660 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

^ i'm sure you already know this but rcmp would be interested in any special finds.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 23 October 2020 - 08:04 PM.

[AllseeingEye]

do you know if the/a transmitter tower was up on doncaster hill?  because it seems the station would be a little bit on the "wrong" side of that little hump if it did not have a transmitter above.   or maybe it sent a signal to mt. doug for redistribution?

 

screenshot-www.google.com-2020.10.23-23_45_57.png

 

if you have ever been in any of those houses on either side of doncaster, or on kootenay/revelstoke they have pretty awesome views.  on kootenay, revelstoke or the west side of doncaster looking down onto the trees and golf course, you might think you are in africa.  (except for the golfers).

 

All I do know was the original transmitter was definitely also in Saanich, although the exact location escapes me. I do know starting in June 1960 the station received federal approval to boost its effective radiated power to 100,000 watts video and 50,000 watts audio which in turn eventually allowed them to activate a series of re-broadcast transmitters to extend the station's signal starting in 1963.

Edited by AllseeingEye, 23 October 2020 - 08:08 PM.

[AllseeingEye]

^ i'm sure you already know this but rcmp would be interested in any special finds.

 

 

Yeah Glenn Parfitt was the one who actually inducted dad into the West Coast Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame in 2006 in the broadcaster's category. In fact for a short time Glenn and I worked at the same firm so yes I am well acquainted with the RCMP. An outstanding site BTW for anyone with an interest in local music history!

[AllseeingEye]

Well well well....lookee what I found Mr Sparky: looks like the Pharoahs to me - credit to Mr Parfitt over at the Royal City Music Project. He revamped the site recently including a scrolling feature on the main page and these boys are on it.....

Attached Images

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Edited by AllseeingEye, 23 October 2020 - 08:31 PM.

[Sparky]

Nope the Pharoahs were cool but I was in the Phantoms.

[AllseeingEye]

Ugh, sorry old eyes playing tricks on me. At least they both start with "P", I got that much right. I'll keep you posted as we plow through more material.

[Victoria Watcher]

Nope the Pharoahs were cool but I was in the Phantoms.

 

yes.  different gang altogether.

 

is sparky one of these maybe?

 

 

[Sparky]

Bingo.

[Mike K.]

Re Doncaster, it is indeed one of the hidden gems out there.

[AllseeingEye]

We lived across the, ahem... Shelbourne "valley" from Doncaster for decades, i.e. in the Mt Tolmie-Cedar Hill X Rd neighborhood and had several family friends who lived 'across the way'. Doncaster Heights reminds me a lot of the Parklands neighborhood in Esquimalt. People are vaguely aware they exist, tend to drive around or by them, but for the most part are truly unaware of what real gems they are.

 

When I was very young and hanging around the old CHEK studio on Saturdays with dad I'd occasionally look "up" at DH and think that really really RICH people must live 'up there'

[Victoria Watcher]

We lived across the, ahem... Shelbourne "valley" from Doncaster for decades, i.e. in the Mt Tolmie-Cedar Hill X Rd neighborhood and had several family friends who lived 'across the way'. Doncaster Heights reminds me a lot of the Parklands neighborhood in Esquimalt. People are vaguely aware they exist, tend to drive around or by them, but for the most part are truly unaware of what real gems they are.

 

When I was very young and hanging around the old CHEK studio on Saturdays with dad I'd occasionally look "up" at DH and think that really really RICH people must live 'up there'

 

yes i think you are right in that not many people would have much reason to drive up there.

 

the fact that it is actually "jennifer road" for the last bit before it ends up on chxr you might not make the connection to the parts of doncaster you know nearer hillside mall.

 

 

but as far as i can remember the homes up there were nothing out of the ordinary apart from their view.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 24 October 2020 - 08:58 AM.

[AllseeingEye]

yes i think you are right in that not many people would have much reason to drive up there.

 

the fact that it is actually "jennifer road" for the last bit before it ends up on chxr you might not make the connection to the parts of doncaster you know nearer hillside mall.

 

screenshot-www.google.com-2020.10.24-12_56_33.png

 

but as far as i can remember the homes up there were nothing out of the ordinary apart from their view.

 

For the most part think middle to higher end "Gordon Head" in terms of the homes. Those especially on the east side facing toward Mt Tolmie are generally of the newer and/or updated variety. Another comparable neighborhood is Greenlea - that 'over the hump shortcut' you can take off Quadra over to Saanich Rd, yet another hidden and generally underappreciated neighborhood that may folks tend to be unaware of. The homes there are comparable to DH.

[Rob Randall]

1956: technicians work to eliminate poor reception and interference before CHEK starts broadcasting. Areas of Victoria that require special antennas or antenna padding are indentified.

 

[AllseeingEye]

In the formative years there were a variety of reception and "interference" issues.

 

After the power boost in 1960 by 1963 or thereabouts a Vancouver Member of Parliament asked the Board of Broadcast Governors to hold a special public hearing to look into interference from CHEK-TV to Seattle's KING-TV ('channel 5' on the dial for VV old-timers that remember that far back). The same MP also initially did not want CHEK in the Vancouver market and felt the station should restrict broadcasting to Vancouver Island.

Edited by AllseeingEye, 24 October 2020 - 09:30 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

towards the bottom of the second column what's the "Hey, Rube installation" reference?

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 24 October 2020 - 09:36 AM.

[Rob Randall]

towards the bottom of the second column what's the "Hey, Rube installation" reference?

 

That the home-made antenna required to get good reception would look like a Rube Goldberg invention.

[Victoria Watcher]

i just read this but i still don't get it.

 

https://en.wikipedia...with outsiders.

 

i thought when we were kids you'd say "hey rube" meaning "you idiot" or similar.  or "look at that rube over there".  sort of like calling someone a "square".i

 

 i don't recall violence at the carnival but maybe i only went to the Jay-Cee Fair on family sundays.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 24 October 2020 - 09:48 AM.

[Rob Randall]

i just read this but i still don't get it.

 

https://en.wikipedia...with outsiders.

 

i thought when we were kids you'd say "hey rube" meaning "you idiot" or similar.  or "look at that rube over there".  sort of like calling someone a "square".i

 

 i don't recall violence at the carnival but maybe i only went to the Jay-Cee Fair on family sundays.

 

I thought it was obviously a Rube Goldberg reference but I may be wrong and you may be right. Mark this event on your calendars.

 

1971:

 

[Rob Randall]

That's good writing. You don't read fun stuff like that anymore. Except here.

[Rob Randall]

i just read this but i still don't get it.

 

https://en.wikipedia...with outsiders.

 

i thought when we were kids you'd say "hey rube" meaning "you idiot" or similar.  or "look at that rube over there".  sort of like calling someone a "square".i

 

 i don't recall violence at the carnival but maybe i only went to the Jay-Cee Fair on family sundays.

 

The only think that makes sense to me is the writer meant if you had an "aggressively" big antenna setup the signal from channel 6 would drown out channel 4. But it doesn't really fit. I think the writer made an error and meant to say Rube Goldberg.