CFWE, The Native Perspective heard in the north

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The Aboriginal Multi-Media Society is powering up the north with a new regional radio transmitter that should provide northern residents unfettered access to its radio programming.

Gone will be the dead zones between communities along the south shores of Lesser Slave Lake, said Bert Crowfoot, society CEO, a non-profit group that operates CFWE, The Native Perspective, a radio station heard on the 91.7 FM frequency in the Slave Lake area.

The new large tower replaces the eight smaller transmitters that had been serving the area. The eight smaller transmitter sites taken out of the Slave Lake area to make way for the regional site will be moved south and placed in Native communities that still don't receive the CFWE signal.

The Slave lake regional system is the second large-scale make-over for the organization. Recently, a regional site was set up in southern Alberta to serve the Blood and Peigan reserves, as well as the city of Lethbridge and the towns of Pincher Creek and Fort Mcleod.

The boosted up radio signal is heard across southern Alberta on the 89.3 FM frequency.

Crowfoot said the society will be testing the effectiveness of the new tower, discovering where the weaknesses are, and putting up repeater towers to fill in the holes where the signal isn't clear. This will take time, he said, and he hopes the listening public will be patient with the process.

And the public can help by calling the station to tell technicians where the signal is weak.

"This is all new to us. It's a big endeavor for such a small organization," said Crowfoot.

With the two regional service areas and other Aboriginal communities being served by the smaller, localized transmitters, the coverage area of the radio station is growing by leaps and bounds.

Crowfoot estimates that the numbers of listeners could grow by 400 per cent. He said the plan is to have full provincial coverage in the very near future. The society has plans for four more regional sites to be set up by the year 2002.

With that kind of coverage, CFWE, The Native Perspective "will truly be the Aboriginal voice of Alberta, covering all the Metis settlements and First Nations in the province," said Crowfoot.

Currently, 49 communities across Alberta are served by CFWE, The Native Perspective.

CFWE, FM - The Native Perspective is currently expanding its radio coverage in the Lesser Slave Lake region which means it will be heard in more communities and in many more homes and offices. But no matter what is done to increase the signal reach to your community, it still cannot be heard if your radio does not have an antenna. A good antenna is essential to good radio reception.

The best and simplest antenna to have is a Dipole FM antenna, which can be found at most hardware stores or radio hobby stores like Radio Shack. The cost is less than $5 and the improvement to reception and sound quality are well worth the investment.

If you have access to any outdoor antenna, this would be an even better solution.

This simple procedure can make a world of difference. Oh, by the way, coat hangers do not make good antennas for your vehicle.