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CFAC
CFAC (960 AM) is a radio station serving Calgary, Alberta. Owned by Rogers Radio, a division of Rogers Sports & Media, the station broadcasts a sports format branded as Sportsnet 960 The Fan, co-branded with the Sportsnet television channel also owned by Rogers. Its studios are located on 7th Avenue Southwest in downtown Calgary, in the same building as Rogers' other Calgary stations, CFFR, CHFM-FM and CJAQ-FM.
CFAC broadcasts with a power of 50,000 watts 24 hours a day on the regional frequency of 960 AM. The daytime signal is non-directional, and the nighttime signal is directional using a three-tower array located on Rainbow Road just east of the Calgary city limits.
Organized radio broadcasting began to gain prominence in Canada in early 1922. Initially there wasn't a formal licence category for stations providing entertainment broadcasts intended for the general public, so the earliest stations operated under a mixture of Experimental, Amateur, and governmental authorizations. One of the most prominent pioneer broadcasters was William Walter Westover Grant, who during this time installed radio communication equipment for the Canadian Air Board's Forestry patrol. In 1921 these operations were established at the High River Air Station in southern Alberta. Grant constructed government station VAW at this site, and, in addition to the forestry work, began to make a series of experimental entertainment broadcasts, believed to be the first in western Canada, that were audible approximately 50 miles (80 km) away in Calgary. (In May 1922 Grant founded CFCN (now CKMX) in Calgary.)
In the spring of 1922 the Calgary Herald began to publicize the topic of radio, including Grant's broadcasts. In late April the newspaper installed what it called "the most complete receiving set in Western Canada" at its headquarters, and reported that it had successfully picked up High River concerts on April 27 and April 28. During this same time the Canadian government announced the formal creation of a radio broadcast service, which included the establishment of a "Private Commercial Broadcasting" licence. In late April 1922 an initial group of twenty-three commercial broadcasting station licences was announced, including one issued to the Herald for operation on 400 meters (750 kHz), with the randomly assigned call letters of CHCQ.
CHCQ's transmitter and studio were located in room 1006 on the tenth floor of The Herald Building. The primary technical work was performed by G. J. J. Jermain and S. H. Sturrork, assisted by W. W. Grant at the High River station. The first test transmission began at 2 o'clock on May 1, after the transmitter vacuum tubes had arrived that morning, and the next day's paper reported that "very gratifying success was obtained". Programming included phonograph records plus singing and the playing of a violin by Margaret King of the Palace theatre orchestra. The Herald announced the formal station opening would take place at 8:30 the evening of May 2, beginning with a speech by Frank Freeze, president of the Calgary Board of Trade. This formal debut closed with Margaret King singing "God Save the King".
The April 1922 initial list of commercial broadcasting station grants had also included a second Calgary station, licensed to George M. Bell and transmitting on 430 meters (698 kHz), with the randomly assigned call sign of CFAC. On August 26 it was announced that the Herald was taking over operation of CFAC as a second, more powerful station. This was in addition to CHCQ, as the announcement noted "The set used during the past four months will not be discarded but is bring installed in the new quarters and will be used in case of accident with the larger machine, thus assuring a continuity of service."
CFAC's broadcast debut under Herald oversight took place at 7.45 p.m. on August 29. Charles Logwood, radio engineer of the Canadian Independent Telephone Co. of Toronto, was credited with installing the CFAC transmitter for the Radio Corporation of Calgary and the Herald. (Logwood, a longtime associate of Lee de Forest, had a broadcasting career that dated back to 1916, over experimental station 2XG in New York City).
The Herald commonly posted its daily broadcasting schedule on its front page. Until December 13, 1922 both CFAC and CHCQ were listed, but beginning the next day only CFAC appeared. Information on CHCQ's fate is limited, although one later review stated that the station closed sometime in 1924. On May 1, 1923 the Herald presented a special program "in celebration of the first anniversary of CFAC", and its historical review combined the earlier broadcasts of CHCQ with those of CFAC that started in August, with a sidebar noting "Before the present radio station of The Herald was built, this set, that was known then as CHCQ, was used to entertain the fans."
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CFAC
CFAC (960 AM) is a radio station serving Calgary, Alberta. Owned by Rogers Radio, a division of Rogers Sports & Media, the station broadcasts a sports format branded as Sportsnet 960 The Fan, co-branded with the Sportsnet television channel also owned by Rogers. Its studios are located on 7th Avenue Southwest in downtown Calgary, in the same building as Rogers' other Calgary stations, CFFR, CHFM-FM and CJAQ-FM.
CFAC broadcasts with a power of 50,000 watts 24 hours a day on the regional frequency of 960 AM. The daytime signal is non-directional, and the nighttime signal is directional using a three-tower array located on Rainbow Road just east of the Calgary city limits.
Organized radio broadcasting began to gain prominence in Canada in early 1922. Initially there wasn't a formal licence category for stations providing entertainment broadcasts intended for the general public, so the earliest stations operated under a mixture of Experimental, Amateur, and governmental authorizations. One of the most prominent pioneer broadcasters was William Walter Westover Grant, who during this time installed radio communication equipment for the Canadian Air Board's Forestry patrol. In 1921 these operations were established at the High River Air Station in southern Alberta. Grant constructed government station VAW at this site, and, in addition to the forestry work, began to make a series of experimental entertainment broadcasts, believed to be the first in western Canada, that were audible approximately 50 miles (80 km) away in Calgary. (In May 1922 Grant founded CFCN (now CKMX) in Calgary.)
In the spring of 1922 the Calgary Herald began to publicize the topic of radio, including Grant's broadcasts. In late April the newspaper installed what it called "the most complete receiving set in Western Canada" at its headquarters, and reported that it had successfully picked up High River concerts on April 27 and April 28. During this same time the Canadian government announced the formal creation of a radio broadcast service, which included the establishment of a "Private Commercial Broadcasting" licence. In late April 1922 an initial group of twenty-three commercial broadcasting station licences was announced, including one issued to the Herald for operation on 400 meters (750 kHz), with the randomly assigned call letters of CHCQ.
CHCQ's transmitter and studio were located in room 1006 on the tenth floor of The Herald Building. The primary technical work was performed by G. J. J. Jermain and S. H. Sturrork, assisted by W. W. Grant at the High River station. The first test transmission began at 2 o'clock on May 1, after the transmitter vacuum tubes had arrived that morning, and the next day's paper reported that "very gratifying success was obtained". Programming included phonograph records plus singing and the playing of a violin by Margaret King of the Palace theatre orchestra. The Herald announced the formal station opening would take place at 8:30 the evening of May 2, beginning with a speech by Frank Freeze, president of the Calgary Board of Trade. This formal debut closed with Margaret King singing "God Save the King".
The April 1922 initial list of commercial broadcasting station grants had also included a second Calgary station, licensed to George M. Bell and transmitting on 430 meters (698 kHz), with the randomly assigned call sign of CFAC. On August 26 it was announced that the Herald was taking over operation of CFAC as a second, more powerful station. This was in addition to CHCQ, as the announcement noted "The set used during the past four months will not be discarded but is bring installed in the new quarters and will be used in case of accident with the larger machine, thus assuring a continuity of service."
CFAC's broadcast debut under Herald oversight took place at 7.45 p.m. on August 29. Charles Logwood, radio engineer of the Canadian Independent Telephone Co. of Toronto, was credited with installing the CFAC transmitter for the Radio Corporation of Calgary and the Herald. (Logwood, a longtime associate of Lee de Forest, had a broadcasting career that dated back to 1916, over experimental station 2XG in New York City).
The Herald commonly posted its daily broadcasting schedule on its front page. Until December 13, 1922 both CFAC and CHCQ were listed, but beginning the next day only CFAC appeared. Information on CHCQ's fate is limited, although one later review stated that the station closed sometime in 1924. On May 1, 1923 the Herald presented a special program "in celebration of the first anniversary of CFAC", and its historical review combined the earlier broadcasts of CHCQ with those of CFAC that started in August, with a sidebar noting "Before the present radio station of The Herald was built, this set, that was known then as CHCQ, was used to entertain the fans."