VOAR first began broadcasting in the fall of 1929 as 8BSL. In 1930, the station was renamed 8RA. It received the call signVONA (Voice of the North Atlantic) in 1931 (using the ITU prefixVO that was assigned to the Dominion of Newfoundland before it joined Canada. It later switched to VOAC (Voice of the Adventist Church) in 1933, then once more to its current call sign, VOAR (Voice of Adventist Radio) in 1938.[3] VOAR is one of four Canadian stations, along with VOWR 800, VOCM 590 and VOCM-FM 97.5, to still use call signs beginning with VO rather than C.
Over the years, the station switched its frequency several times. From the 1950s through 1991, it broadcast at 1230 kHz, originally powered at only 100 watts.
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 the Northwest Territories.
Moving to FM
VOAR logo prior to FM transition.
On October 6, 2016, the CRTC received an application from VOAR to move to the FM band, with the call signVOAR-FM. The proposed new station would have an effective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000 watts. At the same time, it would shut down its AM signal and its Bay Robertsrepeater, VOAR-1-FM 95.9. The other VOAR repeaters would begin simulcasting the new FM signal. Reasons for the conversion request stated in the application were listener confusion with VOWR 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 a non-directional antenna at a height above average terrain (HAAT) of 156.8 metres.[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 becoming Lighthouse FM.[9][10] On January 10, 2020, the AM signal shut down.
Rebroadcasters
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 on Bell Satellite TV Channel 950 and locally on Rogers Cable Channel 929.
A new broadcasting license was issued in 2008.[12][13] Also in 2008, several transmitters were put on the air in British Columbia.
The station also had repeaters in Prince George, British Columbia 107.3 (VF2510); Kamloops 105.1 (VF2525); Kelowna 98.9; and Oliver 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]
