CFCO (AM)

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CFCO
Image:CFCO.jpg
Broadcast area Chatham-Kent, Ontario
Branding Classic Gold 630
Slogan Your News Leader in Southwestern Ontario
First air date 1926
Frequency 630 kHz (AM) / 92.9 (MHz)
Format Full Service / Oldies
ERP 10000 watts Daytime 6000 watts Nighttime 250 watts on 92.9
Class AM Class B / FM Class A1
Callsign meaning Coming From Chatham Ontario
Former callsigns None
Owner Blackburn Radio
Website CFCO

CFCO (630 AM and 92.9 FM) and is a news, sports, and oldies radio station located in Chatham-Kent, Ontario. Known as "Classic Gold 630," the station airs a mix of music from the late 1950s through the early 1980s, with a heavy local news commitment, and some sports play-by-play.

Morning personality George Brooks, who is also CFCO's program director, has been at the station since 1976. "Ask The Health Expert" has become a popular program hosted by Kim Iles and Greg Foster where they have experts (which include Dr. Cass Ingram, Dr. Brenda Watson and Dr. Lindsey Duncan), call in to answer health issues. Another popular specialty program on CFCO is the Monday drive-time feature "That's Sports," hosted by CFCO disc jockey Mike Regnier and sports director Gary Patterson. "The Trading Post," a local Tradio-type program, airs twice a day six days a week. The station also featured a daily afternoon talk show for a time, "CK Today" hosted by Christine Summers, which was recently cancelled.

CFCO airs play-by-play of Toronto Maple Leafs games during hockey season and Toronto Blue Jays games during baseball season. Weekend specialty programs include "Shake Rattle Showtime" with Jim Parsons (Saturday afternoons), which features late '50s and early '60s oldies; the local Sunday-morning "Gospel Greats," featuring inspirational music and hymns; and "Sentimental Journey" with Loran Fevens late Sunday mornings, featuring big band and traditional pop music from the 1930s-1950s.

The AM station broadcasts in C-QUAM AM Stereo and has a daytime signal that reaches as far west as Lansing, Michigan and as far south as Toledo, Ohio, making the station a cult favorite on the U.S. side of the border as well as Chatham-Kent's primary local station. Along with sister stations CKSY-FM and CKUE-FM, CFCO is owned by Blackburn Radio. The station made several upgrades during the previous ownership of BeaVer Broadcasting, including an increase in nighttime power from 1,000 to 6,000 watts (the station broadcasts with 10,000 watts by day). The high quality of the stereo AM audio of CFCO is even featured on a tuner manufacturer's website.

The AM radio station has been on the air since 1926. CFCO featured middle of the road and adult contemporary formats through much of its history, moving to an oldies format around 1992. In 2000, the station added its FM signal at 92.9 to improve reception of the station's programming in office buildings in Chatham. The FM simulcasts the AM 100% and initially broadcast with only 50 watts of power (later quintupled to 250 watts).

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AM Radio Stations in the Detroit / Windsor Market (Arbitron #10)

By Frequency: 540 | 560 | 580 | 630 | 690 | 760 | 800 | 910 | 950 | 1030 | 1090 | 1130 | 1200 | 1270 | 1310 | 1340 | 1400 | 1440 | 1500 | 1550

By Callsign: CBE | CBEF | CFCO | CKLW | CKWW | WCAR | WCHB | WDFN | WDTK | WDTW | WEXL | WFDF | WJR | WLQV | WMKM | WNZK | WRDT | WUFL | WWJ | WXYT

See also: Detroit (FM) (AM)