VOAR-FM

VOAR-FM (96.7 MHz) is a Canadian radio station, which has 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 & Labrador. Its studios and offices are on Topsail Road in Mount Pearl. The transmitter is off Kenmount Road, also in Mount Pearl.[1]

VOAR-FM
CityMount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador
Broadcast areaNewfoundland and Labrador
BrandingVOAR
Lighthouse FM
Frequency96.7 MHz (FM)
First air dateFall 1929
FormatChristian radio
ERP100,000 watts (day and night)
ClassC
Transmitter coordinates47.5347°N 52.8211°W / 47.5347; -52.8211
Call sign meaningVoice Of Adventist Radio
Former call signs8BSL (1929-1930)
8RA (1930-1931)
OwnerThe Seventh-day Adventist Church in Newfoundland & Labrador
WebcastVOAR listen live
Websitewww.lighthousefm.org/
Part of a series on
Seventh-day
Adventist Church
Adventism

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 VOAR in 1931. 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, getting a boost in power to 10,000 watts, which was approved by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in 1991.[3] 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.

Unusual Callsign

VOAR is one of just four Canadian radio stations (all in Newfoundland) whose call signs do not begin with C. The others, VOWR, VOCM, and VOCM-FM, are also in the St. John's radio market. With the exception of VOCM-FM, these stations first signed on before Newfoundland joined the Canadian Confederation in 1949. The ITU prefix VO was originally assigned to Newfoundland and remains in use by Newfoundland and Labrador radio amateurs.

Expanding through Canada

Since 2002, VOAR has added a network of FM rebroadcasters, while still being heard on the AM band in St. John's.[4] At first, the rebroadcasting stations were in small communities around Newfoundland and Labrador.

In recent years, VOAR has expended 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

On 6 October 2016, the CRTC received an application from VOAR to move to the FM band, with the call sign VOAR-FM. The new station will 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 become repeaters of the new FM signal. Reasons for the conversion request stated in the application were listener confusion with VOWR (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.[5]

On 27 June 2017, the CRTC approved VOAR's application to replace its religious AM radio station VOAR and its rebroadcaster in Bay Roberts. The new FM station in Mount Pearl will 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.[6] VOAR began testing its new FM transmitter in St. John's in December 2018. As of January 2019, VOAR-FM is on the air.

On 2 December 2019, VOAR completed its transitions to FM, increasing its power to 100,000 watts and was rebranded as Lighthouse FM. On 10 January 2020, the AM broadcast was scheduled to come to an end as the station has moved to FM.

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.[7] Over the years, other rebroadcasters were added in other Canadian provinces and territories. VOAR is also carried across Canada on Bell TV Channel 950 and locally on Rogers Cable Channel 929.

A new broadcasting license was issued in 2008.[8][9] Also in 2008, several transmitters were put on the air in British Columbia.

Rebroadcasters of VOAR-FM
City of licenseIdentifierFrequencyPowerClassRECNet
Marystown, NewfoundlandVOAR-2-FM99.5 MHz15 wattsLPQuery
Lewisporte, NewfoundlandVOAR-3-FM91.7 MHz50 wattsLPQuery
Gander, NewfoundlandVOAR-4-FM89.7 MHz50 wattsLPQuery
Deer Lake, NewfoundlandVOAR-5-FM102.1 MHz50 wattsLPQuery
Botwood, NewfoundlandVOAR-6-FM101.1 MHz50 wattsLPQuery
Springdale, NewfoundlandVOAR-7-FM103.3 MHz50 wattsLPQuery
Grand Falls-Windsor, NewfoundlandVOAR-8-FM98.3 MHz250 wattsA1Query
Corner Brook, NewfoundlandVOAR-9-FM105.7 MHz240 wattsA1Query
Port aux Basques, NewfoundlandVOAR-10-FM99.9 MHz50 wattsLPQuery
Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NewfoundlandVOAR-11-FM101.9 MHz250 wattsA1Query
Wabush, NewfoundlandVOAR-12-FM102.5 MHz50 wattsLPQuery
Bridgewater, Nova ScotiaVOAR-13-FM107.1 MHz50 wattsLPQuery
Cranbrook, British ColumbiaVF2497106.5 MHz16 wattsLPQuery
Creston, British ColumbiaVF250792.9 MHz17 wattsLPQuery
Golden, British ColumbiaVF250899.9 MHz14 wattsLPQuery
Nakusp, British ColumbiaVF251592.9 MHz25 wattsLPQuery
Williams Lake, British ColumbiaVF251995.1 MHz50 wattsLPQuery
Hope, British ColumbiaVF253294.1 MHz50 wattsLPQuery
Inuvik, Northwest TerritoriesVF253392.7 MHz50 wattsLPQuery
Terrace, British ColumbiaVF2535101.5 MHz50 wattsLPQuery
100 Mile House, British ColumbiaVF2577106.7 MHz30 wattsLPQuery
Quesnel, British ColumbiaVF802692.3 MHz50 wattsLPQuery
Shellbrook, SaskatchewanVF256292.1 MHz5 wattsLPQuery
Swift Current, SaskatchewanVF258892.1 MHz5 wattsLPQuery
Inuvik, Northwest TerritoriesVF253392.7 MHz5 wattsLPQuery

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.[10] The station also had applications to expand into 25 additional communities in British Columbia in early 2009.[11]

References
  1. FCCdata.org/VOAR
  2. VOAR.org/program-guide
  3. "Decision CRTC 91-163". CRTC. 27 March 1991. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  4. "Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2002-49". CRTC. 20 February 2002. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  5. "2016-0136-0". CRTC. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  6. "Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2017-219". CRTC. 27 June 2017. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  7. "Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2002-49". CRTC. 20 February 2002. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  8. "Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2008-282". CRTC. 8 October 2008. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  9. "Radio Station History Newfoundland VOAR-AM (Religious)". Canadian Communications Foundation. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  10. "VOAR Broadcast in Prince George". VOAR. Archived from the original on 15 July 2010. Retrieved 15 July 2010.
  11. "VOAR - Voice of Adventist Radio". Adventist Single Adult Ministries. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
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