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November 25, 1952 CBU Vancouver changes frequency, gets blasted at night by Mexican powerhouse transmitter.e
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DanNospamSay
Jan 25, 2021, 3:00:45 PM1/25/21
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Broadcast History - January 25
Sun Jan 24, 2021 8:53 pm
In 1952, CBU Vancouver made the greatest mistake in its history, by abandoning 1130 KHz for 690 KHz. On paper, it looked like a good idea, as 690 KHz was a Canada/Mexico clear channel, while 1130 KHz had several high powered stations in the Mid-West and Eastern U.S., with the possibility of the FCC licensing major stations in the Western U.S. in the future. At the time, 690 had a 5000 watt non-directional station in Tijuana, XEAC, just across the border from San Diego. It looked harmless enough, but Jim and Bob Harmon of Tulsa, Oklahoma, gained control of the station in 1956, transforming it into "The Mighty 6-90" with new call letters, XEAK, and a Top 40 format beginning in April 1957. But a new transmitter site in Spring 1958 brought with it a 50,000 watt signal with a tight Northern pattern to hit Los Angeles. At night, it also hit Vancouver, making CBU unlistenable most evenings in White Rock and Victoria. Ironically, it was less than a year earlier that CKWX had moved from 980 to 1130, precluding any chance of CBU moving back to 1130. The ultimate irony, of course, was that the CBC itself had approved the CKWX application for 1130, as the CBC was also the regulator during those years. As for XEAK, Gordon McLendon gained control (non-Mexicans could not own Mexican radio stations) of the station in 1961, replacing Top 40 with the world's first All News format. And changing the call letters to match the format, XETRA pronounced Extra. In the late 1960s, XETRA became the first AM stereo station in the world, using the left and right sideband as the left and right channels, and switching to background music.
Sun Jan 24, 2021 8:53 pm
In 1952, CBU Vancouver made the greatest mistake in its history, by abandoning 1130 KHz for 690 KHz. On paper, it looked like a good idea, as 690 KHz was a Canada/Mexico clear channel, while 1130 KHz had several high powered stations in the Mid-West and Eastern U.S., with the possibility of the FCC licensing major stations in the Western U.S. in the future. At the time, 690 had a 5000 watt non-directional station in Tijuana, XEAC, just across the border from San Diego. It looked harmless enough, but Jim and Bob Harmon of Tulsa, Oklahoma, gained control of the station in 1956, transforming it into "The Mighty 6-90" with new call letters, XEAK, and a Top 40 format beginning in April 1957. But a new transmitter site in Spring 1958 brought with it a 50,000 watt signal with a tight Northern pattern to hit Los Angeles. At night, it also hit Vancouver, making CBU unlistenable most evenings in White Rock and Victoria. Ironically, it was less than a year earlier that CKWX had moved from 980 to 1130, precluding any chance of CBU moving back to 1130. The ultimate irony, of course, was that the CBC itself had approved the CKWX application for 1130, as the CBC was also the regulator during those years. As for XEAK, Gordon McLendon gained control (non-Mexicans could not own Mexican radio stations) of the station in 1961, replacing Top 40 with the world's first All News format. And changing the call letters to match the format, XETRA pronounced Extra. In the late 1960s, XETRA became the first AM stereo station in the world, using the left and right sideband as the left and right channels, and switching to background music.
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