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RADIOALUMNI.CA |
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CANADIAN EPICS IN RADIOCOMMUNICATION ALUMNI WHO LIVED THE ADVENTURE OF RADIO WIRELESS TELEGRAPHISTS - SPARKS - RADIO PIONEERS RADIO OPERATORS - RADIO TECHNICIANS RADIO TECHNOLOGISTS - RADIO ENGINEERS RADIO INSPECTORS - SPECTRUM MANAGERS |
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ÉPOPÉES CANADIENNES EN RADIOCOMMUNICATION LES ANCIENS QUI ONT VÉCU L'AVENTURE DE LA RADIO TÉLÉGRAPHISTES SANS FIL - PIONNIERS DE LA RADIO OPÉRATEURS RADIO - TECHNICIENS RADIO TECHNOLOGUES RADIO - INGÉNIEURS RADIO INSPECTEURS RADIO - GESTIONNAIRES DU SPECTRE |
More on Private Radio Receiving Licences
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I read the article on RadioAlumni.ca that the late Bill Wilson wrote about radio receiver licensing in Canada. (Remember When We Had Private Receiving Station Licences) I am hoping that you can put me in touch with someone who can tell me more about it? I have a set of consecutive licenses from 1926 until 1953 that I am trying to research. All 25 licenses were issued to the same person in B.C. I believe the 1926 license must be close to the first year this was carried out? Although I have not been able to find much information on this subject, I have gathered some very interesting tidbits but it is not clear when this licensing practice first began in Canada? Other countries did the same but I would also like to find more about which ones did so. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Best regards, Lorne Bohn Nanaimo, B.C. 31 December 2017 |
Hi Lorne: In addition to the article by Bill Wilson, there are other articles on the website about radio receiving licences in Canada. Some of them are: Notes on the Bill Beaton Collection of Radio Licences By John Gilbert Special Private Receiving Station Licence Radio Licence is Gone by G.H. Hierllhy I am copying John Gilbert who can tell you more about the subject. I would also love to put on the website copies of your consecutive licenses from 1926 to 1953. If you could send me JPG copies, it would be greatly appreciated. Best regards Donald Courcy 21 January 2018 |
Hello Lorne: I am not an expert in this but I did gather some information when I wrote about the Bill Beaton collection. Further, I am currently writing a long article about the history of Radio College of Canada (RCC). In that connection I have been researching at Library and Archives, Canada and have looked at a couple of the files which will give the story. However, I was looking for information on RCC at the time and did not take notes on the rest of the file. I do recall that around 1930 the question of licensing was being debated and the Radio Act was being revised following an international conference on radio-communications in 1928. I have to return to LAC soon and will pull the files again. The late Bill Wilson was an authority on this subject. John Gilbert 21 January 2018 |
Thanks for the info Donald. Most people aren’t even aware that licenses were required for just receivers. It is not clear when the first licenses were issued but the practice ended in 1953. If possible I would like to know if 1926 is the first year that licenses were required. The licenses I have were issued to the same person in Camrose, Alberta. Do you want both the front and back copied? There are 25 of them. They are in a binder and each is mounted with 4 picture mounting tabs. The tabs come off when I take the licenses out of the pages but I will see if I can find new mounts if you want both sides. Otherwise I will photocopy the full pages but only the front. Lorne Bohn 22 January 2018 |
Hi Donald: I sent .jpg’s of the consecutive licences I have to you and John. I’d appreciate it if one of you could let me know when the first license was issued. Lorne Bohn |
Here are the .jpgs of the Peter Sorensen Radio Licenses. They are consecutive until 1953 and issued in Camrose, Alberta. Lorne Bohn 25 January 2018 Click here to see Peter Sorenson Private Radio Receiving Licenses (We did not receive the 1926-1927 and the 1927-1928 licences) |
Many thanks, Lorne. A nice collection and in great condition. I will be at Library and Archives Canada in a week or so and will see what I can find. I stopped in Camrose a few years ago on a trip I made to Calgary. Regards John Gilbert |
Lorne: As I mentioned, I have been researching at Library and
Archives, Canada. By chance I looked at File RG97 Vol 92 File 1024-4 Vol 8 Nov
1932-Feb 1935 . My interest was in the licensing requirements for radio
operators on board ship and this file covers the preparatory work for the 1938
Radio Act. There may be more information in this file or in previous files
covering earlier iterations of the Radio and Radiotelegraph Act of Canada. There
are many articles on the development of broadcasting in Canada (often mentioned
in comparison to that in Britain and the US). I will leave it to you to do the
Google searches for those (try Google Scholar). The following seems to answer
your question as to how far back the radio receivers were licensed:
https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/radio-and-television-broadcasting/
I have not seen the 1913 Act, but it looks as though the wording regarding licenses was carried over into the 1927 Act and then, in RG 97 Vol 92, it looks as though the wording was being carried over into the 1938 Radio Act. I did copy a curious memo concerning an exemption from licensing for crystal sets and this is attached also. I'm sure there is more information in the files, but it might take some searching to find it. Meanwhile, I think the above answers part of your question. Should you use any of the info from the attachments the file reference above should be quoted. Regards John Gilbert 29 January 2018 |
Thanks for remembering to take a look for me John. Much appreciated. In my search to see when the licenses were first issued, I was able to find quite a bit of history about the beginnings of the Radio act itself and why it was enacted but the actual date as to when the first licenses were issued are not clear. You would think there would be lots of information about that. If you come across anything that specific I would appreciate hearing about it. As near as I can tell, my 1927 license must be close to one of the first ones??? It is possible that was when Peter Sorenson bought his first radio too and he kept renewing his license for as long as it was required. I even e-mailed both government agencies that were involved but have not gotten any reply. Lorne Bohn 29 January 2018 |
Lorne: As I mentioned in my email receiving licenses were required as far back as 1913. I read somewhere that it took some time for people to comply with the law. In other things I have been researching (such as the safety of life at sea regulations) the regulation of radio was delayed by WW1. In the case of radio operator licenses it was not until 1928 that the new regs were put in place and that was partly driven by technology (outlawing of spark, requirement for direction finding equipment on board ship, for example). As you will see in the references, the licensing of receivers was initially to avoid interference from receivers with other radio services. By 1928, with the advent of tubes and universal electric power etc, this was not longer a problem. But then it became an issue of revenue for public broadcasting with the US, Britain and Canada taking different approaches over the years. So I do not think your 1927 license is one of the first but it is certainly a "keeper". John Gilbert 30 January 2018 |
Links - Liens
Notes on the Bill Beaton Collection of Radio Licences
Remember When We Had Private Receiving Station Licences ?
CBC Requesting an Increase to $5 per year for the Radio Receiving License Fee And a Separate $10 Annual Fee Proposed for TV Reception
Private Radio Receiving License Issued to Alfred Crevier in 1932
1951 Special Private Receiving Station Licence
1953 The Radio Licence Is Gone
Peter Sorenson's Private Radio Receiving Licences from 1928 to 1953
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