CBC Radio-1 features re BC Ferries

[Low Light Mike]

The "On the Island" program, which is CBC-1's Victoria morning show, has been featuring ferry stories all this week.

Here's their website, where you can listen to archives:
www.cbc.ca/ontheisland/features.html
- I recommend the Jack Knox item, as he's a witty writer for the Victoria TimesColonist newspaper.

----------------------------

You may be surprised to know that the CBC Radio-1 station from Victoria is supposed to serve the Island, but is unavailable in much of Nanaimo. Nanaimo lacks a repeater, and there are lots of dead spaces re this 92.5fm frequency. On my morning commute, the signal dies 1/2 way to my work......frustrating.

[Low Light Mike]

Here's what's posted so far:

- Monday: rising fares, lobbying against fare increases. Interview with Pender Island advisory-committee member. Surprise surprise, the cause of fare increases is the Provincial Gov't policy......


- Tuesday: Interview with Swartz Bay control tower staff, interesting behind the scenes re loading at Swartz, loading the Cumberland, and talking about "lane jumpers".


- Wednesday: Jack Knox's comments. Intelligent & funny.

[Northern Exploration]

Jack Knox was very funny. Interesting listening to the control tower at Swartz Bay too. Would love to hear some of their stories.

[Scott]

What kind of program do you need to listen to these clips?

[DENelson83]

flugelhorn said:

You may be surprised to know that the CBC Radio-1 station from Victoria is supposed to serve the Island, but is unavailable in much of Nanaimo. Nanaimo lacks a repeater, and there are lots of dead spaces re this 92.5fm frequency. On my morning commute, the signal dies 1/2 way to my work......frustrating.

The CBC has an application before the CRTC right now to put a repeater of CBCV-FM in Nanaimo, however a commercial station in Vancouver has challenged that application.

admin said:

What kind of program do you need to listen to these clips?

That would be RealPlayer.

[Low Light Mike]

Thursday's story:

- environmental issues, including sewage treatment & carbon issues.

- interview is with Mark Collins.

-------------------

Friday will be an interview with Jackie Miller, the President of the union.....

[Low Light Mike]

admin said:

What kind of program do you need to listen to these clips?

Yes, it's RealPlayer, that automatically opens when I click on the CBC link.

[Northern Exploration]

I get one of the CBC stations on Long Beach/Tofino. Which station would I be picking up or is there a repeater for the west coast of the Island?

[Kam]

pnwtraveler said:

I get one of the CBC stations on Long Beach/Tofino. Which station would I be picking up or is there a repeater for the west coast of the Island?

That CBC transmitter is a rebroadcaster of Radio One Victoria 90.5.

[Low Light Mike]

pnwtraveler said:

I get one of the CBC stations on Long Beach/Tofino. Which station would I be picking up or is there a repeater for the west coast of the Island?

The CBC website doesn't specify the "source broadcast" of the FM station that you get in Tofino.

It would likely be either Victoria or Vancouver. The morning program would be the indicator, as Victoria has it's unique morning program.

--------

late edit: Kam has the answer. thanks.

[Northern Exploration]

On holidays I am usually walking the beach about the time the morning show is on. It's usually late morning or afternoon before I am driving in my car so the radio is on. Mary Walsh did a reading of a book from Newfoundland the last time I was there which was great. I tried to be in the car everyday around that time so I could hear it. There are only a couple stations with the weather and tides being one of them. And of course the bear alerts from the national park station

[Neil]

I thought it was kind of odd, last time I was in Ucluelet, that I could get 'Jack-FM'. Turns out they have a re-broadcasting station there with a mighty one watt.

This site is a good one for all radio and TV stations, and their re-broadcasting satellites, along with webcasters. They tell you how powerful each one is, which explains poor reception of some:

radiostationworld.com/default.asp

[Northern Exploration]

I remember a country station too I think.

[Nick]

I picked up ROCK101 from vancouver while I was in Bamfield once. Apparently there is no repeater there, so it must have just been a fluke. I always thought that they had a strong signal, even if that website above only lists it as 100KW.

[Neil]

Actually, you would have been getting their repeater signal, also from Ucluelet; JR-FM has one there as well.

At 100,000 watts, CFMI's signal is as strong as you get in Canada.

[Northern Exploration]

It is possible to pick up stations in strange places when a body of water is involved. The term is called skip. All I remember from physics class though. I also know mountains block signals but can also somehow cause them to bend. Toronto's radio dial is so full you can't catch any radio stations from anywhere. There are huge battles here all the time over airspace.

[Low Light Mike]

new interviews posted on the CBC site (link posted in the first item in this thread):

- interview re Chemainus carol cruise on the ferry

- interview with Chief of the 1st-Nation on Kuper Island (very interesting & thought provoking interview)

-------------------
- tomorrow they will broadcast from a pub at Fulford Harbour.... ;D

[DENelson83]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CBCV-FM

That tells you where the repeaters are for the Victoria station.

[royalroadscaptain]

I've been waking up early this week to listen to the show and some of the stories that callers shared were awesome. The listener who told about laying out the Scrabble board on a cafeteria table to invite anyone to play had one of the best stories. True ferry travel spirit, I loved it.

[Low Light Mike]

2 new items added today, to the CBC archive:

1) Jackie Miller interview - 15 minutes long.

2) Here's the description:
To some people, the ferry is just a way on and off an Island. To others, using the ferry defines how they live their lives. We explore the anthropology of ferry-dependent communities.
- this interview includes an interview with our Phillip Vannini !, aka Royal Roads Captain.

www.cbc.ca/ontheisland/features.html
.....I think you'll find Phillip's interview very interesting, based on our nerdy level of interest in the various types of ferries on the coast. They even talk about the MV Quinsam's design, and Phillip describes it as both "cute" and "ugly".

[royalroadscaptain]

You're much too kind ;D

In terms of stories though I do think that old boats--and the older and rustier the better--make for better stories. That's why I'm hardly excited about the super C's. They may be shiny, but they have no stories attached to them... at least yet.

[DENelson83]

You can only get good skip on the AM dial at night or on shortwave. Skip on FM requires a lot of sunspots or sporadic ionization in the E-layer of the ionosphere.

[BrianWilliams]

Thanks for posting the CBC Victoria ferry stories info, Fluge. I'll look for the archived audio. CBC Radio is very good at doing this kind of well-researched, truly entertaining material.

As noted, CBC-1 is having trouble filling some dead spots on the Island and lower mainland BC with repeaters, because of the intense competition for FM channels (we have to share the spectrum with US broadcasters as well).

Oddly, there are many AM frequencies open all over the region, due to the decline in commercial AM radio. AM coverage is much better, but CBC has decided to concentrate on FM except in the most difficult mountain areas. Too bad.

Denelson - right! Medium wave broadcasting has the potential for amazing unintended long-long distance coverage at night.

Decades ago, I was a MW DX'er in Vancouver. It was easy to hear some local stations from Los Angeles, Chicago, Mexico, NYC and Hawaii. As my antenna-building got better, domestic broadcasters in South America, the Caribbean, the South Pacific, Japan, Australia, NZ, China and Siberia became easier to get. Good fun, and it inspired some language learning. Sleepless nights, though - a hobby for the young.

[Retrovision]

Yes, thanks for the efforts.

I was surprised to hear on my recent trip through Powell River the clarity of CBC Radio One - Victoria - on the FM band

[DENelson83]

Yep, that's the repeater I get my CBCR1 FM service from - CBUW-FM Powell River, serves the Comox Valley.