History of Nova Scotia
with special attention given to
Communications and Transportation

Chapter 23
1 January 1980 to 31 December 1989

1980 (this date has not been confirmed)

ATV Converts News-Gathering to All Video

The Atlantic Television Network became the first television news operation in Canada to switch completely from photographic film to video, for gathering news. Film had the major disadvantage that it required time, about an hour minimum, for developing and printing, before a shot could be broadcast. Video could be broadcast much more quickly — in fact, video could be broadcast live from news events if the signal could be transmitted to the studio.

1981

CNR Abandons
Liverpool to Yarmouth Main Line Railway
and Bridgewater to Bridgetown Branch

201 miles 323 km of track torn up

Canadian National Railway officially abandoned the former Halifax & South Western Railway's main line between Liverpool and Yarmouth — 130 miles 209 km. All track was abandoned, west of the switch for the spur to Steel & Engine Products manufacturing plant in downtown Liverpool. The stations along the abandoned track, westward from Liverpool (as given in a list published in 1915), were

Liverpool
Hunt's Point
Port Mouton
Wilkins
Sable River
Lockeport
East Jordan
Jordan Falls
Shelburne
Sand Point
Birchtown
Gunning Cove
Roseway
Greenwood
Port Saxon
Port Clyde
Barrington
Barrington Passage
Atwood Brook
Shag Harbour
Woods Harbour
Upper Woods Harbour
Lower East Pubnico
D'Entremont
East Pubnico
Pubnico
Lower Argyle
Central Argyle
Argyle
Belleville
Tusket
Pleasant Lake
Ferry Road
Arcadia
Yarmouth

Most of this track was at elevations less than 100 feet 30 metres above sea level, but Wilkins Station was at an elevation of 215.3 feet 65.6 metres (as measured to the top of the rail opposite the station order board), and the summit at mile 130.5 km 209.9 reached 337 feet 103 metres altitude. The last trains ran on this line west of Liverpool in the spring of 1982 — these were work trains carrying scrap metal (rails, tie plates, etc.) as the scrapping contractor worked his way eastward along the line. [ICS: In April 1982, I saw one of these trains stopped on the main line at Port Mouton while the scrapper's trucks hauled scrap rails to the train from locations immediately west of Port Mouton station.]

Also abandoned was all of the former Nova Scotia Central Railway's line northward, from the Bridgewater Junction switch 1.1 miles 1.8 km west of the Bridgewater station, (at the east end of the LaHave River bridge), to Middleton and Bridgetown — 71 miles 114 km. The stations along this line (as given in the 1915 list) were:

Northfield
Riversdale
New Germany
Cherryfield
Springfield
Ridgeroad
Dalhousie
Albany
Alpena
Nictaux
Middleton (junction with the Dominion Atlantic railway)
Upper Clarence
Elliott
Clarence
Bridgetown

(This branch line track, beyond Bridgetown to Upper Granville, Belleisle, Granville Centre, Granville Ferry, Bath, Karsdale, and Porter, to Port Wade, had been abandoned many years earlier.)

[These station lists are excerpted from Altitudes in the Dominion of Canada, second edition, 31 July 1915, by James White, Assistant to Sir Clifford Sifton, Chairman of the Commission of Conservation, Ottawa.]

1981

First Video Rental Store Opens

You could actually rent a full-length movie and watch it in your own home!

In 1981, Dave Tanner opened his Halifax Video shop on Quinpool Road, the first video rental business in metro Halifax. Tanner was a manager with the Bank of Commerce, and didn't want to be transferred out of Halifax, so he took a huge gamble and decided to go into business for himself. But what business? A neighbour pointed out an article in a business magazine that predicted videos were going to be big. "What the heck? We'll give it a shot," says Tanner.

With hindsight we know it was a good bet, but at the time only about 1,000 households in Nova Scotia had a VCR — only one store sold them, Panasonic in Amherst, and the clunky, heavy machines sold for more than $1,500 each. Tanner was constantly going to the bus station to send out rentals to customers, who were scattered from Sydney to Yarmouth. Customers paid $12 for each rental video, and a $100 annual membership fee. By the standards of the late 1990s this seems steep, but in the early 1980s the notion that you could actually rent a full-length movie and watch it in your own home was amazing.

Now (June 1999) Tanner has decided to retire. He is selling his 4,500 videos for $8.69 each until July 1st, and $5.00 thereafter. The store, which is now located on Chebucto Road near the Armdale Rotary, will close on July 31st, 1999, or sooner if all the videos are sold.

[Excerpted from the Sunday Daily News, 20 June 1999]

VCR — Video Cassette Recorder (used to play back video tapes)
In the 1980s and 1990s, all home video was analog, not digital.

1981 January 23

CNR Liverpool Station Closed Permanently

This was the last day that the Canadian National Railways station at Liverpool, Queens County, was operated by railway staff.

1981 April

Atlantic Satellite Network

The CRTC approved a licence for ASN — the Atlantic Satellite Network. ASN's mandate was to provide an educational and news/entertainment format to some of Canada's under-served areas. The footprint (the geographical area in which a useable signal is available, of signals transmitted from a geostationary satellite) of the ASN signal reaches from Maine to the Eastern Arctic. ATV (Atlantic Television Network) and ASN broadcast from the same facility located in the CJCH-TV building on Robie Street in Halifax, the same building in which CJCH radio started.

1981 November 15

VIA Rail Extends Halifax - Saint John Passenger Train
to Fredericton

On this day, VIA extended its passenger train service Halifax - Moncton - Saint John, to run Halifax - Moncton - Saint John - Fredericton. These trains were operated with RDCs (Rail Diesel Cars, often known as Budd cars) and ran once a day each way. Between Halifax and Saint John they ran on CN track, and were shown in the CN timetable as trains 615 and 616. Between Saint John and Fredericton they ran on CP track, and were shown in the CP timetable as trains 157 and 158.

Halifax - Fredericton
VIA Passenger Train Schedule
Effective 15 November 1981
All times Atlantic Standard

CNR 615 Daily Read Down				CNR 616 Daily Read Up
0940	Dp	Halifax	Ar	2250
1105	Ar	Truro	Dp	2120
1115	Dp	Truro	Ar	2100
1245		Amherst		1922
1259		Sackville		1908
1355	Ar	Moncton	Dp	1820
	Dp	Moncton	Ar
1500		Sussex		1702
1600	Ar	Saint John	Dp	1610
1610	Dp	Saint John	Ar	1600
1710	Ar	Fredericton Junction	Dp	1500
1715	Dp	Fredericton Junction	Ar	1455
1755	Ar	Fredericton	Dp	1415
CPR 157 Daily Read Down				CPR 158 Daily Read Up

"Ar" means Arrival Time
"Dp" means Departure Time

Sources:
[CN Rail Atlantic Region Employees' Timetable No. 82,
effective Sunday, November 15th, 1981]
[CP Rail Atlantic Region Employees' Timetable No. 13,
effective Sunday, November 15th, 1981]
[Volume 37 Number 3, dated March 1998, of Branchline, the monthly newsletter of The Bytown Railway Society, Ottawa]

15 November 1981 was the same day that VIA Rail cancelled The Atlantic, a daily passenger train running between Montreal and Saint John. When The Atlantic was restored in 1985, trains 157 and 158 were cancelled, but trains 615 and 616 continued to operate between Halifax and Saint John.

1981 November 24

Food Stores Go Metric

On this day, the Metric Commission of Canada, an agency of the federal government, issued an order requiring full conversion to the metric system of measures in Canada's 35,000 food stores. This meant, among other things, that store scales used for weighing meat and other foods, would no longer display pounds and ounces.
[The National Post, 24 November 2000]

1981 December 29

EPA Plane Collides with Terminal Building at Sydney

On this day, a Hawker Siddeley HS-748-239 operated by Eastern Provincial Airways was damaged at Sydney, Nova Scotia, with 18 people on board, 15 passengers and 3 crew. No fatalities. While taxiing after landing, the nosegear steering failed, as did the brakes. Though the crew shut down the engines, the aircraft collided with the terminal building.
Source: Aviation Safety Network website at http://aviation-safety.net/
and http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/9575/1981.htm#811229-0
and http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/9575/c.htm

1982 September 15

Computer Systems Coming for Doctors

"Doctors in some parts of the United States — and eventually in Canada — will be offered a computer system chock-full of medical data, right from a desk-top terminal."
[Front page, The Globe and Mail, 15 September 1982]

1982 December 12

Bridgewater Railway Station Destroyed by Fire

For years the Bridgewater station stood deserted, dirty and vandalized, just a ghost of its former grandness and elegance. The once beautiful building that graced the town became an ugly eyesore. Some residents believed the historical building should have been turned into a museum, library or restaurant to preserve a part of Bridgewater's history, others wanted it destroyed. Before a decision could be made, a fire ravaged the old station on December 12, 1982.
[The Bridgewater Bulletin, 10 February 1999]

1983 January

Radio & Television Stations in Operation

This is a complete list of all "commercial" radio and television stations in operation in Nova Scotia at this time, broadcasting "on air" (as distinct from stations carried on cable systems). All of these transmissions were analog, this being two decades before the conversion to digital radio and television. The top table lists the AM (amplitude modulation) radio stations, the next table lists the FM (frequency modulation) radio stations, and the bottom table lists the television stations.

The top table lists the AM (amplitude modulation) "commercial broadcast" radio stations (defined as those operating with a carrier frequency in the range 540 kHz to 1600 kHz, which was the legal tuning range of ordinary radio receivers used in homes and automobiles). CHFX, the only remaining shortwave (high frequency) station, is included. The third column FREQ is the transmitter carrier frequency in kHz (kilohertz) — the carrier frequency is the number shown on the tuning dial of AM radio receivers. The fourth column POWER is the transmitter power in watts.

AM Radio Stations

CALL LETTERS	LOCATION	FREQ kHz	POWER watts
CBH	Halifax	860	10,000
CBI	Sydney	1140	10,000
CFAB	Windsor	1450	1,000
CFDR	Dartmouth	680	50,000
CHER	Sydney	950	10,000
CHNS	Halifax	960	10,000
CHNX	Halifax	6130
CIGO	Port Hawkesbury	1410	10,000
CJCB	Sydney	1270	10,000
CJCH	Halifax	920	25,000
CJFX	Antigonish	580	10,000
CJLS	Yarmouth	1340	5,000
CKAD	Middleton	1350	1,000
CKBW	Bridgewater	1000	10,000
CKCL	Truro	600	10,000
CKDH	Amherst	900	1,000
CKDY	Digby	1420	1,000
CKEC	New Glasgow	1320	5,000
CKEN	Kentville	1490	1,000

The next table lists the FM (frequency modulation) radio stations, including satellite transmitters, in operation at this time. The third column FREQ is the transmitter carrier frequency in MHz (megahertz) — this carrier frequency is the number shown on the tuning dial of FM receivers.
FM Radio Stations
including satellite transmitters

CALL LETTERS	LOCATION	FREQ MHz
CBH-FM	Halifax	102.7
CBH-FM satellite	Middleton	93.3
CBAF-FM	Halifax	90.5
CBI-FM	Sydney	105.9
CBIF-FM	Sydney	95.9
CHFX-FM	Halifax	101.9
CIOO-FM	Halifax	100.1
CKBW-FM	Liverpool	94.5
CKBW-FM	Shelburne	93.1
CKPE-FM	Sydney	94.5
CKTO-FM	Truro	100.9
CKWM-FM	Kentville	97.7

The next table lists the television stations, including satellite transmitters, in operation at this time. The third column CH is the channel.
Television Stations
including satellite transmitters

CALL LETTERS	LOCATION	CH
CBHT	Halifax	3
CBHFT	Halifax (French)	32
CBHFT	Sydney (French)	13
CBIT	Sydney	5
CJCB-TV	Sydney	4
CJCB-TV-1	Inverness	6
CJCB-TV-2	Antigonish	9
CJCB-TV-3	Dingwall	9
CJCB-TV-4	New Glasgow	2
CJCB-TV-5	Bay St. Lawrence	7
CJCB-TV-6	Port Hawkesbury	3
CJCH-TV	Halifax	5
CJCH-TV-1	Canning	10
CJCH-TV-2	Truro	12
CJCH-TV-3	Valley	12
CJCH-TV-6	West Caledonia	6
CJCH-TV-7	Yarmouth	40

Note: A "satellite transmitter" has nothing to do with satellites orbiting around the Earth. In this context, a "satellite transmitter" is simply a rebroadcasting transmitter located some distance away from the main transmitter and carrying the same signal as the main transmitter. The satellite or rebroadcasting transmitter receives its incoming signal by terrestrial means, such as microwave or coaxial cable or optical fibre.

1983 March 2

Compact Disc Introduced

On this day, Phillips and Sony introduced their jointly-developed compact disc system for recording music. The CD, a thin disc 12 cm in diameter, is a digital medium in which sound waves are recorded as a series of binary numbers, representing a series of samples of the amplitude of the sound waves. When the numbers are read from the CD, they can be interpreted as sounds by producing an electrical signal whose voltage corresponds, moment by moment, to the numbers. The electrical signal then is converted to sound by an ordinary loudspeaker. In 1983 the dominant music storage medium was the LP vinyl record, which records sound as an analog wave physically cut into the vinyl surface. Within ten years the vinyl record practically disappeared, killed off by the CD in the same way the 33.3 rpm LP killed off the 78 rpm shellac record in the 1950s.

CD: Compact Disc
LP: Long Play

1983 March 8

DOS 2.0 Released

On this day, IBM released PC DOS version 2.0
[The National Post, 8 March 2000]

PC: Personal Computer
DOS: Disk Operating System
IBM: International Business Machines Inc.

1983 August 29

Eastern Cablevision Limited

CRTC Decision 83-726
29 August 1983

Parrsboro
Nova Scotia

CRTC Decision 83-726 dated 29 August 1983, approved an application by Eastern Cablevision Limited to add the carriage of the signals of WJBK-TV (CBS) and WTVS (PBS), Detroit, Michigan, to be received via satellite from Canadian Satellite Communications Inc. (CANCOM), on its cable television system serving Parrsboro. The company had proposed to increase the maximum monthly subscriber fee from $15.00 to $17.00 to cover the costs of providing the above-noted services. On 29 August 1983 the CRTC (the Commission) authorized an increase in this fee to $16.52, and deferred a decision on the remaining portion (48¢) of the proposed increase. On 6 February 1984, the Commission's Decision 84-61 denied the remaining portion (48¢) of the proposed increase.

1983 August 29

Central Cable Television Limited

CRTC Decision 83-738
29 August 1983

Amherst
Nova Scotia

CRTC Decision 83-738 dated 29 August 1983, approved an application by Central Cable Television Limited to add the carriage of the signals of WJBK-TV (CBS) and WTVS (PBS) Detroit, to be received via satellite from CANCOM, on its cable television system serving Amherst, in Cumberland County. The company had proposed to increase the maximum monthly subscriber fee from $10.75 to $11.75 to cover the costs of providing the above-noted services. On 29 August 1983 the Commission authorized an increase in this fee to $11.69, and deferred a decision on the remaining portion (6¢) of the proposed increase. On 6 February 1984, the Commission's Decision 84-63 approved the remaining portion (6¢) of the proposed increase, that is an additional increase in the maximum monthly fee from $11.69 to $11.75, with the condition that this increase could only be charged at such time as all of the authorized CANCOM signals were available to subscribers.

1983 August 29

Central Cable Television Limited
Gets Approval to Receive Signals
from Geosynchronous Satellite

CRTC Decision 83-739
29 August 1983

Lunenburg, Bridgewater, Dayspring, Rhodes Corner,
Upper LaHave, West LaHave, Blockhouse,
Clearland, Chester and Mahone Bay
Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia

CRTC Decision 83-739 dated 29 August 1983, approved the application by Central Cable Television Limited to add the carriage of the signals of WJBK-TV (CBS) and WTVS (PBS) Detroit, to be received via satellite from CANCOM, to its cable television system serving Lunenburg, Bridgewater, Dayspring, Rhodes Corner, Upper LaHave, West LaHave, Blockhouse, Clearland, Chester and Mahone Bay, all in Lunenburg County. The company had proposed to increase the maximum monthly subscriber fee from $10.75 to $11.75 to cover the costs of providing the above-noted services. On 29 August 1983, the Commission authorized an increase in this fee to $11.55, and deferred a decision on the remaining portion (20¢) of the proposed increase. On 6 February 1984, the Commission's Decision 84-69 denied the remaining portion (20¢) of the proposed increase.

1983 August 29

Cape Breton Cablevision Limited
Gets Approval to Receive Signals
from Geosynchronous Satellite

CRTC Decision 83-740
29 August 1983

Sydney
Nova Scotia

CRTC Decision 83-740 dated 29 August 1983, approved the application by Cape Breton Cablevision Limited to add the carriage of the signals of WJBK-TV (CBS) and WTVS (PBS) Detroit, to be received via satellite from CANCOM, on its cable television system serving Sydney and surrounding area. The company had proposed to increase the maximum monthly subscriber fee from $10.00 to $11.00 to cover the costs of providing the above-noted services. On 29 August 1983 the Commission authorized an increase in this fee to $10.60, and deferred a decision on the remaining portion (40¢) of the proposed increase. On 6 February 1984, the Commission's Decision 84-67 denied the remaining portion (40¢) of the proposed increase.

1983 August 29

Seaside Cable T.V. Limited
Gets Approval to Receive Signals
from Geosynchronous Satellite

CRTC Decision 83-741
29 August 1983

Glace Bay
Nova Scotia

CRTC Decision 83-741 dated 29 August 1983, approved the application by Seaside Cable T.V. Limited to add the carriage of the signals of WJBK-TV (CBS) and WTVS (PBS) Detroit, Michigan, to be received via satellite from CANCOM, on its cable television system serving Glace Bay and surrounding area, in Cape Breton County. The company had proposed to increase the maximum monthly subscriber fee from $10.00 to $11.00 to cover the costs of providing the above-noted services. On 29 August 1983, the Commission authorized an increase in this fee to $10.64, and deferred a decision on the remaining portion (36¢) of the proposed increase. On 6 February 1984, the Commission's Decision 84-68 denied the remaining portion (36¢) of the proposed increase.

1983 November 10

Microsoft Releases First Windows

On this day, Microsoft Inc. released Windows, an extension of its MS-DOS (MicroSoft Disc Operating System). The company scored a coup, Dow-Jones said at the time, in announcing a product that could fundamentally alter the way people use desktop computers.
[A Window on the Past, in The Globe and Mail, 10 November 1999]

The History of CP/M

The CP/M operating system so popular today (late 1983) has its roots in the very genesis of microcomputing. The designer of CP/M, Gary Kildall, in the early 1970s was a software consultant for Intel, one of the first manufacturers of integrated circuits, and the inventor of the first "microcomputer on a chip," the 8088. Kildall's everyday job was as a computer science professor at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. Gary's two jobs put him in a unique position to observe and tinker with the fledgling microcomputer industry.

Gary began collecting the pieces that, by 1973, formed a home grown microcomputer system. The main processor (the brains of the computer) and its memory were integrated circuits from Intel; the disk drive was a recycled test drive from Shugart; the input and output console consisted of a teletype machine. Needing something to tie these components together into something that could be used, Kildall wrote a simple "operating system" in his then-favourite language, PL/M. The result he called CP/M for Control Program/Monitor. That was the beginning of CP/M.

The original CP/M that Kildall wrote — and his wife, Dorothy McEwen, marketed for him through their jointly-owned company, Digital Research — was called CP/M version 1.3. In the late 1970s Kildall rewrote it, tightened up some of the code and reworked some of the utility programs that came with it; this became CP/M version 1.4. Digital Research concentrated on selling CP/M mainly to manufacturers and distributors, rather than to users. Thus, a small sales effort on the part of Digital Research often meant large numbers of users. Probably the best example of this was when Microsoft introduced the Z80 SoftCard with CP/M 2.2 for the Apple II computer. Within months, tens of thousands of new CP/M-80 users were added. (Here, we are using CP/M-80 to mean CP/M versions 1.4 and 2.2.)

During the period 1979 to 1981, CP/M became self-perpetuating. Its popularity attracted software companies which wrote software, which in turn attracted more users, who then attracted more manufacturers. This self-reinforcing growth pattern accelerated very rapidly, with CP/M-80 going from about 300,000 users in 1979 to almost 1,500,000 in early 1983. 1981 was the watershed year for CP/M. With the introduction of new microcomputers by computer giants like IBM, Hewlett-Packard, and Xerox, all of which were offered with the CP/M operating system either standard or as an option, the number of users of CP/M increased rapidly. But hardware was also developing rapidly. CP/M was originally designed to work on an 8080-based microcomputer, but by 1981 the 8080 had been obsoleted by the Z80, which was faster and had a larger instruction set.

After 1981 the pace of development of CP/M became furious, and several development paths appeared as various versions of CP/M were adopted and modified by various manufacturers and developers. The first 16-bit central processor to become available in systems was the 8086 and its cousin the 8088. Digital Research tried to come out with a CP/M-86, but was beaten to the punch by Seattle Computer Products, which began selling a CP/M-like operating system they first called 86-DOS. 86-DOS was patterned after CP/M 1.4 with one very important difference: the disk format was changed and the structure of information stored on the disk was entirely different.

In early 1983, Digital Research continued to improve on the original version and to expand CP/M to other central processors. Versions of CP/M for 68000 CPUs, Z8000 CPUs, and 16000 CPUs (Called CP/M-68K, CP/M-Z8K, and CP/MN-16K respectively) are now (autumn 1983) available.

86-DOS went on to become Microsoft DOS, then IBM PCDOS, and is now (autumn 1983) generally referred to as MSDOS. Recently, there has been talk of the imminent demise of CP/M, due to IBM's adoption of MSDOS as their standard operating system...

[Excerpted from "From Backyard to Big Time: The History of CP/M," pages 206-210 in Creative Computing magazine, November 1983.]

1984 January 9

Strait of Canso Cable T.V. Limited
Gets Approval to Receive Signals
from Geosynchronous Satellite

Rate Set at $12.80 per Month

CRTC Decision 84-5
9 January 1984

Port Hawkesbury, Point Tupper, Port Hastings,
Mulgrave and Troy Trailer Court
Nova Scotia

CRTC Decision 84-5 approved the application by Strait of Canso Cable T.V. Limited, to add the carriage of the signals of WJBK-TV (CBS) and WTVS (PBS), Detroit, Michigan on its cable television system serving Port Hawkesbury, Point Tupper, Port Hastings, on the east side of the Strait of Canso, and Mulgrave and Troy Trailer Court, on the west side of the Strait of Canso. These signals were to be received via satellite from CANCOM. The Commission also approved an increase in the maximum monthly subscriber fee from $11.60 to $12.80. The $1.20 fee increase could only be charged to subscribers at such time as the WJBK-TV (CBS) and WTVS (PBS) signals were available to them. The Commission acknowledged the interventions submitted by the CTV Television Network Ltd. and Atlantic Television Limited raising their concerns regarding the importation by Canadian satellite of distant U.S. signals.

Source:
CRTC Decision 84-5
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1984/DB84-5.htm

1984 January 11

Television Broadcast License Renewals

CRTC Decision 84-9 renewed the broadcasting licences for the following television stations (including satellite retransmitters), from 1 October 1984 to 30 September 1985:

Antigonish CJCB-TV-2
Goshen CBHT-13
North East Margaree CBIT-6
Aspen CBHT-14
Halifax CBHT
Pleasant Bay CBIT-3
Bay St. Lawrence CBIT-17
Halifax CJCH-TV
Port Hawkesbury CJCB-TV-6
Bay St. Lawrence CJCB-5
Ingonish CBIT-15
Sheet Harbour CBHT-4
Blue Mountain CBHT-18
Inverness CBIT-19
Shelburne CBHT-2
Bridgetown CJCH-TV-4
Inverness CJCB-TV-1
Sherbrooke CBHT-16
Caledonia CJCH-TV-6
Liverpool CBHT-1
Sunnybrae CBHT-17
Canning CJCH-TV-1
Lochaber CBHT-12
Sydney CBIT
ChetiCamp CBIT-2
Mabou CBIT-4
Sydney CJCB-TV
Country Harbour CBHT-15
Margaree CBIT-5
Truro CBHT-8
Digby CBHT-7
Middleton CBHT-6
Truro CJCH-TV-2
Dingwall CBIT-16
Mulgrave CBHT-11
Valley CJCH-TV-3
Dingwall CJCB-TV-3
New Glasgow CBHT-5
Whycocomagh CBIT-18
Garden of Eden CBHT-19
New Glasgow CJCB-TV-4
Yarmouth CBHT-3
Yarmouth CJCH-TV-7.

The above is an excerpt only. The complete decision is available at
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1984/DB84-9.htm

Source:
CRTC Decision 84-9
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1984/DB84-9.htm

1984 January 11

FM Radio Broadcast License Renewals

CRTC Decision 84-10 renewed the broadcasting licences for the following FM radio stations:

From 1 October 1984 to 30 September 1985
Halifax CHFX-FM
Halifax CIOO-FM

from 1 April 1984 to 30 September 1985
Kentville CKWM-FM
Sydney CKPE-FM
Truro CKTO-FM

The above is an excerpt only. The complete decision is available at
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1984/DB84-10.htm

Source:
CRTC Decision 84-10
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1984/DB84-10.htm

1984 January 12

Cross Country T.V. Limited
Gets Approval to Receive Signals
from Geosynchronous Satellite

Rate Increased to $15.68 per Month

CRTC Decision 84-12
12 January 1984

Canning
and surrounding area
Nova Scotia

CRTC Decision 84-12 approved the application by Cross Country T.V. Limited serving Canning and surrounding area, in Kings County, to add the reception and distribution, in scrambled form, of the signals of WJBK-TV (CBS) and WDIV (NBC) Detroit, Michigan using two low-power television transmitters on channels 24 and 35 with a power of 16 watts each. These signals were to be received from Canadian Satellite Communications Inc. (CANCOM).

This system was previously authorized for the carriage of four Canadian television services via CANCOM and two Canadian discretionary pay television services as well as some community programming. The Commission also approved the deletion of The Star Channel Services Limited (Star Channel). The company had originally applied to delete the service of First Choice Canadian Communications Corporation (English-language) but, because of the temporary suspension of Star Channel's operations, it subsequently amended its application. [Star Channel never resumed operation.] The Commission approved an increase in the maximum monthly subscriber fee from $14.00 to $15.68. The $1.68 fee increase could only be charged to subscribers at such time as all of the above-noted services were available to them. The Commission also approved an increase in the maximum installation fee (refundable deposit for the decoder) from $30.00 to $50.00.

The above is an excerpt only. The complete decision is available at
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1984/DB84-12.htm

Source:
CRTC website
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1984/DB84-12.htm

1984 January 24

Macintosh Computer Goes on Sale

"A hardware and software breakthrough"
"The most promising computer introduced in the 1980s"

On this day, Apple Computer Incorporated introduced the new Macintosh computer. Creative Computing, (which fairly accurately billed itself as "the number one magazine of computer applications and software") in a ten-page review of the new Macintosh: "Without a doubt, a hardware and software breakthrough." The Macintosh came with 128 kilobytes of RAM and 64 kilobytes of ROM. The CPU was the Motorola 68000 32-bit microprocessor, running at 7.8 MHz "which is fast indeed".

The monitor screen size was 9 inches 23 cm measured diagonally; monochromactic – black (green?) and white – only. The display was 512 × 342 pixels. The Macintosh came with a mouse — which then was a device unfamiliar to most people. The reviewer took five paragraphs to describe the mouse and how it was used: "The mouse has a mechanical device with a rolling ball inside it...to measure relative movement. Once you learn to lift the mouse when you run out of desk space and reposition it so that you have the room you need, you have learned the major secret of effective mousing."

The Macintosh came with one single-sided 3.5 inch 8.9 cm floppy disk drive made by Sony; the floppy disks had a capacity of 400 kilobytes each — "Apple uses a proprietary technology to get 400k onto a side, nearly 100k more than the conventional Sony format."

The floppy drive speed varied from 390 to 600 rpm, depending on the track being used, with faster rotation for outside tracks (this was the way the extra capacity was obtained). There was no hard drive.

System software supplied in ROM included Group Code Recording disk operating system and QuickDraw graphics package. There were "two existing pieces of truly finished applications software currently available for the Macintosh, MacPaint and MacWrite." MacPaint was the "most powerful monochrome graphics system ever offered on a microcomputer...As a graphics aid MacPaint is a serious tool, and as a toy, it is exquisite."

But MacWrite "has no spell-checking, merge, or hyphenation capability ... in its current form is too limited to be of real use to anyone who does a lot of writing." The reviewer complained that "the Macintosh does not have enough RAM memory. To those of us used to 48k and 64k machines, 128k may sound like plenty" but in fact was inadequate. The price in the United States was $2495 for the Macintosh without a printer.

[Pages 12-25, Creative Computing magazine, volume 10 number 7, July 1984]

High-speed modems for Apple computers

A full-page colour advertisement by Hayes Microcomputer Products Inc., offered "a complete plug-in communications system for Apple computers," including the Apple II, IIe, II Plus, and Apple III. "With Micromodem IIe and software Smartcom I, you can access data bases, bulletin boards, and the varied resources of information services. Plan your travel itinerary via computer, including flight numbers, hotel and rental car reservations. Retrieve and analyze daily stock and options prices. Work at home and send reports to your office. You can even do gift shopping by computer..." The Micromodem IIe allows your computer to communicate "over ordinary telephone lines, at 110 or 300 bits per second."
[Page 118, Creative Computing, July 1984]

1984 February 6

Central Cable Television Limited

Rate Set at $11.55 per Month

CRTC Decision 84-69
6 February 1984

Lunenburg, Bridgewater, Dayspring, Rhodes Corner,
Upper LaHave, West LaHave, Blockhouse,
Clearland, Mahone Bay and Chester
Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia

In Decision CRTC 83-739 the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission announced that it approved an application to add the carriage of the signals of WJBK-TV (CBS) and WTVS (PBS) Detroit, to be received via satellite from the Canadian Satellite Communications Inc. (CANCOM) network, on the broadcasting receiving undertaking — Central Cable Television Limited — serving the communities noted above.

The licensee had also proposed to increase the maximum monthly subscriber fee from $10.75 to $11.75 to cover the costs of providing the above-noted services. The Commission authorized an increase in this fee to $11.55 which it considered was justified based on the guidelines for rate increases associated with the addition of the CANCOM "3+1" U.S. signals, set out in Public Notice CRTC 1983-109. Further, in line with such notice, the Commission deferred its decision on the remaining portion ($0.20) of the proposed increase until it had assessed this additional amount.

Based on the financial information submitted by the licensee, the Commission has determined that the $0.20 increase is not justified based on the costs to be incurred for the provision of the CANCOM services, and it is, accordingly, denied.

The above is an excerpt only. The complete decision is available at
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1984/DB84-69.htm

Source:
CRTC Decision 84-69
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1984/DB84-69.htm

1984 February 13

Sale of Halifax Cablevision Limited Derailed

CRTC Decision 84-104
13 February 1984

Halifax
and surrounding area
Nova Scotia

Following a Public Hearing in Hull, Quebec on 15 November 1983, the CRTC released its Decision 84-104 dated 13 February 1984, in which it denied the application for authority to transfer effective control of Halifax Cablevision Limited (Halifax Cablevision), licensee of the cable television system serving Halifax and surrounding areas, through the transfer of 2,750 common and 2,750 preferred shares (55%), from Senator A. Irvine Barrow (2,250 common and 2,250 preferred shares), J. Keith Lawton (250 common and 250 preferred shares) and Donald D. Anderson (250 common and 250 preferred shares), to Eastern Cablevision Limited (1,375 common and 1,375 preferred shares) and to John L. Bragg on behalf of a company to have been incorporated (1,375 common and 1,375 preferred shares).

The shares to have been held by the company to have been incorporated by Mr. John L. Bragg, and those to have been held by Eastern Cablevision Limited, were to have been voted as a control block as stated in a letter of intent submitted by the intended purchasers.

Eastern Cablevision Limited was owned 97% by Eastern Services Limited, which company, in turn, was owned 50% by Stuart P. Rath, President and General Manager of Eastern Cablevision Limited, the cable television licensee serving Truro and Parrsboro, Nova Scotia.

The company to have been incorporated by Mr. John L. Bragg was to have been indirectly controlled by John L. Bragg and R. Douglas Bragg. John L. Bragg and R. Douglas Bragg each owned 50% of the following cable television licensees:

Central Cable Television Limited, serving Amherst, Lunenburg and Bridgewater, Nova Scotia;
Springhill Cable TV Limited, serving Springhill, Nova Scotia;
Sackville Cable TV Limited, serving Sackville, New Brunswick;
Antigonish Cablevision Limited, serving Antigonish, Nova Scotia and
MidValley Cablevision Limited, serving Kingston, Nova Scotia.

The Bragg-Rath interests as set out above represented a significant cable television group in the Atlantic Region, particularly in Nova Scotia. This group then served 15% of all cable subscribers in Nova Scotia and the addition of Halifax Cablevision, Nova Scotia's largest system, would have increased that to 44%.

At the public hearing, the purchasers claimed that certain benefits would accrue as a result of the proposed transaction. These included leadership by Halifax Cablevision in the cable television industry in Nova Scotia, particularly in the areas of marketing and research, upgrading of the channel capacity of Halifax Cablevision from 27 to 35 channels and cost-sharing in terms of marketing, technical equipment and personnel development.

Having considered the existing financial and human resources of Halifax Cablevision, the CRTC considered that these benefits, particularly those relating to leadership, marketing and research, could be and should be substantially realized by Halifax Cablevision without the proposed transaction taking place.

With respect to the proposed purchasers' endorsement of the upgrading of the Halifax system by expanding its channel capacity from 27 to 35 channels, the CRTC noted that such upgrading was initiated by the licensee in 1982 and that it was expected to be completed by September of 1984.

The above is an excerpt only. The complete decision is available at
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1984/DB84-104.htm

Source:
CRTC Decision 84-104
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1984/DB84-104.htm

1984 April 18

Able Cablevision Limited

Rate Increased to $13.50 per Month

CRTC Decision 84-367
18 April 1984

Liverpool, Moose Harbour, Mersey Point, Brooklyn,
Milton, Port Mouton and Port Medway
Queens County, Nova Scotia

Pursuant to Public Notice CRTC 1983-278 dated 15 December 1983, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission approves the application to amend the licence for the broadcasting receiving undertaking — Able Cablevision Limited — serving the communities noted above by increasing the maximum monthly subscriber fee from $12.75 to $13.50 for the communities of Liverpool, Moose Harbour, Mersey Point, Brooklyn and Milton only. The currently authorized maximum monthly fee for Port Mouton and Port Medway will remain unchanged at $16.50. The Commission considers that this increase is justified on economic grounds and will enable the licensee to maintain the level of service currently provided to subscribers.

The above is an excerpt only. The complete decision is available at
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1984/DB84-367.htm

Source:
CRTC Decision 84-367
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1984/DB84-367.htm

1984 June 29

Kings Kable Limited
Gets Approval to Receive Signals
from Geosynchronous Satellite

Rate Increased to $9.88 per Month

CRTC Decision 84-529
29 June 1984

Wolfville, Kentville, Port Williams, Greenwich,
Aldershot, Steam Mill Village and Centreville,
Gaspereau, New Minas, Casey's Corner
Nova Scotia

CRTC Decision 84-529 approved the application by Kings Kable Limited, to add the carriage of the signal of WJBK-TV (CBS) Detroit, Michigan on the cable television system serving the above-named communities, all in Kings County, Nova Scotia. This signal was to be received via satellite from CANCOM. The Commission also approved an increase in the maximum monthly subscriber fee from $9.50 to $9.88. The 38¢ per month fee increase could only be charged to subscribers at such time as the WJBK-TV service became available to them.

The above is an excerpt only. The complete decision is available at
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1984/DB84-529.htm

Source:
CRTC Decision 84-529
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1984/DB84-529.htm

1984 July 10

Baddeck Cable T.V. Company Limited
Gets Approval to Build and Operate a Cable TV System

CRTC Decision 84-559
10 July 1984

Baddeck
Nova Scotia

CRTC Decision 84-559 approved an application by Bradwell Jeffery, representing a company to be incorporated, to build and operate a cable television system to serve Baddeck and vicinity, by distributing the signals of Canadian Satellite Communications Inc. (CANCOM) and other broadcasting services. In addition to the priority services required to be carried by regulation, the Commission approved the carriage of the following optional services: CITV-TV Edmonton; CHCH-TV Hamilton; TCTV Montreal; and WJBK-TV (CBS), WTVS (PBS) and WDIV (NBC) Detroit, Michigan, to be received via satellite from CANCOM. The Commission approved the proposed maximum monthly subscriber fee of $18.50 and a maximum installation fee of $49.95.

[This system was built and operated by Baddeck Cable T.V. Company Limited.]

The above is an excerpt only. The complete decision is available at
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1984/DB84-559.htm

Source:
CRTC Decision 84-559
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1984/DB84-559.htm

1984 October 16

Halifax Cablevision Limited

Rate Increased to $8.35 per Month

CRTC Decision 84-890
16 October 1984

Halifax
and surrounding area
Nova Scotia

Pursuant to Public Notice CRTC 1984-192 dated 26 July 1984, the Commission approves the application to amend the licence for the broadcasting receiving undertaking — Halifax Cablevision Limited — serving Halifax and surrounding areas by increasing the maximum monthly subscriber fee from $8.05 to $8.35. In assessing the proposed fee increase, the Commission has taken into consideration the intervention submitted by Mr. David C. Robbins of Halifax and the licensee's reply thereto, and is satisfied that the fee increase is justified on the basis of the Commission's current criteria for rate regulation.

The above is an excerpt only. The complete decision is available at
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1984/DB84-890.htm

Source:
CRTC Decision 84-890
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1984/DB84-890.htm

1984 November 1

Central Cable Television Limited

Rate Increased to $11.98 per Month

CRTC Decision 84-931
1 November 1984

Lunenburg, Bridgewater, Dayspring, Rhodes Corner,
Upper LaHave, West LaHave, Blockhouse
Clearland, Mahone Bay and Chester
Nova Scotia

CRTC Decision 84-931 approved an increase in the maximum monthly subscriber fee from $11.55 to $11.98, for Central Cable Television Limited, serving the above-named communities, all in Lunenburg County.

The above is an excerpt only. The complete decision is available at
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1984/DB84-931.htm

Source:
CRTC Decision 84-931
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1984/DB84-931.htm

1984 December 7

Sale of Halifax Cablevision Limited Approved

Bragg-Rath interests now the largest cable television
ownership group in Atlantic Canada

CRTC Decision 84-1015
7 December 1984

Halifax
and surrounding area
Nova Scotia

Following a Public Hearing in Halifax on 30 October 1984, the Commission approves the application for authority to transfer effective control of Halifax Cablevision Limited through the transfer of shares representing 55% of the voting shares from Senator A. Irvine Barrow (45%), J. Keith Lawton (5%) and Donald D. Anderson (5%) to Eastern Cablevision Limited (20%) and John L. Bragg representing a company to be incorporated (35%). The remaining shares, representing 45% of the total vote, will continue to be held by Dartmouth Cable TV Limited, which is the licensee of the cable undertaking serving the area adjacent to the Halifax system.

Effective control of Halifax Cablevision Limited will be exercised jointly by the purchasers in accordance with the provisions of a voting trust agreement whereby the purchased shares will be voted as a single block by a voting trustee.

Eastern Cablevision Limited is the licensee of cable television systems serving Truro and Parrsboro, Nova Scotia, and is indirectly owned 50% by Stuart P. Rath of Truro. Effective control of the other new shareholder in Halifax Cablevision Limited, a company to be incorporated by John. L. Bragg, will reside with himself and his brother R. Douglas Bragg, both residents of Nova Scotia. The Braggs hold direct or indirect control of five cable television systems in Nova Scotia and one in New Brunswick.

Combined, the Bragg and Rath cable systems serve approximately 15% of the cable subscribers in Nova Scotia, while the Halifax system serves approximately 29% of all subscribers in that province. The transaction herein approved will establish the Bragg-Rath interests as the largest cable television ownership group in Atlantic Canada.

Responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the Halifax system will be assumed by Mr. Rath who will establish a residence in Halifax. He will also serve on the applicant's new seven-member Board of Directors, the majority of whom will be Halifax residents. The Board will also include two nominees of Dartmouth Cable TV Limited, the minority shareholder of Halifax Cablevision Limited. At the October hearing, the applicant undertook to extend full cooperation and access to information to the Dartmouth licensee: "They would have the same rights that any director would have, and any minority shareholder, and we would expect to be fully cooperative." The Commission encourages the licensee to pursue this approach with a view to fostering a positive and mutually beneficial association with Dartmouth Cable TV Limited.

As in other applications involving proposed transfers of ownership and control of comparable importance, the onus is on the applicant to demonstrate that the transfer will not affect the ability of the licensee to maintain existing broadcasting services; that it will benefit the subscribers and the communities concerned; and that it is in the public interest. It was essentially on the basis that the licensee had not satisfied these basic criteria that the Commission recently denied a previous application to transfer effective control of Halifax Cablevision Limited to the Bragg-Rath group (Decision CRTC 84-104 dated 13 February 1984)...

At the hearing, Mr. John L. Bragg was questioned regarding the technical quality of the smaller systems which he and his brother own, and the steps taken to respond to concerns expressed in the February 1984 decision. The Amherst undertaking is the oldest of those operated by the Braggs and was the one most in need of repair. Mr. Bragg informed the Commission that a total rebuild of the system will soon be completed at a cost in excess of $400,000. Mr. Bragg confirmed that extensive progress had also been achieved in upgrading the other systems. At Springhill and Sackville specifically, work to upgrade the technical quality of the systems to meet DOC standards has now been accomplished. While equipment delivery problems had delayed a project at Antigonish to expand the system's capacity to 35 channels, Mr. Bragg stated that the work would be completed within a month of receiving the necessary equipment. He advised that, at Lunenburg-Bridgewater, service area extensions representing approximately one-third of the total system had recently been constructed to 35-channel specifications; work to upgrade the remainder of the system to 27-channel capacity should be completed this year. Mr. Bragg gave the commitment that all technical work would be completed as soon as possible, and that the technical quality of each of the Bragg systems would be maintained at a high standard.

With regard to the Halifax system, the applicant stated that the task of rebuilding the plant to 35-channel capacity was now 75% complete. The purchasers gave firm commitments to proceed with completion of this project without delay, and to implement an ongoing and systematic approach to the replacement of old subscriber service drops and the rewiring of apartment buildings. This work will be supervised by a full-time professional engineer to be hired by the applicant.

As in the previous proposal, the applicant emphasized the benefits that would be realized by the creation of a strong, locally-based cable ownership group in Nova Scotia. It argued that the larger subscriber base would make practical several improvements and bring about advantages that would not otherwise be available to the smaller systems in the group. These include the sharing of technical and marketing expertise and of equipment between the systems, the establishment of staff training courses, and the creation of opportunities for employees to develop and advance within the organization by facilitating staff mobility from one system to a higher level in another...

The applicant also made a number of important commitments to improve and diversify the community programming service provided by Halifax Cablevision Limited, and to promote use of the community channel by the many special segments and interest groups present within the Halifax community.

To this end, the applicant stated that it would increase the operating budget of the community channel by 38% over the next three years, representing an additional expenditure of $228,000. The applicant will allocate a minimum of $15,000 of its operating budget to advertising and promoting the community channel with a view to increasing the use of its facilities by the public and developing more programming. An expenditure of $20,000 will also be made to purchase a new community programming mobile unit.

The applicant also stated that it will augment its programming facilities by the addition of a video viewing room and library to assist community programming volunteers and encourage greater public participation. The construction of these facilities will form part of a major renovation and expansion of office facilities, including the new cable store, at an estimated cost of $200,000.

The Commission encourages the applicant's plans to improve what is already one of the larger and better community programming services in the Atlantic region. It also notes with interest the applicant's proposal to implement a student summer training program and to establish technical and journalism scholarships for students attending schools in the area...

The above is an excerpt only. For the full text of the CRTC Decision, see
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1984/DB84-1015.htm

Source:
CRTC Decision 84-1015
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1984/DB84-1015.htm

1984 December 13

Cable TV Coming to Annapolis County

CRTC Decision 84-1028
13 December 1984

Bridgetown, Lawrencetown,
Paradise, Annapolis Royal
and surrounding areas
Annapolis County, Nova Scotia

CRTC Decision 84-1028 approved applications by Joseph Shannon for licences to establish and operate a cable television system to serve Bridgetown, Lawrencetown, Paradise and Annapolis Royal and surrounding areas by distributing the signals of CANCOM and other broadcasting services.

It was required that the same signals and services be supplied in each of these towns. In addition to the priority services required to be carried by regulation, the Commission approved the carriage of the following optional services: CITV-TV Edmonton; CHCH-TV Hamilton; TCTV Montreal; WDIV (NBC), WTVS (PBS), WJBK-TV (CBS) and WXYZ-TV (ABC) Detroit, Michigan, received via satellite from CANCOM; and the signals of CHSJ-TV and CKLT-TV Saint John, New Brunswick. The licensee was also authorized to distribute the CBC Parliamentary Television Network (English-language service), the Atlantic Satellite Network (ASN), the discretionary specialty network services of the MuchMusic Network and The Sports Network, and to exhibit the pay television network service distributed by First Choice Canadian Communications Corporation.

The Commission notes that the licensee proposes to operate a community channel on each system that will distribute some six to ten hours per week of community programs and will allocate an annual budget of $5,000 per system for this purpose. The Commission notes that the licensee proposes to operate a community channel on each system that will distribute some six to ten hours per week of community programs and will allocate an annual budget of $5,000 per system for this purpose.

The Commission approved a proposed maximum monthly subscriber fee of $19.00 and maximum installation fee of $30.00 for each area to be served.

The above is an excerpt only. The complete decision is available at
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1984/DB84-1028.htm

Source:
CRTC Decision 84-1028
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1984/DB84-1028.htm

1984 December 15

CJLS and CKEN Increase Night-Time Power

CRTC Decision 84-1029
13 December 1984

Yarmouth and Kentville
Nova Scotia

CRTC Decision 84-1029 approved the applications by Radio CJLS Limited, Yarmouth, to increase the night-time power of CJLS Yarmouth from 1,000 watts to 4,000 watts, and by Annapolis Valley Radio, Kentville, to increase the night-time power of CKEN Kentville from 500 watts to 1,000 watts, effective 15 December 1984. These applications were submitted as a result of bilateral agreements concluded between Canada and the United States relating to certain AM broadcasting stations.

The above is an excerpt only. The complete decision is available at
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1984/DB84-1029.htm

Source:
CRTC Decision 84-1029
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1984/DB84-1029.htm

1985 April 15

MT&T Splits Stock

On this day, Maritime Telegraph & Telephone Company stock was split three for one. This means that the number of shares was tripled. All of the old shares were cancelled, and simultaneously all shareholders received three new shares for each old share. The immediate effect was to reduce the value of each share to one-third of its previous value. Each shareholder's portfolio now held three times as many shares each worth one-third as much as previously. The total value of each shareholder's holding was unchanged. Why was the stock split? On the stock market, moderately-priced shares often do better than higher-priced shares.

As a hypothetical example, suppose National Widget Inc. has 100,000 shares outstanding and each is worth $250.00 on the market, which gives NatWid a "market capitalization" of $25,000,000. ("Market capitalization" simply means how much the company is worth, as determined by multiplying the number of shares outstanding by the price of each share.) If NatWid decides to split its shares 5 for 1, there will now be 500,000 shares outstanding, and each will be worth $50.00, which gives NatWid a market capitalization of $25,000,000 (the same as before the split). The advantage of the split is that the shares are now lower-priced — $50 each compared to $250 each — and more people will be willing to buy the stock. Over time, the lower-priced shares often rise in value more than the higher-priced shares would have.

1985 April 24

IBM Introduces the IBM-PC Computer

On this day, International Business Machines Incorporated (IBM) officially launched its new personal computer model, making it available for purchase by the public. The company chose "PC" as the model name of this line of computers.
[The National Post, 24 April 2000]

1985 July 19

Viking Cable T.V. Limited

CRTC Decision 85-545
15 July 1985

Yarmouth, Rockville, Milton Heights, Wellington,
South Ohio, Arcadia, Pleasant Lake, Wedgeport,
Lower Wedgeport, Upper Wedgeport,
Chebogue, Brooklyn
Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia

Pursuant to Public Notice CRTC 1985-96 dated 17 May 1985, the Commission approves the application to amend the licence for the broadcasting receiving undertaking serving the communities noted above — Viking Cable T.V. Limited — by increasing the maximum monthly subscriber fee from $11.26 to $11.71. The Commission considers that the fee increase is justified on the basis of the Commission's current criteria for rate regulation.

The Commission also approves an increase in the maximum installation fee from $20.00 to $30.00. In approving this increase the Commission has taken into consideration the fact that the increase only covers a portion of the actual costs of installation and has determined that such an increase is justified on economic grounds.

The above is an excerpt only. The complete decision is available at
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1985/DB85-545.htm

Source:
CRTC Decision 85-545
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1985/DB85-545.htm

1985 October 1

Four-Year Licence Renewal for CKNU-FM

CRTC Decision 85-747 approved the application by Marie Ann Battiste, Eskasoni, Nova Scotia, for renewal of the broadcasting licence for CKNU-FM Eskasoni from 1 October 1985 to 30 September 1989.

The above is an excerpt only. The complete decision is available at
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1985/DB85-747.htm

Source:
CRTC Decision 85-747
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1985/DB85-747.htm

1985 December 12

Able Cablevision Limited
Changes Ownership

CRTC Decision 85-1258
12 December 1985

Brooklyn, Moose Harbour, Mersey Point, Milton,
Port Mouton, Port Medway, Liverpool
Queens County, Nova Scotia

Pursuant to Public Notice CRTC 1985-234 dated 28 October 1985, the Commission approves the application for authority to transfer effective control of the licensee of the broadcasting receiving undertaking serving the communities noted above — Able Cablevision Limited — by the transfer of shares representing a total of 62.5% of the common voting shares of Able Cablevision Limited from five minority shareholders to Ronald Keith Wyer, Merrill R. Conrad and Gerald B. Freeman. Each of these three individuals currently holds 12.5% of the common voting shares. Mr. Wyer will acquire an additional 40.9% while Messrs. Conrad and Freeman will each acquire an additional 10.8%.

As a result of this transaction, Mr. Wyer will hold effective control ownership of 53.4% of the common voting shares. Messrs. Conrad and Freeman will each hold 23.3%. The Commission notes that Mr. Wyer, Managing Director of the undertaking for the past eight years, will continue in that capacity, and it is satisfied that this transaction is in the public interest.

The above is an excerpt only. The complete decision is available at
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1985/DB85-1258.htm

Source:
CRTC Decision 85-1258
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1985/DB85-1258.htm

1986 May

Atlantic Canada Aviation Museum

Danny Price, Bruce Paul, and other aviation enthusiasts founded the Atlantic Canada Aviation Museum in May 1986. In 1997, the museum was housed in a hangar near the Halifax International Airport. The hangar, which has 14,000 square feet 1300 square metres of floor area, was built in 1995 to house the twelve civil and military aircraft then in the museum. The museum's collection includes a full-size replica of the Silver Dart, and a CF-104 Starfighter, and also includes related items such as a pilot's log book from World War One, and aerial photographs of the original Halifax Municipal Airport near Connaught Avenue.
[The Halifax Chronicle-Herald, 14 November 1997]

1987 January 22

Maritimes Independent Television

CRTC Decision 87-59 approved applications by New Brunswick Broadcasting Company Limited (NBB) for broadcasting licences for new English-language television stations at Halifax, Saint John, Fredericton and Moncton, to provide an independent television service to be known as Maritime Independent Television (MITV). It was a condition of each licence that all four new stations be completed and be in operation within twelve months. The licences were to expire 31 August 1990.

These new television stations were to be operated under the following technical parameters (ERP — effective radiated power):

Halifax: channel 20, ERP 128,200 watts
Saint John: channel 23, ERP 134,000 watts
Fredericton: channel 41, ERP 53,600 watts
Moncton: channel 27, ERP 108,000 watts

NBB stated it intended to offer a schedule on the Halifax station consisting of 116 hours 30 minutes per week. This was to include 21 hours weekly of new local production featuring news, public affairs, community affairs, arts, variety, quiz programs and sports. NBB was then the licensee of CHSJ and CHSJ-TV Saint John. CHSJ-TV had operated as an affiliate of the CBC English-language television network for over thirty years, and was Canada's second oldest privately-owned television station. NBB was controlled by New Brunswick Publishing Company Limited, which was ultimately owned and controlled by members of the Irving family.

The service proposed by NBB was to be known as Maritime Independent Television, or MITV-NS in Nova Scotia and MITV-NB in New Brunswick. It was to be received by viewers in the Maritimes through UHF (ultra high frequency) television transmitters at Halifax, Saint John, Moncton and Fredericton and, where applicable, through its priority carriage on cable television. For the most part, the new service was to originate in Halifax and was to be delivered via microwave for simulcast on the New Brunswick stations. (These plans were later altered, to distribute the programming between stations using fibre optic instead of microwave.)

The above is an excerpt only. The complete decision is available at
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1987/DB87-59.htm

Source:
CRTC Decision 87-59
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1987/DB87-59.htm

1987 June 30

One-Dollar Coin Enters Circulation

An Unsolved Numismatic Mystery

In 1935 the Royal Canadian Mint released its first-ever one-dollar coin, to commemorate the silver anniversary of King George V's ascension to the throne. Designed by Emmanuel Hahn — the artist who designed the dime and the caribou quarter — the coin features a voyageur and a Native in a canoe. In later years, Hahn's design is occasionally reused on other special-issue collector's coins.

In 1985, the federal government, as part of its plan to phase out the one-dollar bill, decided to resurrect Hahn's classic voyageur design for the new one-dollar coin.

Oops

On 6 November 1986, the dies for the voyageur dollar, entrusted to a courier company, disappeared while enroute from Ottawa to the Mint's production plant in Winnipeg. The Mint refused to release any details, including the name of the courier company and whether or not the dies were snatched in an armoured-car heist.

In January 1987, the government approved a one-dollar coin design featuring a loon, submitted by Robert Carmichael, which was among those previously considered along with the voyageur. The new loon dies were delivered safely to Winnipeg, and the new coin — fated to be known forever as the "loonie" — entered circulation on 30 June 1987.

February 2001 — Still a Mystery

The original voyageur dies have never been recovered. "Even if we did get them back," says Mint spokesman Pierre Morin, "we could never use them, because of the potential for counterfeiting." The Mint still refuses to divulge information on the disappearance of the dies, and hasn't used the voyageur design on any coins since. But if the dies were recovered, they'd be very valuable to collectors. "The whereabouts of those dies are a deep, dark secret," says one numismatist. "Whoever's got 'em is keepin' 'em and not tellin' nobody."

[Saturday Night, 3 February 2001]

1988

AM Radio Broadcast Band Enlarged

In 1988, the legal AM radio broadcast band was enlarged by raising the top from 1600 kHz to 1700 kHz. The bottom remained at 550 kHz.
In the United States, the AM band had originally been set between 550 kHz and 1550 kHz,
inclusive, by Order Forty, issued by the Federal Radio Commission on 23 February 1928:
"That a band of frequencies extending from 550 to 1500 kilocycles 550 to 1500 kHz
both inclusive, be, and the same is hereby, assigned to and for the use of broadcasting
stations, said band of frequencies being hereinafter referred to as the broadcast band."
This AM band became part of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA) of 1937.
In 1950, the top of the AM broadcast band was raised from 1550 kHz to 1600 kHz.
In 1988, the top of the AM broadcast band was raised from 1600 kHz to 1700 kHz.
(These are the numbers that appear on the tuning dial of radio receivers.)

1988 February 18

Able Cablevision Limited
Gets Approval to Build and Operate Cable TV Systems

CRTC Decision 88-112
18 February 1988

Caledonia, Meagher, Westfield,
South Brookfield, North Brookfield,
East Port Medway, Voglers Cove, Cherry Hill,
Broad Cove, Greenfield, Chelsea
Lunenburg and Queens Counties, Nova Scotia

CRTC Decision 88-112 approved the applications by Able Cablevision Limited for licences to build and operate cable television systems to serve the communities noted above. The Commission will issue licences expiring 31 August 1991, subject to the conditions specified in this decision and in the licences to be issued. This term will enable the Commission to consider the renewal of these licences at the same time as that of other cable systems in the area. The Commission acknowledges the applicant's plans for the development of community channels and encourages it to promote community interest in and access to these channels.

It also acknowledges the intervention received from the New Brunswick Broadcasting Company Limited regarding the future distribution of the proposed independent television service for the Maritime provinces (to be known as MITV) at such time as it becomes operational and requesting assurance that these cable systems "be built with sufficient capacity" to provide for the distribution of MITV to these communities. The Commission also acknowledges the applicant's willingness to accommodate this request in the future.

The above is an excerpt only. The complete decision is available at
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1988/DB88-112.htm

Source:
CRTC Decision 88-112
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1988/DB88-112.htm

1988 February 18

Bass River Cable Services Limited
Gets Approval to Build and Operate Cable TV Systems

CRTC Decision 88-113
18 February 1988

Great Village, Maitland - Selma,
Masstown, Upper North River
Colchester County, Nova Scotia

CRTC Decision 88-113 approved the applications by Bass River Cable Services Limited for licences to build and operate cable television systems to serve the communities of Great Village; Maitland and Selma; Masstown; and Upper North River, all in Colchester County.

The above is an excerpt only. The complete decision is available at
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1988/DB88-113.htm

Source:
CRTC Decision 88-113
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1988/DB88-113.htm

1988 February 18

Dartmouth Cable T.V. Limited
Gets Approval to Build and Operate Cable TV Systems

CRTC Decision 88-114
18 February 1988

Freeport, Tiverton, Westport
Nova Scotia

CRTC Decision 88-114 approved the applications by Dartmouth Cable T.V. Limited for licences to build and operate cable television systems to serve Freeport, Tiverton, and Westport, in Digby County. Dartmouth Cable stated that these systems would be built to 35-channel capacity.

The Commission considered the interventions received from Seaside Cablevision Ltd. and C.K.O. Cablevision Limited stating that the cabling of the three areas proposed by these applications would cause undue harm to their subscription television (STV) systems which already provide adequate service to these areas. The Commission noted that neither Seaside nor C.K.O. was licensed to serve Freeport, Tiverton or Westport specifically and that the applicant's proposed service area would not infringe on the authorized contours of either STV system.

The above is an excerpt only. The complete decision is available at
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1988/DB88-114.htm

Source:
CRTC Decision 88-114
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1988/DB88-114.htm

1988 February 18

Seabreeze Cablevision Limited
Gets Approval to Build and Operate Cable TV Systems

CRTC Decision 88-115
18 February 1988

Thomasville, Port La Tour, Baccaro, Clyde River
and surrounding areas
Shelburne County, Nova Scotia

CRTC Decision 88-115 approved the application by Seabreeze Cablevision Limited for a licence to build and operate a cable television system to serve Thomasville, Port La Tour, Baccaro, Clyde River, and surrounding areas, all in Shelburne County.

The above is an excerpt only. The complete decision is available at
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1988/DB88-115.htm

Source:
CRTC Decision 88-115
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1988/DB88-115.htm

1988 March

Chester to Liverpool Railway
Abandonment Notice

Abandonment Notice, CNR Chester to Liverpool

Display advertisement, 10.6 × 15.4 cm
[The Halifax Chronicle-Herald, 18 March and 21 April 1988]

This railway track was officially abandoned on 15 June 1991.

Stations Along This Railway Line

        Location
     Mile       km        Station

     42.25     67.98      (east end of track to be abandoned)
     46.1      74.2       East Chester
     48.2      77.6       Chester
     50.0      80.5       Marriott's Cove (flag stop platform only)
     53.9      86.8       Chester Basin
     57.5      92.6       Western Shore
     61.2      98.5       Martins River
     66.7     107.4       Mahone Bay
     68.2     109.8       Blockhouse
     71.7     115.4       Maitland
     77.9     125.4       Bridgewater
     86.3     138.9       Conquerall
     89.3     143.8       Italy Cross
     96.2     154.9       County Line
    100.5     161.8       Medway
    107.5     173.1       Brooklyn
    109.1     175.7       Liverpool

Source: Altitudes in the Dominion of Canada, 2^nd edition, 1915, by James White, Assistant to Sir Clifford Sifton, Chairman and Deputy Head, Commission of Conservation, Ottawa.

Note: Altitudes... was published in 1915, and gives station locations as they existed at that time. In 1915, station locations along the Halifax & South Western Railway — which built, owned, and operated the railway along Nova Scotia's South Shore from Halifax through Chester, Bridgewater, Liverpool, and Shelburne to Yarmouth — were measured beginning from Halifax Station, in northern Halifax on the east side of Barrington Street, immediately north of North Street (about where, in 2001, the west Cable Anchor Block of the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge is located).

Halifax Station (now usually known as Old North Station) was accidentally demolished at 9:04am on 6 December 1917 and was not rebuilt; it was replaced by a new railway station in southern Halifax, on the east side of Hollis Street at South Street (which in 2002 remains in operation as Halifax's railway station.)

In 1918-19 there was a major rearrangement of the railway tracks in Halifax, with the construction of the double-track railway in the long cut along the west side of Halifax from Armdale to Point Pleasant Park, and the construction of the railway yards in south-end Halifax, immediately north of Point Pleasant Park and east of Young Street.

As part of this rearrangement, the H&SWR main line track was repositioned and connected to the ICR/CNR main line at South-West Junction, and all H&SWR station locations were restated as measured from the South-West Junction switch. This restatement of mileages reduced all station locations by 2.8 miles — the distance from the new junction to the former Richmond Station. The stations at Chester, Bridgewater, etc., all remained in their former locations — the only change was where the distance was measured from. The above station positions have been re-calculated as 2.8 miles less than the positions as stated in Altitudes... (which explains the apparent discrepancy if anyone checks these figures against the source).

Station locations were measured along the track centerline from a chosen starting point — usually one end of the line or an important junction.

1988 August 26

MITV Changes Halifax Transmitter from UHF to VHF
and Reduces Transmitter Power from 128.2 kW to 10.8 kW

CRTC Decision 88-514 approved the application by New Brunswick Broadcasting Company Limited (NBB), Halifax, Nova Scotia, to decrease the effective radiated power of CIHF-TV Halifax (popularly known as MITV) from 128,200 watts to 10,800 watts and to change from channel 20 to channel 8, under the condition that this service be implemented by 5 September 1988.

NBB's position was that the lower capital and operating costs associated with the use of a VHF transmitter would place it in a better economic position to respond to the Commission's expectation that it extend a third television service throughout the Maritimes at the earliest possible date. In the application NBB stated that the change of channel would result in a saving of $626,391 in capital costs for installation of the transmitter and a saving of $60,500 in annual operating costs. NBB also stated that it was commonly recognized that the VHF (very high frequency) band was technically superior to that of UHF (ultra high frequency).

The main purpose of this application was to make the MITV service available on cable systems by 5 September 1988.

The above is an excerpt only. The complete decision is available at
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1988/DB88-514.htm

Source:
CRTC Decision 88-514
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1988/DB88-514.htm

1988 December 9

Three MITV Satellite Transmitters

CRTC Decision 88-841
9 December 1988

Bridgewater, Truro, Wolfville
Nova Scotia

CRTC Decision 88-841 approved the applications by New Brunswick Broadcasting Company Limited for licences for English-language television transmitters at Bridgewater, Truro and Wolfville, to rebroadcast the programs of CIHF-TV Halifax (MITV), with these technical specifications:

Bridgewater: channel 9, ERP 6,670 watts
Truro: channel 18, ERP 6,000 watts
Wolfville: channel 20, ERP 134,000 watts

These satellite transmitters, which were required to be in service within six months, would compensate for the decrease in coverage which occurred as a result of the technical amendments for CIHF-TV Halifax approved in Decision 88-514 dated 26 August 1988.

The above is an excerpt only. The complete decision is available at
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1988/DB88-841.htm

Source:
CRTC Decision 88-841
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1988/DB88-841.htm

1989

High-Speed 286 Personal Computer
Only $1999.00

New for '89

MS-DOS built into ROM

Monitor Not Included
Mouse Not Included
Disk Drive Not Included

Powerful 8 MHz 80286 Microprocessor
Comes with 640k RAM
Automatically loads MS-DOS without diskettes
Built-in real-time clock and calendar
A parallel printer adapter, RS-232 serial port and two joystick ports are included at no extra charge

The Tandy 1000 TL includes MS-DOS 3.3 built into ROM, so you'll be up and running in seconds! (With conventional PCs, you must insert the floppy diskette containing the MS-DOS operating system, wait for it to load, then remove the diskette and insert your application software diskette. With this deluxe feature — having MS-DOS in ROM — you no longer have to load the operating system from a floppy every time you start your computer.)

Optional Extras:
$699.00 CM-11 High-Resolution RGBI Colour Monitor
13-inch screen, 640 × 200 pixels
$249.95 3½ inch Floppy Disk Drive
each disk stores 720 kilobytes (double-sided, double-density)
$249.95 5¼ inch Floppy Disk Drive
each disk stores 360 kilobytes
$69.95 Tandy Serial Mouse, for use with DeskMate
$249.95 256k memory expansion kit, contains eight 256k × 1 DRAMs
$899.00 20 megabyte Hard Disk Drive, or
$1199.00 40 megabyte Hard Disk Drive

[Source: The Technology Book 1989 (catalogue, 184 pages in colour) distributed at all Radio Shack stores in Nova Scotia in 1989. A complete copy, in excellent condition, was generously made available to me in August 1999 by Mr. John McLeod, Money Editor of the Halifax Daily News.]

At the time of sale, sales tax was added to all advertised prices. If memory
serves, in 1989 the Nova Scotia sales tax was 11%, and a federal sales tax
of 7% was also applied.

This 286 computer was priced at $1999.00. Add $699.00 for the colour monitor,
$69.95 for the mouse, $249.95 for a 3½ inch floppy disk drive, and another
$249.95 for a 5¼ inch floppy disk drive (pretty much a requirement in 1989),
and you get a store price of $3267.85.

Then tack on 11% provincial sales tax to arrive at $3627.31.
Then apply 7% federal sales tax (on the $3627.31) for a grand total of $3881.22,
(the purchaser's cost).

By the way, at that time this was a pretty good deal. Certainly it was strongly
competitive compared to other retail suppliers of the day.

1989 February 5

Dominion Chair Factory Burns Down
for the last time

The Dominion Chair Company's factory, which manufactured what came to be known as Bass River Chairs, in the tiny community (population about 400) of Bass River in Colchester County on the shore of Minas Basin, was destroyed by fire in 1885, 1892, 1909, 1940, and 1948, and for the sixth and final time on 5 February 1989 after which it was never rebuilt.
[The Halifax Chronicle-Herald, 1 August 2002]

1989 April 20

Last One-Dollar Bill Printed

On this day, the last Canadian one-dollar bill was printed by the Canadian Bank Note Company.
[The Halifax Chronicle-Herald, 20 April 2002] Canadian one dollar bill

1989 July 31

CBC Newsworld Channel Begins Operation

On this day, the cable channel Newsworld, a new 24-hour television news channel owned and operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, began regular operation in Canada, with Halifax as one of its four major production centres.
[The National Post, 31 July 2000]

Newsworld was not broadcast over the air; it was available only on cable and DTH (direct-to-home) satellite delivery systems, which received it through a satellite feed. Newsworld was produced in four geographic locations, Halifax, Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver, with each production centre being responsible for six hours each day. Halifax produced Newsworld's morning show, broadcast (if memory serves) from 5:00am to 11:00am, Atlantic Time.

1989 August 30

Irving Buys CKBW Bridgewater

CRTC Decision 89-639 approved the application to transfer effective control of Acadia Broadcasting Company Limited (Acadia), licensee of CKBW Bridgewater and its rebroadcasting stations CKBW-FM-1 Liverpool and CKBW-FM-2 Shelburne, to New Brunswick Broadcasting Co. Limited (NBB) through the transfer of all 1,843 common voting shares. Acadia had been effectively controlled by Mr. James A. MacLeod of Bridgewater who held 54.37% of the shares of the company and who, under a shareholders' agreement, represented, with his nominees, a majority of the five-member Board of Directors.

Mr. Macleod had been with CKBW since 1947, and stated at the hearing: We are proud of what we have accomplished in the past four decades, particularly as it was done with limited resources in a relatively small market. He explained that he and one of the other two major shareholders wished to retire and stated that since 1983 the company had considered eight other potential purchasers. He indicated that NBB was selected because of "our knowledge of their standards and principles" and because Acadia considers that it can endorse that organization as "ready, willing and able to carry on the CKBW tradition".

The Commission noted that the purchase price for the shares of Acadia was appoximately $2.5 million and considered that this amount reflected the on-going capital improvements effected at the station, which had totalled $1 million since 1974. The Commission had considered the financial strength of the purchaser and had no concerns related to the financing of the transaction. NBB, which was controlled indirectly by the Irving family of Saint John, was the licensee of radio station CHSJ and CHSJ-TV Saint John and its seven satellite transmitters in New Brunswick. It was also the licensee of CIHF-TV (MITV) Halifax, and CIHF-TV-2 Saint John. Other Irving family media interests included daily newspapers in Saint John, Moncton and Fredericton. At the hearing, NBB stated that it had operated CHSJ Saint John for 54 years and that the purchase of CKBW "would mark the company's first radio expansion" since then.

In considering the benefits of this transaction, the fact that Acadia would be controlled by an experienced, Atlantic-based broadcasting company was considered by the Commission to be important. It noted that Mr. Robert A. MacLaren intended to continue to be involved in the day-to-day operation of the station. Mr. MacLaren, who was currently a major shareholder of Acadia, had been with CKBW for 37 years. He was to remain as station manager and would continue to hold a seat on the Board of Directors.

CKBW's technical facilities were modern and well-maintained. NBB proposed certain expenditures including $10,000 for a music scheduling computer system, $15,000 for a portable audio board and $60,000 for an automatic diesel back-up power facility. At the hearing, NBB committed to ensure that these improvements would all be in place within the first two years of its ownership of CKBW. NBB stated that control of the radio station, "particularly the news and editorial policy" would remain in the control of the station manager, Mr. MacLaren and that the station would accept advertisements from any Irving competitor.

The Commission renewed the licences for CKBW Bridgewater, CKBW-FM-1 Liverpool and CKBW-FM-2 Shelburne from 1 October 1989 to 31 August 1994.

The above is an excerpt only. The complete decision is available at
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1989/DB89-639.htm

Source:
CRTC Decision 89-639
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1989/DB89-639.htm

Acadia Broadcasting Company Limited [RJSC ID#1005602] was incorporated on 11 December 1946 and was registered on 29 April 1947, for the purpose of setting up and operating an AM radio station in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia. On 11 January 1996 the Company's registered office was moved to 1791 Barrington Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia. On 22 January 1996 a new Board of Directors was named, as follows:
J.K. Irving, Saint John, New Brunswick
A.L. Irving, Saint John, New Brunswick
J.E. Irving, Saint John, New Brunswick
Source: Nova Scotia Registry of Joint Stock Companies [RJSC]
http://www.gov.ns.ca/bacs/rjsc/
[Note: In August 2000, the RJSC website was moved to
http://www.gov.ns.ca/snsmr/business/rjsc/ ]

Wayback Machine
Wayback Machine
http://web.archive.org/index.html

"Use the Wayback Machine to view web sites from the past."

Archive of This Document:
History of Nova Scotia, Chapter 23
The Wayback Machine has copies of this webpage from the early days:
Archived: 2000 August 15
http://web.archive.org/web/20000815195406/http://www.alts.net/ns1625/nshist23.html
Archived: 2000 December 15
http://web.archive.org/web/20001215223900/http://www.littletechshoppe.com/ns1625/nshist23.html
Archived: 2001 February 8
http://web.archive.org/web/20010208225805/http://www.alts.net/ns1625/nshist23.html
Archived: 2001 April 19
http://web.archive.org/web/20010419135709/http://www.alts.net/ns1625/nshist23.html
Archived: 2001 August 16
http://web.archive.org/web/20010816202906/http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/300/nova_scotias_electronic_attic/07-04-09/www.littletechshoppe.com/ns1625nshist23.html
Archived: 2001 November 16
http://web.archive.org/web/20011116225516/http://www.alts.net/ns1625/nshist23.html

Index with links to the other chapters

Go To: History of Railway Companies in Nova Scotia
http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/300/nova_scotias_electronic_attic/07-04-09/www.littletechshoppe.com/ns1625railways.html
Go To: History of Telegraph and Telephone Companies in Nova Scotia
http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/300/nova_scotias_electronic_attic/07-04-09/www.littletechshoppe.com/ns1625telephone.html
Go To: History of Automobiles in Nova Scotia
http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/300/nova_scotias_electronic_attic/07-04-09/www.littletechshoppe.com/ns1625automobiles.html
Go To: History of Electric Power Companies in Nova Scotia
http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/300/nova_scotias_electronic_attic/07-04-09/www.littletechshoppe.com/ns1625electric.html
Go To: Index to other online Nova Scotia History
http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/300/nova_scotias_electronic_attic/07-04-09/www.littletechshoppe.com/ns1625histindx.html
Go To: Home Page
http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/300/nova_scotias_electronic_attic/07-04-09/www.littletechshoppe.com/ns1625index.html

W3C HTML Validation Service
http://validator.w3.org/

W3C CSS Validation Service
http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/

History of Nova Scotia with special attention given to Communications and Transportation

1980 (this date has not been confirmed)

ATV Converts News-Gathering to All Video

1981

CNR Abandons Liverpool to Yarmouth Main Line Railway and Bridgewater to Bridgetown Branch

201 miles 323 km of track torn up

1981

First Video Rental Store Opens

You could actually rent a full-length movie and watch it in your own home!

1981 January 23

CNR Liverpool Station Closed Permanently

1981 April

Atlantic Satellite Network

1981 November 15

VIA Rail Extends Halifax - Saint John Passenger Train to Fredericton

1981 November 24

Food Stores Go Metric

1981 December 29

EPA Plane Collides with Terminal Building at Sydney

1982 September 15

Computer Systems Coming for Doctors

1982 December 12

Bridgewater Railway Station Destroyed by Fire

1983 January

Radio & Television Stations in Operation

1983 March 2

Compact Disc Introduced

1983 March 8

DOS 2.0 Released

1983 August 29

Eastern Cablevision Limited

CRTC Decision 83-72629 August 1983 ParrsboroNova Scotia

1983 August 29

Central Cable Television Limited

CRTC Decision 83-73829 August 1983 AmherstNova Scotia

1983 August 29

Central Cable Television Limited Gets Approval to Receive Signalsfrom Geosynchronous Satellite

CRTC Decision 83-73929 August 1983 Lunenburg, Bridgewater, Dayspring, Rhodes Corner, Upper LaHave, West LaHave, Blockhouse, Clearland, Chester and Mahone BayLunenburg County, Nova Scotia

1983 August 29

Cape Breton Cablevision Limited Gets Approval to Receive Signalsfrom Geosynchronous Satellite

CRTC Decision 83-74029 August 1983 SydneyNova Scotia

1983 August 29

Seaside Cable T.V. Limited Gets Approval to Receive Signalsfrom Geosynchronous Satellite

CRTC Decision 83-74129 August 1983 Glace BayNova Scotia

1983 November 10

Microsoft Releases First Windows

The History of CP/M

1984 January 9

Strait of Canso Cable T.V. Limited Gets Approval to Receive Signalsfrom Geosynchronous Satellite

Rate Set at $12.80 per Month

CRTC Decision 84-59 January 1984 Port Hawkesbury, Point Tupper, Port Hastings, Mulgrave and Troy Trailer CourtNova Scotia

1984 January 11

Television Broadcast License Renewals

1984 January 11

FM Radio Broadcast License Renewals

1984 January 12

Cross Country T.V. Limited Gets Approval to Receive Signalsfrom Geosynchronous Satellite

Rate Increased to $15.68 per Month

CRTC Decision 84-1212 January 1984 Canningand surrounding areaNova Scotia

1984 January 24

Macintosh Computer Goes on Sale

"A hardware and software breakthrough" "The most promising computer introduced in the 1980s"

High-speed modems for Apple computers

1984 February 6

Central Cable Television Limited

Rate Set at $11.55 per Month

CRTC Decision 84-696 February 1984 Lunenburg, Bridgewater, Dayspring, Rhodes Corner, Upper LaHave, West LaHave, Blockhouse, Clearland, Mahone Bay and ChesterLunenburg County, Nova Scotia

1984 February 13

Sale of Halifax Cablevision Limited Derailed

CRTC Decision 84-10413 February 1984 Halifaxand surrounding areaNova Scotia

1984 April 18

Able Cablevision Limited

Rate Increased to $13.50 per Month

CRTC Decision 84-36718 April 1984 Liverpool, Moose Harbour, Mersey Point, Brooklyn, Milton, Port Mouton and Port MedwayQueens County, Nova Scotia

1984 June 29

Kings Kable Limited Gets Approval to Receive Signalsfrom Geosynchronous Satellite

Rate Increased to $9.88 per Month

CRTC Decision 84-52929 June 1984 Wolfville, Kentville, Port Williams, Greenwich, Aldershot, Steam Mill Village and Centreville, Gaspereau, New Minas, Casey's CornerNova Scotia

1984 July 10

Baddeck Cable T.V. Company Limited Gets Approval to Build and Operate a Cable TV System

History of Nova Scotia
with special attention given to
Communications and Transportation

CNR Abandons
Liverpool to Yarmouth Main Line Railway
and Bridgewater to Bridgetown Branch

VIA Rail Extends Halifax - Saint John Passenger Train
to Fredericton

CRTC Decision 83-726
29 August 1983

Parrsboro
Nova Scotia

CRTC Decision 83-738
29 August 1983

Amherst
Nova Scotia

Central Cable Television Limited
Gets Approval to Receive Signals
from Geosynchronous Satellite

CRTC Decision 83-739
29 August 1983

Lunenburg, Bridgewater, Dayspring, Rhodes Corner,
Upper LaHave, West LaHave, Blockhouse,
Clearland, Chester and Mahone Bay
Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia

Cape Breton Cablevision Limited
Gets Approval to Receive Signals
from Geosynchronous Satellite

CRTC Decision 83-740
29 August 1983

Sydney
Nova Scotia

Seaside Cable T.V. Limited
Gets Approval to Receive Signals
from Geosynchronous Satellite

CRTC Decision 83-741
29 August 1983

Glace Bay
Nova Scotia

Strait of Canso Cable T.V. Limited
Gets Approval to Receive Signals
from Geosynchronous Satellite

CRTC Decision 84-5
9 January 1984

Port Hawkesbury, Point Tupper, Port Hastings,
Mulgrave and Troy Trailer Court
Nova Scotia

Cross Country T.V. Limited
Gets Approval to Receive Signals
from Geosynchronous Satellite

CRTC Decision 84-12
12 January 1984

Canning
and surrounding area
Nova Scotia

"A hardware and software breakthrough"
"The most promising computer introduced in the 1980s"

CRTC Decision 84-69
6 February 1984

Lunenburg, Bridgewater, Dayspring, Rhodes Corner,
Upper LaHave, West LaHave, Blockhouse,
Clearland, Mahone Bay and Chester
Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia

CRTC Decision 84-104
13 February 1984

Halifax
and surrounding area
Nova Scotia

CRTC Decision 84-367
18 April 1984

Liverpool, Moose Harbour, Mersey Point, Brooklyn,
Milton, Port Mouton and Port Medway
Queens County, Nova Scotia

Kings Kable Limited
Gets Approval to Receive Signals
from Geosynchronous Satellite

CRTC Decision 84-529
29 June 1984

Wolfville, Kentville, Port Williams, Greenwich,
Aldershot, Steam Mill Village and Centreville,
Gaspereau, New Minas, Casey's Corner
Nova Scotia

Baddeck Cable T.V. Company Limited
Gets Approval to Build and Operate a Cable TV System

CRTC Decision 84-559
10 July 1984

Baddeck
Nova Scotia

CRTC Decision 84-890
16 October 1984

Halifax
and surrounding area
Nova Scotia

CRTC Decision 84-931
1 November 1984

Lunenburg, Bridgewater, Dayspring, Rhodes Corner,
Upper LaHave, West LaHave, Blockhouse
Clearland, Mahone Bay and Chester
Nova Scotia

Bragg-Rath interests now the largest cable television
ownership group in Atlantic Canada

CRTC Decision 84-1015
7 December 1984

Halifax
and surrounding area
Nova Scotia

CRTC Decision 84-1028
13 December 1984

Bridgetown, Lawrencetown,
Paradise, Annapolis Royal
and surrounding areas
Annapolis County, Nova Scotia

CRTC Decision 84-1029
13 December 1984

Yarmouth and Kentville
Nova Scotia

CRTC Decision 85-545
15 July 1985

Yarmouth, Rockville, Milton Heights, Wellington,
South Ohio, Arcadia, Pleasant Lake, Wedgeport,
Lower Wedgeport, Upper Wedgeport,
Chebogue, Brooklyn
Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia

Able Cablevision Limited
Changes Ownership

CRTC Decision 85-1258
12 December 1985

Brooklyn, Moose Harbour, Mersey Point, Milton,
Port Mouton, Port Medway, Liverpool
Queens County, Nova Scotia

Able Cablevision Limited
Gets Approval to Build and Operate Cable TV Systems

CRTC Decision 88-112
18 February 1988

Caledonia, Meagher, Westfield,
South Brookfield, North Brookfield,
East Port Medway, Voglers Cove, Cherry Hill,
Broad Cove, Greenfield, Chelsea
Lunenburg and Queens Counties, Nova Scotia

Bass River Cable Services Limited
Gets Approval to Build and Operate Cable TV Systems

CRTC Decision 88-113
18 February 1988

Great Village, Maitland - Selma,
Masstown, Upper North River
Colchester County, Nova Scotia

Dartmouth Cable T.V. Limited
Gets Approval to Build and Operate Cable TV Systems

CRTC Decision 88-114
18 February 1988

Freeport, Tiverton, Westport
Nova Scotia

Seabreeze Cablevision Limited
Gets Approval to Build and Operate Cable TV Systems

CRTC Decision 88-115
18 February 1988

Thomasville, Port La Tour, Baccaro, Clyde River
and surrounding areas
Shelburne County, Nova Scotia

Chester to Liverpool Railway
Abandonment Notice

MITV Changes Halifax Transmitter from UHF to VHF
and Reduces Transmitter Power from 128.2 kW to 10.8 kW

CRTC Decision 88-841
9 December 1988

Bridgewater, Truro, Wolfville
Nova Scotia

High-Speed 286 Personal Computer
Only $1999.00

New for '89

MS-DOS built into ROM

Monitor Not Included
Mouse Not Included
Disk Drive Not Included

Dominion Chair Factory Burns Down
for the last time