CFYK-FM

The CBC Board of Governors recommended for approval, an application by the Department of National Defence for a new AM station at Yellowknife. The plan called for the use of the call sign CKYK, operating on a frequency of 810 kHz with power of 250 watts.

CKYK was not yet on the air.

Radio station CFYK (not CKYK) signed on the air. The call sign: Canada’s Finest Yellowknife. The station was listed as being on the air in 1952.

The CBC Board approved a change of frequency for CFYK from 1450 to 1340 kHz with no change in the 250 watt power output.

On December 14 Canadian Broadcasting Corp. manager Sandy Stewart received the keys to CFYK from Rev. John Milton who represented the civilian radio committee that had run the station until now

On May 29, CBDI Fort Simpson began operations.

CFYK received approval to increase power from 250 watts to 1,000 watts.

CBDO Fort Simpson signed on November 22.

CFYK was listed on 1340 kHz with a power of 1,000 watts.

CFYK received permission to change transmitter site, remaining on 1340 kHz with 1,000 watts of power (non-directional).

On November 27, CBKE Fort Chipewyan signed on.

CBQG Wrigley was opened on September 26.

The CBC was authorized to add a transmitter at Coppermine on 105.1 MHz with 82 watts of effective radiated power. It would rebroadcast the programs of CFYK

CFYK operated the following rebroadcasters: CBQC Fort Providence, CBQD Fort Resolution, CBDO Fort Simpson, CBDI Fort Smith, CBDJ Hay River, CBDV Pine Point, CBQB Rae and CBQG Wrigley, Northwest Territories, and CBKE Fort Chipewyan. CFYK and its transmitters provided programming in the English (approximately 82%) and native (approximately 18%) languages. 

On February 1, CFYK was given approval to increase day and night power from 1,000 watts to 2,500 watts. 

On  March 13, approval was granted for an increase in night power from 2,500 watts to 4,000 watts.

On January 8, the CRTC approved the application for a licence for an English-language FM radio broadcasting transmitting undertaking at Hay River on the frequency 93.7 Mhz, channel 229, with an effective radiated power of 90 watts to rebroadcast the programs of CFYK Yellowknife, received via satellite. The licence would expire August 31, 1989. This term would enable the Commission to consider the renewal of this licence at the same time as that of CFYK, the originating station. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation advised the Commission that CBDJ Hay River, its radio broadcasting transmitting undertaking which now rebroadcast the programming of CFYK on the AM band, would be closed soon after the FM transmitter became operational. The Commission fully expected the CBC to surrender its licence for CBDJ at that time.

CBDJ-FM replaced CBDJ-AM on July 14.

By this time, CFYK operated the following rebroadcasters: CBQC Fort Providence, CBQD Fort Resolution, CBDO Fort Simpon, CBDI Fort Smith, CBDJ-FM Hay River, CBQB Rae-Edzo, CBQG Wrigley and CBKE Fort Chipewyan. CFYK’s programming was fed to the south MacKenzie Region via the CBC’s microwave network. Approximately 40% of the population in the service area was Dene and Métis. Transmitters CBQD, CBDO and CBQB also provided community programming access. CFYK originated 45 hours and 30 minutes weekly of locally-produced programming, of which 21 hours and 5 minutes were in the Slavey, Chipewyan and Dogrib languages.  

On April 17, CFYK received approval for an FM transmitter at Rae/Edzo on the frequency 105.1 MHz, with an effective radiated power of 158 watts. It would recive CFYK via satellite.  The transmitter would replace CBQB-AM.

CBQB-FM Rae/Edzo replaced CBQB-AM on July 8.

On December 11, CFYK’s request to decrease night-time power from 4,000 watts to 2,500 watts was approved.

On October 14, CFYK received approval to add a transmitter at Fort Resolution, operating on frequency 105.1 MHz with an effective radiated power of 87 watts. The proposed FM transmitter would replace CBQD-AM Fort Resolution. It would provide the community with a higher quality signal and reception free of interference. The new transmitter would also improve service to the travelling public. 

CBQD-FM Fort Resolution signed on the air on November 28. It replaced CBQD-AM.

CBC Radio added overnight programming to its schedule on May 1, with “CBC Radio Overnight”. The programming started out on certain CBC stations and was expanded to all of its stations by September. The program aired between 1:00 and 6:00 a.m. (local time) and offered reports from public broadcasters in 25 countries, with Canadian news on the hour. The program service was provided by the World Radio Network in London, England.

The CBC Radio network (CBC Radio) was renamed “CBC Radio One” on September 1.

On December 2, power increases were granted for CFYK transmitters CBDI Fort Smith and CBQC Fort Providence, from 40 watts to 99 watts.  The increases in power together with improvements to the antennas would provide better service throughout both coverage areas.  

On June 21, approval was given to amend the licences for CHAK Inuvik and CFYK Yellowknife, by changing the programming source of the transmitter CBQO-FM Deline from CHAK Inuvik to CFYK Yellowknife. CBQO-FM had been on the air since December 12, 1994.

As of 2001, CFYK operated the following transmitters: CBQO-FM Deline, CBQC Fort Providence, CBQD-FM Fort Resolution, CBDO Fort Simpson, CBDI Fort Smith, CBDJ-FM Hay River, CBQB-FM Rae/Edzo, CBQG Wrigley, and CBKE Fort Chipewyan, Alberta. CFYK broadcasts approximately 28 hours 30 minutes of local programming each week from Yellowknife.

The CRTC renewed the licence for CFYK on May 12. The following rebroadcast transmitters were included in the renewal: CBDI Fort Smith, CBDO Fort Simpson, CBQC Fort Providence, CBQG Wrigley, CBDJ-FM Hay River, CBQB-FM Rae-Edzo, CBQD-FM Fort Resolution, and in Alberta – CBKE Fort Chipewyan. 

Donald Nelson, the Senior Broadcast Technologist at CBC Yellowknife, transferred to CBC Windsor as of June 1 in the same capacity.

On August 9, the CRTC administatively renewed the licence of CFYK (and its transmitters) to August 31, 2011.

On August 25, the CRTC administratively renewed the licence for CFYK and its transmitters to March 1, 2013.

Jill Spelliscy, the managing director of CBC Saskatchewan, retired. Her successor was John Agnew who was regional director of radio & television with CBC Yellowknife. Succeeding Agnew was Janice Stein, the managing editor at CBC St. John. 

Dianne Collins, the managing editor at CBC Yellowknife, was laid off. She began there one year ago after a long career as news director in Vancouver television.

On November 7, the CRTC approved the CBC’s application for a licence to operate an English-language FM radio programming undertaking in Yellowknife to replace its AM station CFYK. The licensee would continue to operate the existing transmitters CBQC Fort Providence, CBQD-FM Fort Resolution, CBDO Fort Simpson, CBDI Fort Smith, CBDJ-FM Hay River, CBQB-FM Rae-Edzo, CBQG Wrigley, Northwest Territories and CBKE Fort Chipewyan, Alberta as rebroadcasting transmitters for the new FM station. The licence would expire March 1, 2013 so that the next licence renewal for the service coincided with that for the CBC’s other services. The new station would operate at 98.9 MHz (channel 255A) with an average effective radiated power of 1,220 watts (non-directional antenna with an effective height of antenna above average terrain of 46.57 metres). The new station would broadcast programming from the CBC Radio One network as well as a minimum of 56 hours of local programming during each broadcast week.

On February 22, the CRTC administratively renewed the licences for CFYK Yellowknife and its transmitters to August 31, 2013.

On May 28, the CRTC renewed the licence of CFYK Yellowknife and its transmitters CBDJ-FM Hay River, CBQB-FM Rae-Edzo, CBQD-FM Fort Resolution, CBQO-FM Deline (Fort Franklin), CBDI Fort Smith, CBDO Fort Simpson, CBKE Fort Chipewyan, Alberta, CBQC Fort Providence and CBQG Wrigley, for a five year term to August 31, 2018.

On June 3, CFYK-FM officially replaced CFYK-AM. The CBU-FM Vancouver transmitter which had been using the CFYK-FM (95.3 MHz) call sign was renamed CBNY-FM.

On July 18, the CRTC approved the CBC’s application to amend the licence for CFYK in order to operate a low-power FM transmitter at Fort Chipewyan to replace AM transmitter CBKE Fort Chipewyan. The new transmitter would operate at 99.9 MHz (channel 260LP) with an effective radiated power of 50 watts (non-directional antenna with an effective height of antenna above average terrain of 48.4 metres). The CBC stated that the new transmitter was needed to improve the quality of the signal. 

On September 19, the CRTC approved the CBC’s application to operate a low power FM transmitter at Fort Providence to replace CBQC-AM. It would operate at 98.9 MHz with an average ERP of 50 watts. 

On October 16, the CRTC approved the CBC’s application to amend the licence for CFYK Yellowknife to operate a low-power FM transmitter at Fort Simpson to replace the existing AM transmitter CBDO. The new transmitter would operate at 107.5 MHz (channel 298LP) with an average effective radiated power of 50 watts.

On November 28, the CRTC approved the CBC’s application to change the authorized contours of CFYK-FM to change the antenna’s polarization from horizontal to circular and to increase the average ERP from 1,200 to 5,500 watts (non-directional antenna with an increase in the effective antenna height). 

In September, the CRTC approved the CBC’s application to reduce the power of CFYK from 5,500 to 4,090 watts (average and maximum ERP). EHAAT would be raised from 50.0 to 54.2 metres.

On March 17, the CRTC approved the CBC’s application for CFYK-FM to operate an FM transmitter in Fort Smith to replace the low-power AM transmitter CBDI. It would operate at 97.9 MHz (channel 250LP) with an ERP of 50 watts and an EHAAT of 36.6 metres.

In August, CBDI 860 moved to the FM band (97.9) and became CFYK-FM-1.

On August 23, the CRTC approved a power increase for CBQE-FM Fort Good Hope, from 177 to 187 watts. EHAAT would be lowered from -14 metres to -19.95 metres.