The board and volunteers of CICV, Lake Cowichan’s local community radio station, were pleased to hear last week that their request for a new broadcast antenna was finally approved by Industry Canada.
The new antenna will provide the station with a major increase in power, taking their broadcast strength from five to 50 watts. The added power will allow CICV’s signal to be carried further. Currently, only listeners in Lake Cowichan can tune into 98.7 FM, but as upgrades are completed, the station should be listenable as far as Crofton, Cobble Hill and possibly Shawnigan Lake. To reflect the wider broadcast, the station’s tagline “The Lake” will also be undergoing a change.
Another upgrade coming to the station will be the ability to broadcast off the grid, on generators, in the event of an emergency. Radio Cowichan chairperson Mike Bishop explained that part of the radio station’s emergency preparedness training will be supplying hand-cranked radios to residents in order to keep them up to date during an emergency.
The new antenna will mark the largest improvement for the station since its introduction to the airwaves five years ago. Previously, programming was distributed online and handled mostly by founders Ron McKenzie, Karl Dalskog and Brian Simpson.
“The growth [of CICV] has been slow but steady,” Bishop said. “We’ve managed to grow an international listenership through the world wide web. We’ve had hits on our website from as far as Australia, Mexico and Hungary.”
Despite cultivating a sizable audience abroad, CICV’s main focus has always been to serve the communities around Cowichan Lake. One of the station’s features, called Museum Moments, talks about historical facts and moments from Lake Cowichan and the surrounding area.
Bishop said that CICV programmers also have plans to work with the local Ts’uubaa-asatx First Nation on a “vocabulary show” that will work with aboriginal people to preserve their native language.
With the new antenna planning to be located on the corner of Deer Road and the Youbou Highway, Radio Cowichan was required to gain the approval of nearby residents as well as the neighbouring Ts’uubaa-asatx. A main concern for the group was the aesthetic qualities of the antennae itself.
“We discussed our plans with [the First Nation] and provided them with our final landscaping plans,” Bishop said. “Our upgrade is going to incorporate native plants, its not just going to be a big steel box. They’re doing something next door with their grave site, so we’re working on greenscaping together to make sure the two locations will blend.”
Though the station’s recording studio is located on the Lake Cowichan School grounds, in the former band room, CICV’s antenna and transmitter are located in the former ranger station on Wellington Road. The property, which at one point also served as the town’s ambulance station, is currently for sale.
In order to accommodate the stronger signal, CICV will also be changing frequency to 97.5 FM. The change is expected to take place later this month.
