Maybe they will silently flip it to Edge at some stage. Could be a loop hole they’ve found. Or they’ll get an Edge infill at a later stage anyway.
It could be that with ACMA it’s far easier to apply for an infill FM transmission at the time of AM to FM conversion than for an existing FM service.
Possibly to limit interference. The proposed site is significantly inferior, being about 600m lower, with no change in power (although I understand 3NNN has been operating well under power anyway).
I have used the Nautel coverage tool to make the following predicted coverage maps, with a few assumptions. Don’t take them as gospel for actual coverage, but they do show the difference between the 2 sites (I used the exact same specs for both sites, which also match the existing and proposed specs where relevant).
3NNN Existing coverage from Mt Stanley:
3NE Proposed coverage from Taminick Gap
As you can see there’s a significant reduction in reception in Wodonga and out east around Bright.
It’s also possible that ACE have requested this site to manufacture a need for an infill in Wodonga.
With the reduced transmitter height that’s probably not going to be as significant as it would have been from Mt Stanley.
Definitely. ACMA seem to have an approach of not removing existing infills, and trying to get as close as possible to similar reception in the fringes of the licence area, even where the existing FM’s don’t have reception and those areas are served by an neighbouring licence area. It generally results in more infill’s being required, and therefore less efficient use of spectrum.
3NNN has great reception throughout the licence area and further with their main TX on Mt Stanley and a lower power repeater at Mt Beauty. It would be so much easier for 3NE to be given the same setup.
The Wangaratta licence area includes approximately the western half of Wodonga, so theoretically they have the right to be able to reach that audience. I agree it’s a bit of stretch though, especially given the current arrangement with 2AY.
I’ve also found 2AY so have some of the clearest AM reception I’ve heard.
ACE would want the Wodonga infill as a pseudo FM conversion for 2AY. It’s going to be hard from them to get an FM conversion for 2AY, but with 3NE having almost identical content, including the breakfast show, they could run the 3NE infill with a separate feed with Wodonga ads and they basically have the same thing with a lower power. Is it right? No. But it’s the same strategy they and other smaller networks have used previously.
Definitely. Much easier to plead the case of “poor us, you’re reducing our coverage” now when it can only be based on theoretical projections rather than real world experiences.
These will happen eventually anyway.
They’d probably rather an infill for Edge in Wodonga, they probably have more to gain since it runs different content to Hit and Triple M. They might use the 3NE infill approval as evidence for a need for an Edge one.
Will be interested to see how these TXs are engineered to prevent overspill into Albury.
I can’t imagine it will be anything special. It’s proposed at 100W and the ACMA document acknowledges there will be “potential overspill of between approximately 7,410 and 9,530 people in the Albury RA1 licence area”. (Overspill is defined as being coverage beyond the Wangaratta RA1 licence area).
Thanks for the explanation.
Some very odd decisions with this 3NE conversion, especially with the Wodonga repeater. I note that there is reduced power of 10W (down from 100W) from 75° to 175° (in the direction of eastern parts of Albury and most of the eastern half of Wodonga including the CBD). Can’t see coverage being that great though given that the Wodonga Golf Club isn’t at an overly high elevation either.
I would actually argue that Edge FM is the greater need for a Wodonga translator if both are being broadcast from Warby Ranges at 25kW- given that 2APH Albury on 101.7 is a very strong signal into pretty much all of Wodonga I find there are selectivity issues on lower-end receivers between the two stations as it is. This will likely be worse from Warby as Mt Stanley does seem likely to have the better signal for coverage into Wodonga (and beyond across the river into Albury).
The inclusion of parts of Wodonga in the licence area is a bit odd to begin with (based on the boundaries below which come from the ACMA kmz file). The only thing I can think of is that the residential areas of Wodonga inside the boundary have only been built up in the past 10-20 years- it is likely that they were farmland and outside of the urban area when the boundaries were last drawn up.
That’s a good insight @captaincupcake. I wonder if SCA will oppose the translator in West Wodonga and request a review of the Wangaratta license area now.
Ace own 2AY so they’re the only other vested interest in the Albury RA1 and Wangaratta RA1 overlap.
Does Mount Stanley have a sharp null in the direction of Albury? Maybe that’s why I never hear a peep from 102.1 here, but can get it further south around Cooma/Nimmitabel.
With the new Warby Ranges site, I’d expect they’d be chucking a lot more power east, so paradoxically could be easier to receive from here despite the greater distance. I have no trouble hearing Mount Baranduda commercials via As and tropo.
Have you ever had Shepparton around there?
Shep is sometimes heard on 94.5 on the western facing peaks; the other channels are blocked by Cooma and to a lesser extent Sydney.
I have had clear reception of 102.5 Deniliquin from the top of Red Hill though.
I know 3HA is on the to do list for FM conversion, does anyone know an estimated time?
Just looking at ACMA’s Register of Radiocommunications Licences now, and I’ve noticed that the main FM licence for 2AD Armidale has been issued there, which happened back in November. Interestingly, its transmitter site location is shown as Little Duval, as it’s originally intended, not its alternative transmitter location of Thunderbolts Cave Road.
https://web.acma.gov.au/rrl/licence_image.extract_pdf?pLICENCE_NO=1384955/2
Interesting, I wonder if the young Caralis’s have decided it’s better to pay up and stay there than establish a new site?
Probably good news I think if that’s the case, and if they’ve also paid up their rents in other locations like Tamworth, Newcastle and Sydney. Will help 2TM to convert more quickly too if so.
From the ACMA’s Draft FYSO 2025-30 released today, the current state-of-play of the proposed AM-FM conversions in competitive regional markets:
On a related note, given that SCA no longer owns a TV licence within the Warragul licence area since it has been sold to 10 (hence raising the number of media voices in that licence area), I wonder if in the event that 3GG converts to FM, would SCA buy the station from Capital Radio Network & turn it into a Hit station? 
I suppose a similar scenario could apply to 4AM in Atherton, if the Super Radio Network are willing to sell it to SCA.
I suppose that probably will be the case. Triple M is the only SCA owned-and-operated radio station in Warragul. Also, I believe listeners weren’t that happy with the change from Hit to Triple M on 94.3 FM back in 2020, which probably caused listeners not prepared for Rock, Sport and Comedy to turn off 94.3 FM and go for either the Melbourne or Traralgon stations, that being Fox FM 101.9 and TRFM respectively.
I am surprised that ARN have shown no interest in converting their Queensland AM stations to FM
That footnote on Bunbury is that only one AM station applied - I assume that’s Triple M applying but SEN Spirit not. Surprised you wouldn’t get in market agreement there.
While obviously no movement so far, good to see in general there’s not many cases of a holdout - even in markets like Canberra where it would be pretty clearly advantageous to stop it.
Agree. I find it bizarre they aren’t pushing to convert 4CA, 4MK, 4BU and especially 4RO/4CC. Those stations really struggle as the only AM stations in markets with multiple FM stations.
The regional stations are definitely an afterthought at ARN. I’d hazard a guess that while there might be interest locally, there’s no one up the chain who can give the sign off that’s remotely interested.
Unfortunately what’s often claimed to be a local first approach of management not interfering with local operations, too often means that management doesn’t care and has almost forgotten those stations exist.
Would they be eligible seeing as some of those stations went back to AM?
