Inside The CHFI Control Room In 1971

Last Updated on: 29th March 2023, 11:05 am

This won’t be for everyone, but if you’re fascinated by what goes on in radio station control rooms or at least what used to go on in there, nearly a half hour of audio recorded during a morning show on 680 CHFI Toronto in the spring of 1971 might be fun.

You can download the file here if you have trouble with the player.

Yes, for a while, CHFI was the name of two different stations. The AM one would become CFTR in June, so not long after this recording was made.

The host is Jerry Herbert, but I don’t know the name of the board operator.

It’s interesting to hear how what we hear over the air comes together. The records being cued, the cart machines being loaded for the commercials, which helicopter is handling which traffic report, how much time there is to talk before a song kicks in (to hit the post as they say in radio), the back and forth about the order of things.

Your ears are not deceiving you. They’re giving the temperature in Fahrenheit. Canada didn’t go metric until 1975.

Oh, and I can only assume that the McAdorey that one of them calls a “funny cat” at one point is Bob, who did stints on the Radio in Guelph and Toronto but is probably best known for his years on Global TV.

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