CKAP-FM

Approval was granted for the operation of an AM station at Kapuskasing – on 580 kHz with power of 1,000 watts. The applicant was a group headed by George F. Heathcote, manager of the Chamber of Commerce. They set September 1 as a target date to have the station on the air.

CKAP 580 signed on the air earlier than planned – July 1. CKAP operated with a single directional pattern for day and night service, using two 285 foot towers. The “KAP” in the call letters: Kapuskasing.

On July 25, Kapuskasing Broadcasting Co. Ltd. was authorized to move CKAP’s studios and offices from 24 Byng Avenue to Riverside Drive at Drury Street.

On April 28, CKAP 580 was given permission to increase daytime power from 1,000 to 10,000 watts (single directional pattern for day and night to directional at night only). Night power would remain at 1,000 watts.

The power increase went into effect later in the year. The same towers and transmitter site were used.

On April 12, Kapuskasing Broadcasting Co. Ltd. had its application for a rebroadcast transmitter at Timmins, denied. The proposed station would have broadcast over 1450 kHz with a power of 10,000 watts day and 5,000 watts at night. (The application was first made in 1978, using 1240 kHz with power of 1,000 watts day and 250 watts night at Timmins. The application was withdrawn, and put forward again, using 1450 kHz.)  

John Goodyear was on the air at CKAP.

Bill Bestall was general manager, program director, and commercial manager.

A bid by Kapuskasing Broadcasting for a station at Timmins (1450 kHz with 5,000 watts) was turned down by the CRTC. The Commission questioned the viability of another Timmins stations. The application was also technically mutually exclusive with one by CHUC Cobourg for a power increase.

Tim McLarty joined CKAP as a swing announcer but left later in the year.

Rob Brown joined CKAP in July from CKBB in Barrie. He left in September.

CKAP was among a number of stations in Ontario and Quebec on the regulatory carpet for failure to provide logger tapes. CRTC chairman Andre Bureau warned the C.A.B. about the frequent equipment failures and accidental tape erasures commonly alleged by stations. He said proper equipment is not a discretionary expenditure, and if a licensee cannot or will not assume it, the licensee is not entitled to operate a station.

On June 22, the CRTC approved the purchase of CKAP by Mid-Canada Communications (Canada) Corp. from Kapuskasing Broadcasting Co. Ltd. In approving the transaction, the CRTC noted that Mid-Canada would provide stability, expertise and added sources of news for CKAP.

The CRTC approved a corporate reorganization of the Northern Cable Services Ltd. group of companies on January 3. The purpose was to segregate the radio operations of Northern’s subsidiary, Mid-Canada Communications (Canada) Corp. and its subsidiary company CKCY 920 Ltd., into Ottawa Valley Broadcasting Co. Ltd. in order to facilitate the sale of Mid-Canada’s television operations and OVB’s radio stations through separate transfers.

On July 26, the CRTC approved the sale of Mid-Canada Radio Inc. through the transfer of 100% of that company’s issued and outstanding common voting shares from Northern Cable Holdings Limited to Pelmorex Broadcasting Inc. The following stations were included in the sale: CHRO Pembroke, CJNR Blind River, CKNR Elliot Lake, CKNS Espanola, CKAP and CFLK Kapuskasing, CHNO, CFBR and CJMX-FM Sudbury, CFCL Timmins, CFLH Hearst, CKCY and CJQM-FM Sault Ste. Marie and CJWA Wawa, and a 45% interest held in CHUR North Bay. For the record, earlier this month the CRTC approved the sale of Mid-Canada’s television properties.

On April 7, the CRTC approved the applications by Pelmorex Radio Inc. for authority to acquire the assets of CKNR Elliot Lake and its transmitter CJNR Blind River, CKNS Espanola, CHYK and CKAP Kapuskasing, CHUR North Bay, CHVR Pembroke, CHVR-1 Renfrew and its transmitter CHVR-2 Arnprior, CJQM Sault Ste. Marie, CHNO, CHYC and CJMX-FM Sudbury, CKOY Timmins and its transmitter CHOH Hearst, and CJWA Wawa, from Pelmorex Broadcasting Inc., and for broadcasting licences to continue the operation of these undertakings. In approving these applications, the Commission took into account the fact that Pelmorex Radio Inc. was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pelmorex Inc. which was controlled by Pelmorex Management Inc. and that the transaction thus represented an intracorporate reorganization without any change occurring in the control, programming or management of the licensee. 

Dave Palmer left CKAP to become morning man at CKGB Timmins. 

Pelmorex announced the sale of its AM stations to Christopher Grossman’s Haliburton Broadcasting and the FM stations to Telemedia Communications. Grossman would acquire AM’s at Sudbury (CHNO and CHYC), CKOY-AM Timmins, CKAP Kapuskasing, as well as Timmins repeater stations CHYK Kapuskasing and CHOH of Hearst. Grossman planned to flip the Sudbury and Timmins stations to FM. Telemedia would buy CHVR-FM Pembroke, CJQM-FM Sault Ste. Marie, CJMX-FM Sudbury and CHUR-FM North Bay. Pelmorex decided it wanted to get out of the radio business to focus on its multimedia weather-related information services and was still looking for a purchaser for its radio network.

On August 31, the CRTC approved applications by Haliburton Broadcasting Group Inc. to acquire the assets of CHNO and CHYC Sudbury, CKOY Timmins and its transmitters CHOH-FM Hearst and CHYK Kapuskasing, and CKAP Kapuskasing from Pelmorex Radio Inc. Also approved: Haliburton’s applications to convert CHNO, CHYC and CKOY from the AM band to the FM band. CKAP would remain on the AM band as it had  recently undergone a complete technical upgrade.

On February 9, the CRTC approved the conversion of CKAP to the FM dial, at 100.9 MHz with an effective radiated power of 12,000 watts. The station would continue to offer a contemporary hit / hot adult contemporary format.

CKAP-FM begen testing September 10. It went on the air early because of a fire at the AM transmitter on September 6.

Standard Broadcasting acquired a 29.9% interest in Haliburton Broadcasting.

CKAP 100.9 (Mix 100) became “The Moose” in late June or early July.

On November 14, CKAP was given approval to add a transmitter at Hearst, operating on 94.5 MHz with an effective radiated power of 1,200 watts. Antenna height would be 51 metres (EHAAT) 

On August 29 the CRTC renewed CKAP-FM’s licence until August 31, 2011. This was a short-term renewal to permit the Commission to review, at an earlier date, the licencee’s compliance with its condition of licence relating to contributions to the development of Canadian content. 

On July 30, the CRTC approved the application by The Haliburton Broadcasting Group Inc. relating to CKHT-FM Hearst, the rebroadcasting transmitter of the English-language commercial radio programming undertaking CKAP-FM Kapuskasing. Specifically, the licensee proposed to change CKHT-FM’s authorized contours by decreasing the average effective radiated power from 1,000 watts to 72 watts (maximum ERP from 1,000 watts to 100 watts with an effective height of antenna above average terrain of 51 metres); to change the transmitter’s status from Class A to Class A1; to change its antenna’s radiation pattern from non-directional to directional; and to move its antenna and transmission tower to another site. The Commission noted that these technical parameters reflected those approved by the Department of Industry. The licensee stated that this modification was needed because the original antenna and transmitter site was no longer available. The Commission noted that the population served within the station’s 3 mV/m contour would decrease from 6,192 to 5,620. The population served within the station’s 0.5 mV/m contour would decrease from 6,631 to 6,192.

On August 31, the CRTC administratively renewed the licence for CKAP-FM and its transmitter CKHT-FM Hearst until March 31, 2012.

The Moose Timmins morning show host Robert Wills was promoted to General Manager of the Haliburton North properties. Remaining at his Timmins base, Wills was now responsible for The Moose stations at Timmins, Kapuskasing, Cochrane and Iroquois Falls.

On March 20, the CRTC administratively renewed the licence for CKAP-FM Kapuskasing, and its transmitter CKHT-FM Hearst to August 31, 2012.

On August 28, the CRTC administratively renewed the licence for CKAP-FM Kapuskasing and its transmitter CKHT-FM Hearst to December 31, 2012.

On October 19, the CRTC approved the application by Vista Radio Ltd. for authority to acquire from Haliburton Broadcasting Group Inc. the assets of Haliburton’s AM and FM radio stations and their transmitters located in Bancroft, Barry’s Bay, Bolton, Bracebridge, Caledon, Cochrane, Elliot Lake, Espanola, Fort Erie, Haldimand, Haliburton, Hearst, Huntsville, Iroquois Falls, Kapuskasing, Kemptville, Niagara Falls, North Bay, Parry Sound, Prescott, St. Catharines, Stratford, Sturgeon Falls and Timmins. Vista was a corporation controlled by Westerkirk Capital Inc., in turn controlled by Thompson Investments Limited. CKAP-FM (and CKHT-FM Hearst) was among the stations acquired by Vista.

Rob Wills, who was promoted to General Manager of the Haliburton North properties in Ontario last year, was no longer with the company. His responsibilities covered The Moose stations at Kapuskasing, Cochrane, Iroquois Falls and his base, Timmins. There was no successor.

After more than 27 years Donna Todd left Moose FM to continue her marketing consulting career outside of broadcasting.