CIMN-AM

The University of Prince Edward Island began operating a very low power radio station on campus, with studios in the Administrative Building. As it was only carried via the institution’s electrical system, it was classified as a “carrier current” undertaking, and as such a CRTC licence was not requires at the time.

Funds from students enabled the radio system to be upgraded to operate on 700 khz, using the callsign CSUR (Campus Student Union Radio), and the owners were the U.P.E.I. Student Union. Later, as this callsign had already been allocated to Portugal, a change was made to CIMN-AM (Campus Information Music & News).

The radio station began originating from new premises known as “The Barn” in the student union’s area of the campus. As the station was being carried on Island Cable FM, it was required to have a CRTC licence. The Student Union Council voted to incorporate a not for profit company to be called UPEI Student Radio. Equipment ownership and the licence were transferred to the new company.

In May, the station received a four-year licence renewal, to run from October 1st 1985 to September 30th 1989.

On July 18th, the CRTC renewed CIMN-AM’s licence for a further four years, with a licence that would expire on August 31st 1994. In renewing the licence, the Commission reminded U.P.E.I Student Radio Inc that “…the chairman or other presiding officer and each of the directors or other similar officers of the licensee must be Canadian citizens.”

Island Cable announced its intention to switch to fiber-optic lines. Carriage of CIMN would then cost UPEISR $300 per month, which it could not afford. It appeared that if the station was to survive, it would have to apply for an FM licence, subject to being able to handle the attendant costs. No action was however taken at this time.

On May 19th CIMN received a six-year renewal of its licence, to run from September 1st 1994 to August 31st 2000. The Commission noted that the licensee proposed to broadcast 103 hours of English language and two hours of French language programming each week. Although it was also noted that CIMN was a carrier current undertaking (i.e. on low power, carried by the institution’s electrical system and not intended to be heard outside the University), the fact that it was carried on a local cable system made it obligatory for the station to continue to be licensed by the CRTC.

In April, UPEI Student Radio Inc applied to move the station from AM to FM, to broadcast on 90.3 MHz with an effective radiated power of 50 watts. This application was approved in a CRTC decision dated June 8th. The licence expiry date of August 31st 2000 remained in force. The necessity for the Executive of the station to be Canadian citizens was re-emphasized.

On March 24th, the Student Council voted to stop all funding (for CIMN. UPEI Student Radio Inc. looked for ways to raise fund to keep the station going, including having advertising sales group Target Broadcasting attempt to generate revenues via daily religious broadcasting.

After three years of operation with minimal funding, CIMN (which never went FM) ceased operations. The Barn was coming down, and there was no money to finance moving CIMN into the new Student Union facility. UPEI Student Radio Inc retained all assets of the station, including all equipment and 3000 albums, and no attempts were subsequently made to renew CIMN’s licence, either for an AM or an FM operation.

In August, as there had been several times over the intervening years, there was yet another move being initiated on the part of some interested students to see whether there was enough support for an attempt to start up another community station on campus.