CBU is a Canadian

non-commercial A non-commercial (also spelled noncommercial) activity is an activity that is not carried out in the interest of Profit (economics), profit. The opposite is Commerce, commercial, something that primarily serves profit interests and is focused on bu ...

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...

, in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. It carries the programming of the

CBC Radio One CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent o ...

network Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematics ...

. The station broadcasts on 690 AM (a clear channel frequency) and on 88.1 FM as CBU-2-FM. CBU's newscasts and local shows are also heard on a chain of CBC stations around the

Lower Mainland The Lower Mainland is a geographic and cultural region of the mainland coast of British Columbia that generally comprises the regional districts of Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. Home to approximately 3.05million people as of the 2021 ...

. CBU's

studio A studio is a space set aside for creative work of any kind, including art, dance, music and theater. The word ''studio'' is derived from the , from , from ''studere'', meaning to study or zeal. Types Art The studio of any artist, esp ...

s and offices are in the CBC Regional Broadcast Centre at 700 Hamilton Street in

Downtown Vancouver Downtown Vancouver is the central business district and the city centre list of neighbourhoods in Vancouver, neighbourhood of Vancouver, Canada, on the northwestern shore of the Burrard Peninsula in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. ...

. The AM

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...

is in the

Steveston The settlement of Steveston, founded in the 1880s, is a neighbourhood of Richmond in Metro Vancouver. On the southwest tip of Lulu Island, the village is a historic port and salmon canning centre at the mouth of the South Arm of the Fraser River. ...

section of

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

and the FM transmitter is on

Mount Seymour Mount Seymour is a mountain located in Mount Seymour Provincial Park in the District of North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is a part of the North Shore Mountains, rising to the north from the shores of Burrard Inlet and Indian Ar ...

. CBU's AM transmitter power is 25,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

s, using a

directional antenna A directional antenna or beam antenna is an antenna that radiates or receives greater radio wave power in specific directions. Directional antennas can radiate radio waves in beams, when greater concentration of radiation in a certain directio ...

. The FM station has an

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would ha ...

(ERP) of 36,900 watts (97,600 watts maximum), broadcasting from a

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

at in

height above average terrain Height above average terrain (HAAT), or (less popularly) effective height above average terrain (EHAAT), is the vertical position of an antenna site above the surrounding landscape. HAAT is used extensively in FM radio and television, as it is ...

(HAAT), also using a directional antenna.

History

Cnrv, Crcv, Cbr

The station was launched in . The original

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...

was CNRV, using the slogan "The Voice of the Pacific." It broadcast on

1100 AM The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 1100 kHz: 1100 AM is a United States clear-channel frequency. WTAM in Cleveland, Ohio, is the dominant Class A station on 1100 AM. Argentina * Estilo in Longchamps, Buenos Aires * Mi ...

and was owned by the

Canadian National Railway radio network CNR Radio or CN Radio (officially the Canadian National Railways Radio Department/Société radiodiffusion des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada)Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission The Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission (CRBC/CCR; ), also referred to as the Canadian Radio Commission (CRC), was Canada's first public broadcaster and the immediate precursor to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Origins The CRBC was est ...

in 1933, becoming CRCV. In 1936, the CBC was created, taking over the CRBC's operations, and CRCV became CBR. The transmitter was located on No. 4 Road in Richmond. This site was in use from 1938 to 1976. The station moved to 1130 in 1941 after the enactment of the

North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement The North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA, ; ) refers to a series of international treaties that defined technical standards for AM band (mediumwave) radio stations. These agreements also addressed how frequency assignments were d ...

(NARBA). In 1947, an FM

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...

was launched on 105.7 MHz. Distinct programming on the FM station was aired for the first time in 1964 when it joined the "CBC FM Network."

CBU

The frequency was moved to 690 AM in 1952 when the call sign was changed to its current CBU. In 1967, a new transmitter was erected in

, on the shoreline along the

Strait of Georgia The Strait of Georgia () or the Georgia Strait is an arm of the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the extreme southwestern mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada, and the extreme northwestern mainland coast of Washington, United Stat ...

. The station began broadcasting at 50,000

s, the highest power authorized by the

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; ) is a public organization in Canada tasked with the mandate as a regulatory agency tribunal for various electronic communications, covering broadcasting and telecommunic ...

(CRTC), allowing it to be heard throughout the

Metro Vancouver Regional District The Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD), or simply Metro Vancouver, is a Canadian political subdivision and corporate entity representing the metropolitan area of Greater Vancouver, designated by provincial legislation as one of the 2 ...

and around the

British Columbia Coast The British Columbia Coast, popularly referred to as the BC Coast or simply the Coast, is a geographic region of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia. As the entire western continental coastline of Canada ...

. Among Radio One stations on the AM dial around Canada, CBU covers the largest area of population, since Montreal and Toronto are served by FM stations. CBM

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

moved to

CBME-FM CBME-FM is an English-language radio station located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Owned and operated by the government-owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, it broadcasts on 88.5 MHz using a directional antenna with an average effective radiat ...

in 1998, and CBL

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

moved to

CBLA-FM CBLA-FM (99.1 MHz) is a non-commercial radio station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned and operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the station is the flagship station of the CBC Radio One network, broadcasting a mix of news and talk. ...

in 1999.

FM simulcast

In early 2008, the CRTC approved CBU's application for a new simulcast of its programming on the FM band. On October 10, 2008, CBU began testing its FM simulcast on 88.1 FM as CBU-2-FM with an

of 19,500 watts, and it officially signed on soon after. Around the same time, the CBC also applied to broadcast on separate transmitters into Nanaimo, as well as the Sunshine Coast, with the intent to shut down the AM transmitter on 690 kHz if approved. The CRTC denied these other two transmitters due to the lack of available frequencies in the region. In 2011, the CBC applied to the CRTC to increase the coverage area of CBU-2-FM's transmitter. The CBC proposed increasing the height of the antenna and raising the ERP to 36,900 watts (97,600 watts maximum). The ability to increase the signal coverage area was made possible when

CHEK-DT CHEK-DT (channel 6) is an independent television station in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, serving Vancouver Island and Greater Vancouver. The station is owned by the CHEK Media Group, a consortium made up of station employees and local in ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

moved from VHF TV channel 6 to 49, as part of the over-the-air digital television transition. (TV channel 6 is heard on the FM band at 87.75, which puts it close on the dial to 88.1, the frequency for CBU-2-FM.) This CBC transmitter application was approved September 13, 2012.

Fire damages AM transmitter

In November 2018, CBU reduced its AM transmitter power from 50,000 to 25,000 watts. A fire at the Steveston transmitting facilities destroyed part of the station’s equipment in 2017. It was decided repairs to restore the full 50,000 watts would have been too costly.

HD Radio

CBU-2-FM transmits using

HD Radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. HD radio generally simulcast, simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD R ...

technology on 88.1 MHz. , this signal provides simulcasts of CBU-FM on

digital subchannel In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compress ...

HD2 and CBCV-FM on subchannel HD3.

Shortwave relay

In 1941, CBR established a

shortwave Shortwave radio is radio transmission using radio frequencies in the shortwave bands (SW). There is no official definition of the band range, but it always includes all of the high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30 MHz (app ...

relay for remote areas of British Columbia using the call sign CBRX and operating on a frequency of 6.16 MHz (in the 49m band) with a power of 150 watts. The call sign changed to CBUX in 1952 when the AM station became CBU. In 1965, the call sign changed to CKZU, recognizing that the

ITU prefix The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) allocates call sign prefixes for radio and television stations of all types. They also form the basis for, but may not exactly match, aircraft registration identifiers. These prefixes are agreed upo ...

CB was not assigned to Canada, but to Chile. The station was given permission to increase its power to 1,000 watts in 1986. The transmitter was adjacent to CBU's AM transmitter. The 2017 fire that destroyed part of the AM transmitter also damaged the shortwave broadcasting equipment. In February 2017, the CBC announced that CKZU was unlikely to return to shortwave. The CBC stated that the transmitter was in a state of disrepair with no replacement parts available due to aging equipment. Purchasing a new transmitter would be too costly due to the minimal number of listeners who tune into the facility.

Local programming

CBU's

local programs Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

are ''The Early Edition'', hosted by Stephen Quinn, in the morning; and ''On the Coast'', hosted by Gloria Macarenko, in the afternoon. CBU also originates the lunch-hour show ''BC Today'', hosted by Michelle Eliot and simulcast over

CBUT-DT CBUT-DT (channel 2) is a television station in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, serving as the West Coast flagship (broadcasting), flagship of CBC Television. It is part of a Duopoly (broadcasting)#In Canada, twinstick with Ici Radio-Canada ...

,https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/community/watch-bc-today-now-1.6873575, as well as the weekend programs ''North By Northwest'', hosted by Margaret Gallagher, in the morning; and ''Hot Air'' on Saturday afternoons. These shows (except for ''The Early Edition'' and ''On the Coast'') are broadcast province-wide to Radio One's stations in

Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan, Okanagan Valley in the British Columbia Interior, southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna ...

Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the North Thompson River, North and South Thompson Rivers, which join to become the Thompson River in Kamloops, and east of Kamloops Lake. The city is the ad ...

Prince Rupert Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 ( O.S.) 7 December 1619 (N.S.)– 29 November 1682 (O.S.) December 1682 (N.S) was an English-German army officer, admiral, scientist, and colonial governor. He first rose to ...

and Prince George, as well as their respective rebroadcasters.

Transmitters

CBU's signal on 690 AM also can be heard in

Nanaimo Nanaimo ( ) is a city of about 100,000 on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. "The Harbour City" was previously known as the "Hub City", which was attributed to its original layout design with streets radiating fr ...

and

Gibsons Gibsons is a coastal community of 4,758 in southwestern British Columbia, Canada on the Sunshine Coast (British Columbia), Sunshine Coast, where the southwest bank of Howe Sound meets the Strait of Georgia. During its early history as a Europe ...

Current on-air staff

* Amy Bell, weekday morning traffic reporter * Michelle Eliot, host of weekday noon-hour program ''BC Today'' * tbd, host of Saturday afternoon music program ''Hot Air'' * Gloria Macarenko, host of weekday afternoon program ''On the Coast'' * Margaret Gallagher, host of weekend morning program ''North By Northwest'' * Stephen Quinn, host of weekday morning program ''The Early Edition'' * Robert Zimmerman, morning news editor

Former CBU personalities

* Rick Cluff, former host of ''The Early Edition'' * Anne Petrie, former host of CBU radio program ''3's Company''

References

External links

*
CBU-AM
at The History of Canadian Broadcasting by the

Canadian Communications Foundation The Canadian Communications Foundation (CCF) was a Canadian nonprofit organization which documented the history of broadcasting in Canada, particularly radio and television networks, programs and broadcasters. The organization was established in ...

* *
Bureau of Broadcast Management; PPM Top-line Radio Statistics, Vancouver CTRL
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cbu (Am) BU BU Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission Radio stations established in 1925 1925 establishments in British Columbia CNR Radio