William Patalon of Fallston, Maryland in the United States tell us that the first QSL he ever received was from CBX, the CBC Canadian Broadcasting Corporation mediumwave station located near Edmonton in Alberta Canada. He states that he heard station CBX with 50 kW on 740 kHz some 40 years ago, on the night of December 18, 1974. He also states that the distance between the transmitter in Canada and his receiver in the United States was nearly 2,000 miles, his best ever distance record on mediumwave.
William Patalon, in referring to his
QSL card from Canadian mediumwave station CBX, mentions several items of
interest regarding the history of this station.
Originally, CBX with its 50 kW on 1010 kHz, was located near Lacombe,
approximately half way between Edmonton and Calgary, around 100 miles distant
from each city. The station was launched
in 1948 with studios in Edmonton.
However, to improve reception within
the city of Edmonton itself, a slave relay station was inaugurated with just
100 watts on 740 kHz. Three years later,
the power of this unit was increased to 250 watts. Then in 1964, a new CBX with 50 kW on 740 kHz
was constructed near Edmonton itself, and both the Lacombe high power station
and the low power CBXA were closed.
The QSL card that William received
from CBC-CBX Edmonton is their familiar blue bulls eye card and it verifies the
reception of the second CBX with 50 kW on 740 kHz at the more recent location
near Edmonton. As the first QSL card
that William Patalon ever received, it remains a treasured item in his QSL
collection.