CBEW-FM

CBEW-FM is the callsign of the CBC Radio One station based in and serving Windsor, Ontario Canada. CBEW broadcasts from transmission facilities at McGregor on 97.5 FM, and also reaches the nearby Detroit area and (through relay transmitters in Chatham, Leamington, and Sarnia) parts of Southwestern Ontario.

History

The station first aired in 1935 as CRBC station CRCW (AM 600), which broadcast until 1938 (changing its call sign to CBW in 1937 after the CRBC became the CBC). Between 1938 and 1950, CBC Radio programming was aired on private affiliate CKLW (AM 1030, later AM 800). A CBC-owned station was subsequently relaunched in 1950 using the CBE call sign and 1550 AM frequency. Regional FM rebroadcasters were added in 1977.

On May 9, 2008, the CRTC approved the station's application to launch a low-power nested FM rebroadcaster (CBE-1-FM) in Windsor, at 102.3 FM.^[1] Six months later, on November 13, 2008, the CBC applied to the CRTC to convert CBE from the AM band to the FM band at 97.5 FM, to revoke its previous request for CBE-1-FM, and and to include a new FM rebroadcaster at Leamington on 91.9 FM (which was originally planned for 91.5 FM but was moved due to conflict with Windsor station CJAM-FM which, until October 2009, was also on 91.5).^[2] The new 97.5 FM main signal would broadcast with a directional antenna to the southeast, to avoid interference with two other stations at 97.5 FM, London's CIQM-FM and Lansing's WJIM-FM.^[3][4] Monroe's WYDM, also at 97.5 FM, is 25 miles (40 km) from CBEW's transmitter in McGregor, but broadcasts on a low-powered Class D license, which is unprotected from interference from stations broadcasting on identical or adjacent frequencies.

On June 16, 2009, CBE received approval for its conversion to 97.5 FM and for its Leamington repeater.^[5] Originally, no time frame was given for the AM-to-FM transition, though after the new FM signal would sign on, the AM signal was to go silent after three months of simulcasting, with the repeater signal at 102.3 FM to close within thirty days of the start-up of the 97.5 FM signal. That decision came following the CRTC approval for CJAM to relocate to 99.1 FM in March 2009.^[6] The 97.5 FM facilities began testing on December 1, 2010,^[7] the start of a 7-month testing stage that also included resolving issues between the new signal and second-adjacent stations in Detroit (WXYT-FM 97.1 and WJLB 97.9).^[8] The station officially launched on July 1, 2011^[9][10] under the call sign of CBEW-FM (which was the call sign for a defunct CBC radio transmitter in Fraserdale).

In accordance with the original transition plans,^[5] the CBC announced that CBE would close down on September 30, 2011.^[10] Sometime after 12:00am midnight on October 1, 2011, without fanfare, CBE's 10,000-watt Class-A 1550 AM signal was either powered down or shutdown.^[11] According to Scott Fybush's Northeast Radio Watch, CBE 1550 AM's sign-off happened without fanfare; indeed, the scheduled midnight end to CBE was extended out for a bit as the station came back on and off the air several times before finally dropping audio at 12:25am October 1, leaving just a dead carrier on 1550 AM. ^[12]

Local programming

CBEW-FM's local programs are The Early Shift, hosted by Tony Doucette, in the morning, and The Bridge, hosted by Bob Steele, in the afternoon.

Rebroadcasters

Former repeater, now shut down:

References

External links

• CBC Windsor
• CBEW-FM History at Canadian Communications Foundation
• Query the REC's Canadian station database for CBEW-FM