View source for CBK (AM)

{{Infobox radio station
| logo             = Cbc radio one watrous.svg
| format           = [[All-news radio|News]]/[[Talk radio|Talk]]
| owner            = [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]]
| name             = CBK
| airdate          = {{start date and age|July 29, 1939}}
| frequency        = 540 [[Hertz|kHz]] ([[AM broadcasting|AM]])
| city             = [[Watrous, Saskatchewan|Watrous]], [[Saskatchewan]]
| area             = Southern and Central [[Saskatchewan]]
| power            = 50,000 [[watt]]s
| branding         = [[CBC Radio One]]
| class            = A ([[clear-channel station|clear-channel]])
| sister_stations  = [[CBK-FM]], [[CBKF-FM]], [[CBKT-DT]], [[CBKFT-DT]], [[CBKST]] (defunct)
| coordinates      = {{coord|51|40|48|N|105|26|48|W|type:landmark}}
| website          = [http://www.cbc.ca/sask/ CBC Saskatchewan]
| callsign_meaning = '''C'''anadian '''B'''roadcasting Corporation [[Henry Kelsey|Henry '''K'''elsey]]
}}
'''CBK''' (540 [[Hertz|kHz]]) is a Canadian [[Public broadcasting|public]] [[radio station]] [[city of license|licensed]] to [[Watrous, Saskatchewan]]. It broadcasts the [[CBC Radio One]] network as a [[List of North American broadcast station classes|Class A]] [[clear-channel station|clear-channel]] [[AM broadcasting|AM]] station powered at 50,000 [[watt]]s around the clock from a [[omnidirectional antenna|non-directional]] antenna near Watrous.
Its studios are located at the CBC's broadcast centre at 2440 Broad Street in [[Regina, Saskatchewan|Regina]], with an additional bureau in the [[Saskatoon Co-op]] building on 4th Avenue South in [[Saskatoon]]. The Regina facility also houses [[CBK-FM]] and [[CBKT-DT]].  In Regina, a nested [[broadcast relay station|rebroadcaster]], CBKR-FM 102.5 [[Hertz|MHz]], [[simulcast]]s CBK for listeners who may have trouble receiving the 540 AM signal amid downtown office and apartment buildings.<ref>[https://fccdata.org/?lang=en&canfm=CBKR-FM FCCdata.org/CBKR-FM]</ref>
CBK 540 operates on a low frequency and with high power in a region with excellent [[ground conductivity]].<ref name="40 Years Page 71">{{cite news |last1=Schacherl |first1=Eva |title=40 years later CBC radio recalls roots |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123078968/cbk-radio-coverage-area/ |access-date=April 18, 2023 |work=Saskatoon Star-Phoenix |date=July 21, 1979 |page=71}}</ref>  That helps CBK's daytime signal to reach most of the southern two-thirds of [[Saskatchewan]], including Regina, Saskatoon, [[Yorkton]], [[Swift Current]], [[Lloydminster]], [[Moose Jaw]] and [[Prince Albert, Saskatchewan|Prince Albert]]. It also provides grade B coverage as far west as [[Calgary]] and as far east as [[Winnipeg]], and reaches across the border into [[North Dakota]] and [[Montana]].
==History==
CBK officially opened during an evening ceremony in Watrous on July 29, 1939.<ref>{{cite news |title=Special Broadcast Will Mark Opening |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122782333/cbk-radio-signs-on-star-phoenix-1/ |access-date=April 12, 2023 |work=Saskatoon Star-Phoenix |date=July 29, 1939 |page=10}}</ref> The ''K'' in the station's [[call sign]] honours [[Henry Kelsey]], an English fur trader, explorer, and sailor who was the first recorded European to have visited what is now Saskatchewan.<ref>{{cite news |title="K" for Kelsey |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122782333/cbk-radio-signs-on-star-phoenix-1/ |access-date=April 12, 2023 |work=Saskatoon Star-Phoenix |date=July 29, 1939 |page=10}}</ref>
CBC engineers deliberately chose to place the station's transmission facilities near Watrous in order to provide the best possible broadcast signal to the densely populated portion of Saskatchewan, including the cities of Regina and Saskatoon.<ref name="Watrous Ideal">{{cite news |title=Watrous Ideal for Radio Transmitter |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122782343/cbk-radio-signs-on-star-phoenix-2/ |access-date=April 12, 2023 |work=Saskatoon Star-Phoenix |date=July 29, 1939 |page=11}}</ref> Watrous is located about {{convert|150|km|mi}} northwest of Regina and about {{convert|100|km|mi}} southeast of Saskatoon in an area where [[potash]]-rich soil provides especially good ground conductivity, an important component in determining the strength and reach of an AM radio station's daytime [[ground wave]] signal. Additionally, Watrous, in particular, was an advantageous location due to being on the main line of the [[Canadian National Railway]], whose telecommunications infrastructure was used to deliver content to CBC radio stations before the creation of the [[Trans Canada Microwave]] system.<ref>{{cite news |title=New C.B.C. Station Rounds Into Form |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122783052/cbk-radio-construction-progress/ |access-date=April 13, 2023 |work=Saskatoon Star-Phoenix |date=April 17, 1939 |page=4}}</ref>
Because of the factors making the CBK signal particularly strong, the station was originally intended as the CBC's clear-channel station for the [[Canadian Prairies|Prairies]],<ref name="Watrous Ideal" /> broadcasting the full CBC radio schedule together with privately owned [[network affiliate|affiliates]] in the region broadcasting portions of the schedule (clear-channel CKY in Winnipeg—now [[CBW (AM)|CBW]]—was one such affiliate at the time). The strong daytime signal also spills into the United States and was initially the only radio station receivable during the daytime in parts of North Dakota and Montana.<ref name="Designing Public Radio">{{cite journal |last1=Windover |first1=Michael |title=Designing Public Radio in Canada |journal=RACAR: revue d'art canadienne / Canadian Art Review |date=2015 |volume=40 |issue=2 |pages=42–56 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43632231 |access-date=April 12, 2023 |issn=0315-9906}}</ref>
For most of [[World War II]], CBK aired programming in both English and French. The French programming was prepared at CBK by a two-person crew and included newscasts, musical programs, and [[electrical transcription|transcriptions]] of CBC programming produced in [[Montreal]].<ref name="Designing Public Radio" />
At the start, CBK had no physical presence in Saskatchewan beyond Watrous. Although privately owned CBC affiliates in the province occasionally originated programming to be aired over the full CBC network including CBK,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Green |first1=Douglas |title=Premier Douglas opens new CBC Regina studio |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122307092/cbk-opens-studios-in-regina-2/ |access-date=April 12, 2023 |work=The Leader-Post |date=October 2, 1954 |location=Regina, Saskatchewan |page=12}}</ref> most local and regional programming on CBK was produced and fed from [[Toronto]], and then from Winnipeg beginning in 1948. The station's first full production studio within Saskatchewan opened on October 1, 1954, in Regina.<ref>{{cite news |title=CBC Studios in Regina Serving Saskatchewan |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122306989/cbk-opens-studios-in-regina/ |access-date=April 12, 2023 |work=Saskatoon Star-Phoenix |date=October 8, 1954 |page=4}}</ref> An additional studio facility opened in Saskatoon following the sign-on of television station [[CBKST]]. In 1980, CBK's regional weekday morning program began to be hosted simultaneously from both Regina and Saskatoon.<ref>{{cite news |title=A Tale Of Two Cities: CBC Morning Edition |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123140761/cbc-saskatchewan-morning-show-1989/ |access-date=April 27, 2023 |work=Saskatoon Star-Phoenix |date=July 29, 1989 |page=12}}</ref>
On June 4, 1976, CBK's transmitting tower was toppled by strong winds during a severe thunderstorm.<ref>{{cite news |title=One man dies in storm, several hurt |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122307295/cbk-tower-destroyed-in-thunderstorm/ |access-date=April 12, 2023 |work=The Leader-Post |date=June 4, 1976 |location=Regina, Saskatchewan |page=1}}</ref> CBK's staff went back on the air in the cities of Regina and Saskatoon by temporarily taking over CBC's low-powered FM transmitters normally used to air French language programming.  Within a few days, the  540&nbsp;kHz signal was restored using a temporary tower while a new permanent one was built.<ref>{{cite news |title=Tower from Regina firm |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122307303/cbk-broadcasting-from-temporary-tower/ |access-date=April 12, 2023 |work=The Leader-Post |date=June 10, 1976 |location=Regina, Saskatchewan |page=4}}</ref> The replacement tower was completed in 1983 and, like the original, is a quarter-wave [[monopole antenna]] {{convert|141.7|m|ft}} tall.<ref name="Brief History">{{cite web |title=CBK Radio Brief History |url=https://www.watrousheritage.ca/cbk-radio-brief-history/ |website=watrousheritage.ca |publisher=Watrous Manitou Beach Heritage Centre |access-date=April 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210928125136/https://www.watrousheritage.ca/cbk-radio-brief-history/ |archive-date=September 28, 2021 |language=en-CA |url-status=live}}</ref>
The station's original mercury vapour [[vacuum tube|tube]] [[transmitter]] manufactured by [[RCA]] was replaced in 1975 by a [[Continental Electronics]] transmitter, which could be monitored and controlled remotely from Regina.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Schacherl |first1=Eva |title=40 years later CBC radio recalls roots |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122839738/cbk-1975-continental-transmitter/ |access-date=April 14, 2023 |work=Saskatoon Star-Phoenix |date=July 21, 1979 |page=72}}</ref> In 1988, a [[Nautel]] [[Solid-state electronics|solid-state]] transmitter was added.<ref>{{cite news |title=Corporate Profile: CBC Saskatchewan – providing programming that is unique, essential and connected |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122307440/cbc-saskatchewan-2000-profile/ |access-date=April 14, 2023 |work=The Leader-Post |date=January 1, 2000 |location=Regina, Saskatchewan |page=65}}</ref>
==Transmitter building==
One of the station's distinctive features was its {{convert|70.2|m2|sqft|abbr=on}}<ref name="Scientific Achievement">{{cite news |title=CBK Transmitter is Scientific Achievement |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122782333/cbk-radio-signs-on-star-phoenix-1/ |access-date=April 14, 2023 |work=Saskatoon Star-Phoenix |date=July 29, 1939 |page=10}}</ref> [[Art Deco]] transmitter building located just east of Watrous on Agnes Street.<ref name="Designing Public Radio" /> Until operations became nearly completely automated from Regina with the addition of the solid-state transmitter in the 1980s,<ref name="Brief History" /> the building was staffed by CBC personnel, for whom the CBC had company housing built in Watrous.<ref>{{cite news |title=C.B.C. Spends $30,000 On Watrous Houses |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120966845/cbc-builds-houses-for-cbk-transmitter/ |access-date=April 12, 2023 |work=Saskatoon Star-Phoenix |date=January 27, 1940 |page=15}}</ref> Before automation, and with the exception of during World War II when armed guards patrolled the property, the building was routinely open for the public to tour.<ref name="Our Radio Station">{{cite book |author1=Doug Squires |author2=J.L. Marshall |author3=Joyce Edison |title=Prairie reflections : Watrous, Venn, Manitou Beach, Renown, Amazon and districts. |date=1984 |publisher=Watrous and District History Committee |location=Watrous, Saskatchewan |isbn=9780919845077 |pages=389–394 |url=https://www.watrousheritage.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/389-394-ourradiostation-l.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211103002303/https://www.watrousheritage.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/389-394-ourradiostation-l.pdf |archive-date=November 3, 2021 |chapter=Our Radio Station}}</ref>
The building itself was designed by the CBC's architecture department. It was two storeys tall (of four [[split-level home|split-levels]])<ref name="Our Radio Station" /> and had a white stucco exterior with blue trim. Inside, the transmitter and its [[control room]] were prominently displayed in the centre. The original RCA transmitter contained a {{convert|12.2|m|ft|adj=on}} long red-and-chrome façade, visible from a gallery accessible to visitors, and was set atop a [[linoleum]] floor depicting a map of Canada marking the locations and call signs of all CBC-owned and affiliated radio stations in the country as of 1939.<ref name="Designing Public Radio" /><ref>{{cite web |title=CBK Floor Map |url=https://www.watrousheritage.ca/cbk-floor-map/ |website=watrousheritage.ca |publisher=Watrous Manitou Beach Heritage Centre |access-date=April 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210928131500/https://www.watrousheritage.ca/cbk-floor-map/ |archive-date=September 28, 2021 |language=en-CA |url-status=live}}</ref>
The transmitter and control room were flanked by a small studio to keep the station on air in the event of an emergency, a studio control room, a workshop, a stenographer's office, and storage space.<ref name="Our Radio Station" /> For the use of CBC personnel employed at the facility, the building also contained a heated, two-car garage and emergency living quarters consisting of bunk beds, a kitchenette, and a living room.<ref name="Designing Public Radio" /> In the mid-1960s, the living quarters were expanded with the addition of a two-person underground [[fallout shelter]] containing duplicated transmitter controls and a small studio to be used to broadcast news in the event of a nuclear attack. A backup electrical generator with fuel tank ensured that the station could remain on air for weeks without power and under control from inside the fallout shelter.<ref name="Our Radio Station" /> The living quarters and emergency broadcast capabilities were briefly reactivated in late 1999 to provide contingency in the event of the [[year 2000 problem]] interrupting normal operations.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Killick |first1=Adam |title=Broadcasting live from underneath Saskatchewan... |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122840781/cbk-watrous-used-for-potential-y2k/ |access-date=April 14, 2023 |work=National Post |date=November 26, 1999 |location=Toronto, Ontario |pages=1, 4}}</ref>
The design of the building included a number of technological innovations for its time, including air conditioning, special "dust and water proof" double-paned windows, and a unique transmitter cooling system involving the use of over {{convert|3400|L|usgal}} of water per hour flowing through the chamber housing the tubes and exiting through to sprayers on the building's copper roof, where water sprayed to a depth of as much as {{convert|23|cm|in|0}} was allowed to evaporate to further counteract the heat generated by the transmitter.<ref name="Scientific Achievement" /><ref name="Our Radio Station" />
In 2007, the transmitter was moved into a steel shed next to the transmitting antenna. Having been made redundant, the original transmitter building fell into disrepair. While there was an effort by a local heritage committee in Watrous to preserve the building as an historic site, the high cost of removing dangerous interior materials such as asbestos and lead paint made this unfeasible, and the CBC decided to demolish the building in the summer of 2015.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Huck |first1=Nichole |title=Historic CBK transmitter building in Watrous to be demolished |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/historic-cbk-transmitter-building-in-watrous-to-be-demolished-1.3158268 |access-date=April 12, 2023 |work=CBC News |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |date=July 20, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151120000342/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/historic-cbk-transmitter-building-in-watrous-to-be-demolished-1.3158268 |archive-date=November 20, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> Before demolition, the heritage committee salvaged components and artifacts for preservation.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Morin |first1=Chris |title=Historic radio building to be destroyed |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122307454/cbk-transmitter-building-torn-down/ |access-date=April 12, 2023 |work=The Leader-Post |date=July 20, 2015 |location=Regina, Saskatchewan |page=7}}</ref> A 2019 revitalization plan for the communities of Watrous and [[Manitou Beach]] called for potentially building a replica of the building at some point in the future.<ref>{{cite web |title=Watrous–Manitou Revitalization Plan |url=https://townofwatrous.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Watrous-Manitou-Revitalization-Plan-2019-FINAL.pdf |publisher=Prairie Wild Consulting Co. |access-date=April 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220430215017/https://townofwatrous.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Watrous-Manitou-Revitalization-Plan-2019-FINAL.pdf |archive-date=April 30, 2022 |pages=4, 59, 72 |date=2019}}</ref>
==Local programming==
CBK and its repeater stations air several local shows, in addition to CBC network programming.  Weekdays begin with ''The Morning Edition''.  At noon, ''Blue Sky'' is heard and in afternoon [[drive time]], ''The 306'' is broadcast. Saturday and Sunday mornings, ''Saskatchewan Weekend'' airs.
In Saskatoon, '''CBK-1-FM''' 94.1 has carried its own local morning program, ''Saskatoon Morning'', in place of the Regina-based wake up show ''The Morning Edition'', since 2013.  It airs from the CBC's Saskatoon bureau in the Affinity Building at 100-128 4th Avenue South in downtown Saskatoon. ''Saskatoon Morning'' began streaming online on April 29, and began airing on 94.1 in September after the CBC won [[Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission]] approval to move the program over-the-air.  For the rest of its broadcasting day, CBK-FM-1 carries the same programming as CBK.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 23, 2013 |title=CBC's Saskatoon Morning show to start Thursday |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/cbc-s-saskatoon-morning-show-to-start-thursday-1.1865229 |work=CBC News}}</ref>
==Rebroadcasters==
In 2000, the CBC opened a local FM repeater of CBK in Regina, '''CBKR-FM''' 102.5. In 2006, a Saskatoon repeater was added, '''CBK-1-FM''' 94.1. Both cities had been plagued with reception problems of the main 540 AM signal.
CBK has the following rebroadcasters. Except for its Regina, Saskatoon and Meadow Lake transmitters, all are officially part of the licence of [[CBKA-FM]] in [[La Ronge]] (see below):
{{RadioRebroadcasters
| rec              = true
| crtc             = true
| callsign         = CBK
| call1            = CBKB-FM
| freq1            = 101.5 FM
| watts1           =
| class1           =
| city1            = [[Beauval, Saskatchewan|Beauval]]
| crtc1            =
| call2            = CBKD-FM
| freq2            = 103.5 FM
| watts2           =
| class2           =
| city2            = [[Buffalo Narrows]]
| crtc2            =
| call3            = CBKV-FM
| freq3            = 94.9 FM
| watts3           =
| class3           =
| city3            = [[Cumberland House, Saskatchewan|Cumberland House]]
| crtc3            =
| call4            = CBKO-FM
| freq4            = 94.3 FM
| watts4           =
| class4           =
| city4            = [[Denare Beach, Saskatchewan|Denare Beach]]
| crtc4            =
| call5            = CBKG-FM
| freq5            = 100.1 FM
| watts5           =
| class5           =
| city5            = [[Fond du Lac Dene Nation|Fond-du-Lac]]
| crtc5            =
| call6            = CBKC-FM
| freq6            = 105.1 FM
| watts6           =
| class6           =
| city6            = [[Île-à-la-Crosse]]
| crtc6            =
| call7            = CBKN-FM
| freq7            = 105.1 FM
| watts7           =
| class7           =
| city7            = [[Island Falls, Saskatchewan|Island Falls]]
| crtc7            =
| call8            = CBKE-FM
| freq8            = 95.5 FM
| watts8           =
| class8           =
| city8            = [[La Loche]]
| crtc8            =
| call9            = CBKM-FM
| freq9            = 98.5 FM
| watts9           =
| class9           =
| city9            = [[Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan|Meadow Lake]]
| crtc9            =
| call10           = CBKL-FM
| freq10           = 93.3 FM
| watts10          =
| class10          =
| city10           = [[Montreal Lake Cree Nation|Montreal Lake]]
| crtc10           =
| call11           = CBKK-FM
| freq11           = 105.5 FM
| watts11          =
| class11          =
| city11           = [[Patuanak]]
| crtc11           =
| call12           = CBKW-FM
| freq12           = 105.9 FM
| watts12          =
| class12          =
| city12           = [[Pelican Narrows, Saskatchewan|Pelican Narrows]]
| crtc12           =
| call13           = CBKJ-FM
| freq13           = 94.1 FM
| watts13          =
| class13          =
| city13           = [[Pinehouse|Pinehouse Lake]]
| crtc13           =
| call14           = CBKR-FM
| freq14           = 102.5 FM
| watts14          =
| class14          =
| city14           = [[Regina, Saskatchewan|Regina]]
| crtc14           = [http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/1999/DB99-459.HTM 99-459]
| call15           = CBK-1-FM
| freq15           = 94.1 FM
| watts15          =
| class15          =
| city15           = [[Saskatoon]]
| crtc15           = [http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2006/db2006-84.htm 2006-84]
| call16           = CBKP-FM
| freq16           = 91.7 FM
| watts16          =
| class16          =
| city16           = [[Southend, Saskatchewan|Southend]]
| crtc16           =
| call17           = CBKI-FM
| freq17           = 95.5 FM
| watts17          =
| class17          =
| city17           = [[Stanley Mission]]
| crtc17           =
| call18           = CBKH-FM
| freq18           = 93.3 FM
| watts18          =
| class18          =
| city18           = [[Stony Rapids]]
| crtc18           =
| call19           = CBDH-FM
| freq19           = 105.1 FM
| watts19          =
| class19          =
| city19           = [[Uranium City]]
| crtc19           =
}}
===Community-owned rebroadcasters===
{{RadioRebroadcasters
| rec              = true
| crtc             = true
| callsign         = CBK
| call1            = VF2040
| freq1            = 91.9 FM
| watts1           =
| class1           =
| city1            = [[Hatchet Lake Dene Nation|Wollaston Lake]]
| crtc1            =
| call2            = VF2280
| freq2            = 88.1 FM
| watts2           =
| class2           =
| city2            = [[Athabasca System Hydroelectric Stations|Athabasca Hydro Station]]
| crtc2            = [http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/1994/DB94-614.HTM 94-614]
}}
Though separately licensed, CBKA-FM in La Ronge is a full-time satellite of CBK. Until 2009, that station produced its own noon-hour show and regional news updates, although it aired both ''The Morning Edition'' and ''The Afternoon Edition''.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 26, 2009 |title=Radio operation in La Ronge falls victim to CBC budget cuts |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/radio-operation-in-la-ronge-falls-victim-to-cbc-budget-cuts-1.793086 |work=CBC News}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.cbc.ca/sask CBC Saskatchewan]
*[https://www.watrousheritage.ca/cbk-radio-brief-history/ Watrous Manitou Beach Heritage Centre CBK Radio Information Pages]
* [https://broadcasting-history.ca/radio/radio-stations/saskatchewan/CBK-AM CBK-AM] at The History of Canadian Broadcasting by the [[Canadian Communications Foundation]]
*{{RecnetCanada|CBK}}
{{Regina Radio}}
{{Saskatoon Radio}}
{{Meadow Lake Radio}}
{{Clear Channel AM}}
{{CBC radio stations}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cbk (Am)}}
[[Category:Radio stations in Regina, Saskatchewan|BK]]
[[Category:Radio stations in Saskatoon|BK]]
[[Category:CBC Radio One stations|BK]]
[[Category:Radio stations established in 1939]]
[[Category:1939 establishments in Saskatchewan]]
[[Category:Clear-channel radio stations]]