CNRV, CRCV, CBR The station was launched in 1925. The original call sign was CNRV, using the slogan "The Voice of the Pacific." It broadcast on 1100 AM and was owned by the
Canadian National Railway radio network. CNRV was acquired by the
Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission in 1933, becoming CRCV. In 1936, the CBC was created, taking over the CRBC's operations, and CRCV became CBR. The transmitter was located on No. 4 Road in Richmond. This site was in use from 1938 to 1976. The station moved to 1130 in 1941 after the enactment of the
North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA). In 1947, an FM
simulcast was launched on
105.7 MHz. Distinct programming on the FM station was aired for the first time in 1964 when it joined the "CBC FM Network."
CBU The frequency was moved to 690 AM in 1952 when the call sign was changed to its current CBU. In 1967, a new transmitter was erected in
Steveston, on the shoreline along the
Strait of Georgia. The station began broadcasting at 50,000
watts, the highest power authorized by the
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), allowing it to be heard throughout the
Metro Vancouver Regional District and around the
British Columbia Coast. Among Radio One stations on the AM dial around Canada, CBU covers the largest area of population, since Montreal and Toronto are served by FM stations. CBM
Montreal moved to
CBME-FM in 1998, and CBL
Toronto moved to
CBLA-FM in 1999.
FM simulcast In early 2008, the CRTC approved CBU's application for a new simulcast of its programming on the FM band. On October 10, 2008, CBU began testing its FM simulcast on 88.1 FM as CBU-2-FM with an
effective radiated power of 19,500 watts, and it officially signed on soon after. Around the same time, the CBC also applied to broadcast on separate transmitters into Nanaimo, as well as the Sunshine Coast, with the intent to shut down the AM transmitter on 690 kHz if approved. The CRTC denied these other two transmitters due to the lack of available frequencies in the region. In 2011, the CBC applied to the CRTC to increase the coverage area of CBU-2-FM's transmitter. The CBC proposed increasing the height of the antenna and raising the ERP to 36,900 watts (97,600 watts maximum). The ability to increase the signal coverage area was made possible when
CHEK-DT in
Victoria moved from VHF TV channel 6 to 49, as part of the over-the-air digital television transition. (TV channel 6 is heard on the FM band at 87.75, which puts it close on the dial to 88.1, the frequency for CBU-2-FM.) This CBC transmitter application was approved September 13, 2012.
Fire damages AM transmitter In November 2018, CBU reduced its AM transmitter power from 50,000 to 25,000 watts. A fire at the Steveston transmitting facilities destroyed part of the station’s equipment in 2017. It was decided repairs to restore the full 50,000 watts would have been too costly.
HD Radio CBU-2-FM transmits using
HD Radio technology on 88.1 MHz. , this signal provides simulcasts of CBU-FM on
digital subchannel HD2 and
CBCV-FM on subchannel HD3. ==Shortwave relay==