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| Broadcast area | Newfoundland and Labrador |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 96.7MHz (FM) |
| Branding | Lighthouse FM |
| Programming | |
| Format | Christian |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | TheSeventh-day Adventist Church in Newfoundland & Labrador |
| History | |
First air date | Fall1929 |
Former call signs | 8BSL (1929–1930) 8RA (1930–1931) VONA (1931–1933) VOAC (1933–1938) |
Former frequencies | 1230kHz (AM) (1950s-1991) 1210 kHz (1991–2020) |
Call sign meaning | VoiceOfAdventistRadio |
| Technical information | |
| Class | C |
| ERP | 100,000watts |
| HAAT | 156.6 meters (514 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 47°32′05″N52°49′16″W / 47.5347°N 52.8211°W /47.5347; -52.8211 |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | lighthousefm.org |
VOAR-FM (96.7MHz) is a Canadianradio station, which airs aChristianradio format. It islicensed toMount Pearl,Newfoundland and Labrador, and serves theSt. John's metropolitan area. VOAR is owned by theSeventh-day Adventist Church in Newfoundland and Labrador. Itsradio studios and offices are on Topsail Road in Mount Pearl.
VOAR-FM is aClass C FM station. Thetransmitter is off Kenmount Road, also in Mount Pearl.[1] Theeffective radiated power (ERP) is 100,000watts, the maximum for most Canadian FM stations.
VOAR airs a blend ofChristian talk and teaching programs along withContemporary Christian music. Religious leaders heard on VOAR includeCharles Stanley,Jim Daly,Joni Eareckson Tada andChuck Swindoll.[2]
VOAR first began broadcasting in the fall of 1929 as8BSL. In 1930, the station was renamed8RA. It received thecall signVONA (Voice of theNorthAtlantic) in 1931 (using theITU prefixVO that was assigned to theDominion of Newfoundland before it joined Canada. It later switched toVOAC (Voice of theAdventistChurch) in 1933, then once more to its current call sign,VOAR (Voice ofAdventistRadio) in 1938.[3] VOAR is one of four Canadian stations, along withVOWR 800,VOCM 590 andVOCM-FM 97.5, to still use call signs beginning withVO rather thanC.
Over the years, the station switched its frequency several times. From the 1950s through 1991, it broadcast at 1230 kHz, originally powered at only 100watts.
It then moved to its final AM frequency, 1210. The new dial position was coupled with a boost in power to 10,000 watts, which was approved by theCanadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in 1991.[4] But because 1210 is aclear channel frequency reserved forClass AWPHTPhiladelphia, VOAR used adirectional antenna to avoid interference. It later moved itscity of license fromSt. John's toMount Pearl, the community where its transmitter and studios are located.
In 2002, VOAR began adding a network of FM rebroadcasters, while the main station was still being heard on the AM band in St. John's.[5] At first, the rebroadcasting stations were in small communities around Newfoundland and Labrador.
In recent years, VOAR has expanded into other provinces and territories. It currently has about 30 rebroadcasters, stretching across Canada. It is heard in four provinces and in theNorthwest Territories.
On October 6, 2016, the CRTC received an application from VOAR to move to the FM band, with thecall signVOAR-FM. The proposed new station would have aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000watts. At the same time, it would shut down its AM signal and itsBay Robertsrepeater, VOAR-1-FM 95.9. The other VOAR repeaters would beginsimulcasting the new FM signal. Reasons for the conversion request stated in the application were listener confusion withVOWR 800 AM (both stations receive each other's mail), signal reception issues in portions of the St. John's area, and the AM station's transmitter (installed in 1990) reaching the end of its usable life.[6]
On June 27, 2017, the CRTC approved VOAR's application to replace its AM radio station VOAR and its rebroadcaster in Bay Roberts. The new FM station in Mount Pearl would operate at 96.7 MHz with an ERP of 100,000 watts using anon-directional antenna at aheight above average terrain (HAAT) of 156.8 metres (515 feet).[7][8] VOAR began testing its new FM transmitter in December 2018. It officially signed on the air the following month.
VOAR completed its transitions to FM with the station's moniker becomingLighthouse FM.[9][10] On January 10, 2020, the AM signalshut down.
In 2002, VOAR added several FM rebroadcasters in various parts of the province, too far from St. John's to get a clear signal from the AM transmitter.[11] Over the years, other rebroadcasters were added in other Canadian provinces and territories. VOAR is also carried across Canada onBell Satellite TV Channel 950 and locally onRogers Cable Channel 929.
A new broadcasting license was issued in 2008.[12][13] Also in 2008, several transmitters were put on the air inBritish Columbia.
The station also had repeaters inPrince George, British Columbia 107.3 (VF2510);Kamloops 105.1 (VF2525);Kelowna 98.9; andOliver 106.1 (VF2524). However, they were taken off the air due to licensing issues with the CRTC in January 2009.[14] The station also had applications to expand into 25 additional communities in British Columbia in early 2009.[15]