| City of license | Halifax, Nova Scotia |
|---|---|
| Branding | 89.9 HAL FM |
| Frequency | 89.9 MHz (FM) |
| First air date | May 12, 1926 |
| Format | Classic rock |
| Callsign meaning | C Halifax Nova Scotia |
| Owner | Maritime Broadcasting System |
| Sister stations | CHFX-FM |
| Website | 89.9 HAL FM |
CHNS-FM is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting from Halifax, Nova Scotia at 89.9 MHz on the FM dial. It offers a classic rock format branded as 89.9 HAL FM. CHNS-FM is owned and operated by the Maritime Broadcasting System.
CHNS was Nova Scotia's first radio station, first hitting the airwaves on May 12, 1926 on 930 AM. In 1930, it switched to 910 AM but switched back to 930 four years later. In 1941, it switched to its final position on the AM band, 960 khz. It was the host of Canadian National Railway radio "phantom station" CNRH until that network was disbanded. CHNS was an affiliate of the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission from 1933 to 1936 when the network became the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It acted as a CBC outlet until 1944 when CBH was launched as a CBC-owned station and CHNS became an affiliate of the CBC's Dominion Network until 1964. From the 1940s to the 1980s, CHNS played host to many of Canada's top broadcasters, including: Knowlton Nash, Mike Duffy, Bob Oxley, Jessie Coade, Gerry Parsons, Frank Cameron, Stan Carew, and Ian Hanomansing.
CHNS had an intense Top 40 ratings war with rival CJCH during the 1970s.
In the 1980s and early 1990s, the station played an adult contemporary format before flipping to oldies in February 1992 and branding itself "Oldies 96 CHNS", broadcasting in C-QUAM stereo. CHNS also simulcasted first on 6135, then on 6130kHz on the 49 meter shortwave band with the call letters CHNX until 2001.[1]
The station received CRTC approval to move to the FM dial in April 2006 [2] and moved to its current frequency at 89.9 FM in July 2006 adopting a classic rock format as 89.9 HAL FM. CHNS was given permission to simulcast the FM programming for 90 days on the AM signal and on October 19, 2006, the AM signal was shut down for good, putting an end to 80 years of broadcasting on the AM band.
The old transmitter house was demolished in 2008.[3]
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