RIP CKZN

HF antenna of HF broacaster CKZN, photo by Felip1 uploaded on Flickr under a CC-BY-NC license.

Flickr file: www.flickr.com/photos/flipflik/40171684341

ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION

I think it must be nearly a year since the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation turned off the transmitter at CKZN, the shortwave station that ran for seventy-odd years in my hometown of St. John's, Newfoundland.

When they turned it off, we were all told it was for "testing." Of course, they were not testing anything technical; they were testing what the audience reaction would be. If there were enough outcry, they'd turn it on. Otherwise, they'd leave it off. That's what they have done.

They have not yet dismantled the antennas, which are next to a much taller single mast for the local CBC medium-wave station. This morning, I stopped by to take this picture of the shortwave antennas. In Leonard Cohen's words, just "keeping some kind of record."




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