VOAR-FM

Last updated

VOAR-FM
Lighthouse voarfm.svg
Broadcast area Newfoundland and Labrador
Frequency 96.7 MHz (FM)
BrandingLighthouse FM
Programming
Format Christian
Ownership
OwnerThe Seventh-day Adventist Church in Newfoundland & Labrador
History
First air date
Fall 1929
Former call signs
8BSL (1929-1930)
8RA (1930-1931)
VONA (1931-1933)
VOAC (1933-1938)
Former frequencies
1230 kHz (AM) (1950s-1991)
1210 kHz (1991-2020)
Call sign meaning
Voice Of Adventist Radio
Technical information
Class C
ERP 100,000 watts
HAAT 156.6 meters (514 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
 47°32′05″N52°49′16″W / 47.5347°N 52.8211°W / 47.5347; -52.8211
Links
Webcast Listen Live
Website lighthousefm.org

VOAR-FM (96.7 MHz) is a Canadian radio station, which airs a Christian radio format. It is licensed to Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador, and serves the St. John's metropolitan area. VOAR is owned by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Newfoundland and Labrador. Its radio studios and offices are on Topsail Road in Mount Pearl.

Contents

VOAR-FM is a Class C FM station. The transmitter is off Kenmount Road, also in Mount Pearl. [1] The effective radiated power (ERP) is 100,000 watts, the maximum for most Canadian FM stations.

Programming

VOAR airs a blend of Christian talk and teaching programs along with Contemporary Christian music. Religious leaders heard on VOAR include Charles Stanley, Jim Daly, Joni Eareckson Tada and Chuck Swindoll. [2]

History

Early years

VOAR first began broadcasting in the fall of 1929 as 8BSL. In 1930, the station was renamed 8RA. It received the call sign VONA (Voice of the North Atlantic) in 1931 (using the ITU prefix VO that was assigned to the Dominion of Newfoundland before it joined Canada. It later switched to VOAC (Voice of the Adventist Church) in 1933, then once more to its current call sign, VOAR (Voice of Adventist Radio) in 1938. [3] VOAR is one of four Canadian stations, along with VOWR 800, VOCM 590 and VOCM-FM 97.5, to still use call signs beginning with VO rather than C.

Over the years, the station switched its frequency several times. From the 1950s through 1991, it broadcast at 1230 kHz, originally powered at only 100 watts.

It then moved to its final AM frequency, 1210. The new dial position was coupled with a boost in power to 10,000 watts, which was approved by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in 1991. [4] But because 1210 is a clear channel frequency reserved for Class A WPHT Philadelphia, VOAR used a directional antenna to avoid interference. It later moved its city of license from St. John's to Mount Pearl, the community where its transmitter and studios are located.

Expanding through Canada

In 2002, VOAR began adding a network of FM rebroadcasters, while the main station was still being heard on the AM band in St. John's. [5] At first, the rebroadcasting stations were in small communities around Newfoundland and Labrador.

In recent years, VOAR has expanded into other provinces and territories. It currently has about 30 rebroadcasters, stretching across Canada. It is heard in four provinces and in the Northwest Territories.

Moving to FM

VOAR logo prior to FM transition. VOAR Radio.png
VOAR logo prior to FM transition.

On October 6, 2016, the CRTC received an application from VOAR to move to the FM band, with the call sign VOAR-FM. The proposed new station would have an effective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000 watts. At the same time, it would shut down its AM signal and its Bay Roberts repeater, VOAR-1-FM 95.9. The other VOAR repeaters would begin simulcasting the new FM signal. Reasons for the conversion request stated in the application were listener confusion with VOWR 800 AM (both stations receive each other's mail), signal reception issues in portions of the St. John's area, and the AM station's transmitter (installed in 1990) reaching the end of its usable life. [6]

On June 27, 2017, the CRTC approved VOAR's application to replace its AM radio station VOAR and its rebroadcaster in Bay Roberts. The new FM station in Mount Pearl would operate at 96.7 MHz with an ERP of 100,000 watts using a non-directional antenna at a height above average terrain (HAAT) of 156.8 metres. [7] [8] VOAR began testing its new FM transmitter in December 2018. It officially signed on the air the following month.

VOAR completed its transitions to FM with the station's moniker becoming Lighthouse FM. [9] [10] On January 10, 2020, the AM signal shut down.

Rebroadcasters

In 2002, VOAR added several FM rebroadcasters in various parts of the province, too far from St. John's to get a clear signal from the AM transmitter. [11] Over the years, other rebroadcasters were added in other Canadian provinces and territories. VOAR is also carried across Canada on Bell Satellite TV Channel 950 and locally on Rogers Cable Channel 929.

A new broadcasting license was issued in 2008. [12] [13] Also in 2008, several transmitters were put on the air in British Columbia.

Rebroadcasters of VOAR-FM
City of license Identifier Frequency Power Class RECNet
Marystown, Newfoundland VOAR-2-FM99.5 FM15 watts LP Query
Lewisporte, Newfoundland VOAR-3-FM91.7 FM50 wattsLP Query
Gander, Newfoundland VOAR-4-FM89.7 FM50 wattsLP Query
Deer Lake, Newfoundland VOAR-5-FM102.1 FM50 wattsLP Query
Botwood, Newfoundland VOAR-6-FM101.1 FM50 wattsLP Query
Springdale, Newfoundland VOAR-7-FM103.3 FM50 wattsLP Query
Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland VOAR-8-FM98.3 FM250 wattsA1 Query
Corner Brook, Newfoundland VOAR-9-FM105.7 FM240 wattsA1 Query
Port aux Basques, Newfoundland VOAR-10-FM99.9 FM50 wattsLP Query
Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Newfoundland VOAR-11-FM101.9 FM250 wattsA1 Query
Wabush, Newfoundland VOAR-12-FM102.5 FM50 wattsLP Query
Bridgewater, Nova Scotia VOAR-13-FM107.1 FM50 wattsLP Query
Cranbrook, British Columbia VF2497106.5 FM16 wattsLP Query
Creston, British Columbia VF250792.9 FM17 wattsLP Query
Golden, British Columbia VF250899.9 FM14 wattsLP Query
Nakusp, British Columbia VF251592.9 FM25 wattsLP Query
Williams Lake, British Columbia VF251995.1 FM50 wattsLP Query
Hope, British Columbia VF253294.1 FM50 wattsLP Query
Inuvik, Northwest Territories VF253392.7 FM50 wattsLP Query
Terrace, British Columbia VF2535101.5 FM50 wattsLP Query
100 Mile House, British Columbia VF2577106.7 FM30 wattsLP Query
Quesnel, British Columbia VF802692.3 FM50 wattsLP Query
Shellbrook, Saskatchewan VF256292.1 FM5 wattsLP Query
Swift Current, Saskatchewan VF258892.1 FM5 wattsLP Query
Inuvik, Northwest Territories VF253392.7 FM5 wattsLP Query

The station also had repeaters in Prince George, British Columbia 107.3 (VF2510); Kamloops 105.1 (VF2525); Kelowna 98.9; and Oliver 106.1 (VF2524), but they were taken off the air due to licensing issues with the CRTC in January 2009. [14] The station also had applications to expand into 25 additional communities in British Columbia in early 2009. [15]

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References

  1. ↑ FCCdata.org/VOAR-FM
  2. ↑ VOAR.org/program-guide
  3. ↑ "History | Lighthouse FM".
  4. ↑ "Decision CRTC 91-163". CRTC. 27 March 1991. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  5. ↑ "Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2002-49". CRTC. 20 February 2002. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  6. ↑ "2016-0136-0". CRTC. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  7. ↑ "Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2017-219". CRTC. 27 June 2017. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  8. ↑ Kinsella, Stephanie (10 July 2017). "Mount Pearl-based VOAR gets CRTC blessing for FM move". CBC News . Archived from the original on 7 May 2022.
  9. ↑ "Lighthouse FM Christian Radio Network".
  10. ↑ "Multimedia | Seventh-day Adventist Church".
  11. ↑ "Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2002-49". CRTC. 20 February 2002. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  12. ↑ "Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2008-282". CRTC. 8 October 2008. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  13. ↑ "Radio Station History Newfoundland VOAR-AM (Religious)". Canadian Communications Foundation. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  14. ↑ "VOAR Broadcast in Prince George". VOAR. Archived from the original on 15 July 2010. Retrieved 15 July 2010.
  15. ↑ "VOAR - Voice of Adventist Radio". Adventist Single Adult Ministries. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
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