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A Compilation Reference of Pacific Coast Radio Stations in British Columbia

by Frank Statham & John M. MacFarlane (VA7PX / VE7AXU) 2015 (updated 2016)

Estevan Radio

The Operating Room at Estevan Point Radio Station February 1918. (Photo courtesy of Frank Statham (the Harris Collection KCH–39))

Interested readers should also refer to Frank Statham’s excellent website Rough Radio where very detailed information and history of marine radio can be found.

By 1906 the loss of life on the waters of the west coast was becoming a serious matter. To that end the Dominion Government decided to build the lifesaving trail from Port Renfrew to Bamfield, supply and maintain a couple of life boat stations in the area, and build a series of wireless/radio stations. The five original stations, Cape Lazo (Comox), Point Gray (Vancouver), Gonzales Hill (Victoria), Pachena Point and Estevan Point. Coastal passenger service soon began fitting wireless stations on their vessels as their clients realized the safety such an installation provided over a vessel not so equipped. By 1910 Triangle Island, Ikeda Head and Digby Island (Prince Rupert) radio stations were operational. Commercial traffic and weather reports passed freely between Victoria to Prince Rupert. Vessels in distress could call for aid, and be assured help was on the way. Passengers could send telegrams to destinations ashore. No longer did a passenger or cargo vessel sail over the horizon and vanish.

Up until 1913 stations created their own call sign and after that date an international convention assigned alphabetical call sign blocks to all countries. Curiously the first Dominion stations on our coast often took their location’s initials and added a D (for Dominion?)– Dead Tree DTD, Victoria (on Gonzales/Shotbolt’s hill) VSD etc.

During the First World War the operators at all coast radio stations were drafted into the Royal Naval Canadian Volunteer Reserve (RNCVR) for the duration of the War. The navy probably considered the stations theirs for that period of time.

Name Callsign Notes
Aldergrove Naval Radio Station CKN Located in the Lower Fraser Valley. It was operational on November 29, 1943 as a Naval Radio Station at HMCS Naden in Esquimalt BC. Radio interference from the base created a problem for receiving radio signals so the station was relocated. The transmitting station was located near Sumas BC and the receiving station at Aldergrove BC.
Alert Bay VAF It opened 1913 and closed in 1994.
Bamfield VAQ
Bull Harbour VAG Opened in 1921 to replace the Triangle Island station.
Campbell River CJD Located at Campbell River BC.
Cape Beale VAN Located at the light house on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
Cape Lazo SKD (1908) VAC (1913) Located at Comox BC. It was operational by 1908 and Charlie Bradbury was the first operator. It was transferred to Comox Airport in 1962.)
Carmanah VAO Located at the light house on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
Coal Harbour (VI) CZZ "Port Wave" naval radio station operated during the Second World War.
Comox Opened in 1921 to replace Triangle Island station. (In 1994, with the closure of Alert Bay CG Radio, Comox CG Radio’s area of responsibility and staff doubled, now encompassing all of Johnstone Strait, Queen Charlotte Strait and southern Queen Charlotte Sound. In 1962, a new station was built in the Civil Air Terminal building and operations continued from the airport until 1993 when a new facility was completed on the original site at Cape Lazo. Comox became a fully integrated Marine Traffic Control Centre on April 1, 1996. Still in operation 2014 but scheduled to close.
Dead Tree (Lawn Point) DTD/VAH Located in the Queen Charlotte Islands. Opened in 1911. In 1958 the station was co–located with the aeradio station at Sandspit. Operation was remoted to VAJ sometime in the 1970s.
Discovery Island CKE "Port Wave" naval radio station operated during the Second World War.
Esquimalt Naval Radio CKN Located in HMC Dockyard Esquimalt. It opened in 1943. Radio historian Jerry Proc states that "CKL Esquimalt, was assigned to this site during the Second World War)."
Estevan Point USD/VAE Located at the light house on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Operational by January 1908 and C.B. Kennedy was the first operator. It closed in 1956 when its operations co– located with the Tofino aeradio station in 1958.
Ikeda Head AKD/VAB Operational 1910–1920. Located on Ikeda Head, Moresby Island. Closed when Dead Tree on Graham Island became operational.
Matsqui CKL Radio historian Jerry Proc states that "CKL Esquimalt Radio Matsqui, B.C.(established in 1948) 9055kHz, 11500kHz, 17560kHz, 18800kHz, 23125kHz; (Modes A0.1, RATT)
Merry Island VCU Located at a lighthouse off the coast of British Columbia.
Pachena Point KPD/VAD Operational by January 1908 and a Mr. Buchanan was the first operator. It closed temporarily 1920 due to a shortage of operators and reopened in 1922 with the addition of a direction finding receiver system. Station closed in 1958.
Prince Rupert (Digby Island) PGD/VAJ It was opened in 1910. The cable to the mainland was laid and a land line was built along the Grand Trunk Railway telegraph poles to the city of Prince Rupert. In 1967 the station was co–located with the airport’s aeradio station. In 1981 marine communications were moved to Seal Cove and presently operates as a Marine Traffic Control Station. Radio historian Jerry Proc states that "Prince Rupert Radio was assigned call sign CKG. Post war, the call sign CKP was assigned along with call signs CKP4, CKP6, CKP8, CKP12 and CKP16."
Prince Rupert CKG "Port Wave" naval radio station operated during the Second World War.
Sandspit VAH Located in the Queen Charlotte Islands. (See Dead Tree)
Sumas Naval Radio Station (Matsqui) Located in the lower Fraser Valley.
Tofino VAE In 1956 the station moved down from Estevan Point. In 1977 moved to the new Marine Traffic Control center at Amphitrite Point and is still in operation.
Triangle Island TLD / VAG Operational from 1910 to 1919. They handled communications from vessels sailing the Inside Passage between Seymour Pass and Millbank Sound right up until the opening of the Alert Bay station in 1913. The station was also responsible for communications for stations in the Queen Charlotte archipelago, as well as those at Ikeda Head and Dead Tree Point.
York Island CFV "Port Wave" naval radio station operated during the Second World War.
Vancouver VAB Located in Vancouver BC. It was operational by January 1908 and Leonard James was the first operator.
Vancouver (Point Gray) PGD / VAI Opened in 1908 and closed sometime in the early 1990s. Biggest and most capable station on the coast.
Vancouver VAS MCTS for Vancouver Harbour.
Vancouver CKF "Port Wave" naval radio station operated during the Second World War.
Victoria VHP Located in Victoria BC.
Victoria VSD/VAK Located in Victoria BC. It was operational on Gonzales Hill January 1908. E.J. Haughton was appointed as the first radio operator. Still in operation 2014 as a Marine Traffic Control Station at Patricia Bay.

The International (Commercial) Code of Signals was introduced in 1857. In 1900 the Code was rewritten and came into effect 01/01/1901. It was in effect until 01/01/1934 and consisted of two burgees, five pennants and nineteen square flags. There was one flag for each letter of the alphabet and a code flag or answering pennant.

The 1931 International Code of Signals Visual came into effect 01/01/1934. This code consisted of 26 rectangular flags – one for each letter of the alphabet (the letters A and B were burgee shaped). There were eleven pennants (10 representing the numerals) and the remaining pennant was the code flag or answering pennant. There were also three triangular flags (the 1st, 2nd and 3rd substitutes).

The ensign is the usual indicator of the nationality of a vessel, but each vessel was allocated a combination of four flags which were the vessel's 'number' matching the vessel's radio callsign.

The current Naval Code was adopted on 01/01/1952 including the flags, pennants and triangular flags of the International Code plus a 4th substitute, numerical flags and some special flags and pennants.

References

  • List of Coast Stations and Ship Stations (The) (March 1936) The bureau of the International Telecommunications Union (6th Edition) Berne Switzerland

Editor’s Note: Frank Statham joined the Ministry of Transport in 1967 as an electronics technician and retired in 2001 as the network administrator for the Victoria Coast Guard Base. Between those dates he worked at various British Columbia coast stations mentioned on this site, made several voyages into the western Arctic on Canadian Coast Guard icebreakers, a few trips out to Ocean Station Papa, sailed and helicoptered along the coast between Victoria and Prince Rupert. He witnessed and facilitated the change from vacuum tube to solid state equipment, the changes in navigation electronics from Loran to GPS, the replacement of Morse and MF/HF radio by satellite and VHF systems, and wheel house plotting radars becoming the norm.

Editor’s Note: Radio historian Jerry Proc has provided input to the list and curates an excellent website focusing on naval radio history. If you found this list and Rough Radio interesting then we highly recommend Jerry Proc’s site.

To quote from this article please cite:

Statham, Frank and MacFarlane, John M. (2015) (updated 2016) Compilation of Pacific Coast Radio Radio Stations in British Columbia. Nauticapedia.ca 2014. http://nauticapedia.ca/Articles/Radio_Stations.php

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