CBOF-FM
Encyclopedia
CBOF-FM is a French-language
Canadian
radio station
located in Ottawa
, Ontario
.
Owned and operated by the (government-owned) Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
(French : Société Radio-Canada), it broadcasts on 90.7 MHz with an effective radiated power
of 84,000 watt
s (class C1) using an omnidirectional antenna
.
The station has an ad-free news/talk
format
and is part of the Première Chaîne network, which operates across Canada.
The station signed on in 1964 on the AM band
on 1250 kHz. Before then, Ottawa, despite its large francophone population, had no French-language radio outlet of its own; Montreal
's CBF
served Ottawa's francophones. The station moved to the FM band in 1991. Its sister station
, which used the CBOF-FM calls before that date, is now known as CBOX-FM
.
While CBOF-FM broadcasts in mono, like all Première Chaîne stations but unlike most FM
stations, it is the only CBC talk radio station to have ever broadcast in stereo
. This occurred between 1984 and 1987, when the station was still on AM, as CBOF was selected to test all four AM stereo
systems (C-QUAM, Kahn/Hazeltine, Harris and Magnavox) proposed at the time.
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
located in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
.
Owned and operated by the (government-owned) Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
(French : Société Radio-Canada), it broadcasts on 90.7 MHz with an effective radiated power
Effective radiated power
In radio telecommunications, effective radiated power or equivalent radiated power is a standardized theoretical measurement of radio frequency energy using the SI unit watts, and is determined by subtracting system losses and adding system gains...
of 84,000 watt
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
s (class C1) using an omnidirectional antenna
Omnidirectional antenna
In radio communication, an omnidirectional antenna is an antenna which radiates radio wave power uniformly in all directions in one plane, with the radiated power decreasing with elevation angle above or below the plane, dropping to zero on the antenna's axis. This radiation pattern is often...
.
The station has an ad-free news/talk
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
format
Radio format
A radio format or programming format not to be confused with broadcast programming describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. Radio formats are frequently employed as a marketing tool, and constantly evolve...
and is part of the Première Chaîne network, which operates across Canada.
The station signed on in 1964 on the AM band
AM broadcasting
AM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...
on 1250 kHz. Before then, Ottawa, despite its large francophone population, had no French-language radio outlet of its own; Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
's CBF
CBF-FM
CBF-FM-10 in Sherbrooke and CBF-FM-8 in Trois-Rivières were once full satellites of CBF-FM, but have been separately licenced since 2000 , despite still having rebroadcaster-like callsigns...
served Ottawa's francophones. The station moved to the FM band in 1991. Its sister station
Sister station
In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio and/or television stations operated by the same ownership....
, which used the CBOF-FM calls before that date, is now known as CBOX-FM
CBOX-FM
CBOX-FM is a Canadian radio station. It broadcasts the Société Radio-Canada's Espace musique network at 102.5 FM in Ottawa, Ontario. This station was formerly known as CBOF-FM, until 1991, when sister station CBOF converted to the FM dial....
.
While CBOF-FM broadcasts in mono, like all Première Chaîne stations but unlike most FM
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
stations, it is the only CBC talk radio station to have ever broadcast in stereo
STEREO
STEREO is a solar observation mission. Two nearly identical spacecraft were launched into orbits that cause them to respectively pull farther ahead of and fall gradually behind the Earth...
. This occurred between 1984 and 1987, when the station was still on AM, as CBOF was selected to test all four AM stereo
AM stereo
AM stereo is a term given to a series of mutually incompatible techniques for wireless radio broadcasting stereo audio in the AM band in a manner that is compatible with standard AM receivers...
systems (C-QUAM, Kahn/Hazeltine, Harris and Magnavox) proposed at the time.
Transmitters
- The two AM repeaters in Rolphton, Ontario and Maniwaki, Quebec are the last two remaining CBOF repeaters that currently operate on the AM band. There's a possibility that these repeaters either may be shut down or relocate to the FM band in the future.
Former repeaters
Former CBOF repeaters that have been silent since the 1980s and 90's:- PetawawaPetawawa, OntarioPetawawa is a town located in eastern portion of Southern Ontario. Situated in the Ottawa Valley, with a population of 14,651 . Petawawa is the most populous municipality in Renfrew County.-Geography:...
- CBOF-2 1240 AM - Deep RiverDeep River, OntarioDeep River is a town in Renfrew County, Ontario, Canada. Located along the Ottawa River, it lies about north-west of Ottawa on the Trans-Canada Highway...
- CBOF-3 730 AM - RenfrewRenfrew, OntarioRenfrew, Ontario, Canada, is a town on the Bonnechere River in Renfrew County. Located one hour west of Ottawa in Eastern Ontario, Renfrew is the third largest town in the county after Petawawa and Pembroke. The town is a small transportation hub connecting Ontario Highway 60 and Highway 132 with...
- CBOF-8 98.7 FM - This was a former FM repeater in Renfrew, Ontario that was deleted when CBOF-FM signed on in Ottawa in the early 1990s. The 98.7 FM frequency is now currently occupied by CJHR-FMCJHR-FMCJHR-FM is a Canadian radio station broadcasting at 98.7 FM, in Renfrew, Ontario with a community radio format.CJHR-FM began broadcasting at 98.7 MHz on December 11, 2006....
in Renfrew, while the two former AM frequencies that were used by CBOF as repeaters in Petawawa and Deep River were never reactivated for any other future broadcasting.
External links
- Radio-Canada's Ottawa news site
- CBOF history at Canadian Communications FoundationCanadian Communications FoundationThe Canadian Communications Foundation is a history of Canadian broadcasting for radio and television chronicles and documents. It also provides a history of radio and television stations, including networks, programs, broadcasters and many others....