CJAV-FM
CJAV (known on-air as "The Peak") is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting from Port Alberni, British Columbia at 93.3 FM and owned by Island Radio Ltd.
CJAV began operations on April 1 1946 at 1240 AM, using a 250 watt transmitter upon startup. The station, originally owned by Harold Warren, was the starting point for the careers for a number of broadcasters, including Jack Cullen (who later moved on to CKNW, then located in New Westminster), Joe Chesney (who went on to found Langley station CJJC [now CKST Vancouver] in 1963), George Cowie (later of CFUN Vancouver), Bob Switzer (later of Vancouver CBC television station CBUT), Philip Barter (who moved on to CHEK in Victoria and CHAN in Vancouver) and Jim Robson (who became the radio voice of the NHL's Vancouver Canucks on CKNW).
A year after CJAV signed on, Warren sold 50% of the station to CKNW founder Bill Rae, with Chuck Rudd and Ken Hutchinson later acting as station managers under Rae; by 1952, Warren sold his remaining ownership stake to Rudd and Hutchinson. By 1960, CJAV's operating power increased to 1000 watts in the daytime, remaining at 250 watts at night, and was on hand to cover the aftermath of the tsunami that affected Port Alberni on March 27 1964, following the earthquake that hit Anchorage, Alaska earlier that day.
CJAV, an affiliate of CBC Radio since sign-on in 1946, disaffiliated in 1984 when CBC established Port Alberni repeater station CBTQ-FM, originally a rebroadcaster of Vancouver station CBU (now rebroadcasting CBCV-FM in Victoria); on December 13 that year, CJAV increased its transmission power to 1000 watts day and night, and in early 1987, the station began broadcasting 24 hours a day, with overnight programming coming from the Toronto-based Satellite Radio Network.
On June 25 2004, CJAV was purchased by Central Island Broadcasting Ltd. (now Island Radio). On April 18 2005, Island Radio received approval from the CRTC to switch CJAV over to the FM band at 93.3 with operating power of 6000 watts; the switch took place on September 2, with simulcasting on its old 1240 AM frequency continuing until early December. On June 22, original CJAV owner Harold Warren died at age 90.