Early Broadcasting in Vancouver

By Jack Watson

    In 1922 broadcasting on the AM band started in BC in 1922. During the developing era, there was a wide variety of broadcasters, hardware stores, churches, electric shops, radio stores, hobbyists, and newspapers. All three Vancouver dailies had their own stations - Morning Sun (CJCE), Evening World (CFYC), and Evening Province (CKCD).

    These early stations operated only briefly, others amalgamated; a few became well-known later with new call letters. It was the days of shared frequencies and dialing by meters. In 1925 they started using kilocycles. This changed the local frequencies from 410.7, 291.1, and 247.8 meters to 730, 1030, and 1210 kilocycles.  For a long time Vancouver only had three spots on the dial, shared by many stations. Some of the smaller operations weren’t too powerful; they only had transmitters with 5 and 10 watts.

    By the end of 1927 things had settled down. The stations remained constant and there were no major changes. However, the frequencies were still shared; at one point there were six stations using 730.

    Here’s a list of call letters that disappeared in the early 20s. Long gone are --

CFCD - CGAC - CFDC - CFCQ - CFYC - CJKC - CFXC – CHOC – CHCA - CFCE - CKXA - CHCL – and CFCR.

Frequencies are allotted on a continental basis, as there are so many stations   transmitting with powerful signals in Canada, the USA, and Mexico.  Because of serious interference problems, it is essential that the three countries cooperate in the granting of broadcast licences. In the spring of 1934, a new frequency pattern was established within Canada.  This resulted in Vancouver having four spots on the dial.  The change helped to relieve some of the clutter, but there were still those shared frequencies in use.

    The following stations continued through the thirties and into the forties, with various outputs from 100 watts to 500 watts:

·                   0600-CJOR

·                   1010-CKWX &CKCD

·                   1100-CRCV

·                   1410-CKMO & CKFC

Here is a short outline of each station’s history:

     ·      CJOR - In 1924 Fred Hume, owner of an electrical appliance store, started the first radio station in New Westminster, CFXC.  After two years he sold out to George Chandler, who kept the frequency, but changed the call to CJOR.

     ·      CKWX - The beginning was in 1923 when, at Nanaimo, Sparks Holstead bought a transmitter.  He was the operator of a battery supply shop and was interested in radio.  A licence was granted for CFDC Nanaimo.  In 1925 the station moved to where the action was - Vancouver.  For a more distinctive sound, by 1927 the call letters became CKWX. 

 · CKCD - The Vancouver Province established their voice in 1922.  For a short time in the early thirties, the paper also used a second call, CHLS, to carry the non-news programs, leaving CKCD to focus on news only.  This arrangement lasted until 1933, when CKCD handled all programming. When the 1940 adjustments occurred, the station was combined with CKWX.

· CKMO - The Morning Sun’s station in 1922 was designated as CJCE.  The next year, the Sprott-Shaw radio school licensed CFCQ.  They operated separately until 1924, when they combined as CFCQ.  In 1928, the call letters CKMO were adopted as the Sprott-Shaw station.

    .       CKFC - In 1922 the Vancouver Daily World sponsored CFYC.  The station’s programming included church services from the First Congregational church.  These broadcasts became very popular; consequently the church established their own station in 1924 - CKFC.  ‘FC” stood for ‘First Congregational’.  When the United Church was formed in 1925 it continued the station’s operation.   In the 1930s and the 1940s, CKFC maintained the only non-CBC short-wave voice in Vancouver, CKFX.  In 1940 CKFC became part of CKMO’s format.

 ·       CRCV - To cover the history of CRCV requires an outlining of the CBC’s background. The CNR became the predecessor of the CBC when in 1925 the railway decided to introduce radio listening aboard the trains in transit.  The passengers would sit in a parlour car and listen by earphones or horn speakers.  There was an operator provided to control the receiving sets.  To ensure the quality of reception, a series of transmitters were located at various cities and towns along the railway line.

Eventually a coast-to-coast radio network was established.  The CNR radio stations were identified by their location including CNRV – Vancouver. As a matter of history, the CNR operated the first coast-to-coast radio network in North America.  Down south, the NBC and CBS networks went coast-to-coast later in 1928.

The CNR network functioned until 1932, when, during the depression, it was decided by the government to form the Canadian Radio Commission. The call letter system was altered slightly - hence CRCV Vancouver.

 In 1935 there was another change - The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. In Vancouver, CRCV became CBR then CBU.

     In those early years, night-time Canadian radio was completely different from today’s programming.  To encourage Canadian talent, the broadcast regulations required that no recordings were to be played after seven-thirty to eleven-thirty at night.  So, we listened to all-live talent shows.    

    There was a wide variety to tune in to - mysteries, commentaries, newscasts, man-in-the-street broadcasts, dramas, musicals, amateur hours, dance-hall remotes, newscasts, variety shows, political discussions, and religious broadcasts. All the radio stations would have on hand a staff pianist. This position was used as a stand-by strategy when, for various reasons, the scheduled program was not available for broadcast.

     At the Vancouver stations, there were some programs where the public was invited to watch the performances directly at the station studios.  Very popular musical variety shows were held at downtown theaters such as the Orpheum.

BC Radio History