March 4th, you'll be able to hear CKBI Prince Albert, Sask after dark if you haven't heard them yet.

Also look out for KKRT Wentachee and KBIF Fresno around sunrise/sunset. I've logged both of these stations with CKMO on the air. CHML Hamilton has been known to pay a visit out this way every now & then too.

I have gotten KKRT and once got CHML (I was very surprised, they gave ID and I matched to their stream an old-time radio program, OVER Prince Albert).

I've heard the Wenachee station with CKMO on the air, but flipped right away because I knew the signal wouldn't be reliable over CKMO. Hopefully another option to listen to the Mariners at night. I don't know if it's the radio we have or what, but KIRO fades in and out very badly at night. Note, this is the same radio I mentioned in the other thread about KPLZ coming in very badly on sometimes, not sure why that happens. Since the antena was taken off the wall last week, it hasn't happened. NOAA weather radio reception seems to be bad on both radios I have that pick it up.

KKRT is only 72w at night however, so you'd probably get a strong CKBI and not much else...

-crainbebo

[bobdavcav]

Any idea about that radio I've got? At times I can't stand the reception on KIRO, it'll go really quiet, then go really loud and distorted, then repeat. Didn't follow the Ms much this year so don't know if it has happened lately, but it was really bad last season. Also why can reception vary so much even if the radio hasn't moved?