Read my last post carefully 
Recently I called into 2GN/Eagle FM. Seams their 2GN conversion to FM in Goulburn will either happen late this year or very early in 2021.
It had been about 20 years since I last visited the station. I regularly listen to 2GN/Eagle FM during my work trips & travel in the region & thought it might be nice to have a more recent sticker of their 2GN & Eagle FM station. The staff member kindly provided my one of the Eagle FM station stickers & mentioned that new 2GN stickers will be printed once 2GN converts to FM.
Shockingly I was also asked (with a smile) if I was one of those guys who travel all over the country side from town to town requesting radio station stickers. After a moments pause I said I only occasionally request to those stations I listen to & very infrequently & don’t go out of my way to do so, like once every decade or two. Wow I thought to myself, they must get plenty of nerdy older radio hobbyists calling in requesting these. I suspect the younger generation aren’t into car bumper stickers these days like last century.
So ‘hands up’ who in the Media Spy readership fit 2GN/Eagle FM’s radio station sticker stereotype? LOL…OMG I had to laugh to myself in bemusement later at being stereotyped.
Thanks Eagle FM - Capital Radio for your assistance & gift, from a long time listener - much appreciated 
.
8 Likes
Whenever I tune to 2GN, I noticed that they still use the older “Forever Classic” jingle at the top of the hour, whereas all the other “Forever Classic” stations use the newer jingle. 2XL used the older one until they converted to FM in December last year, in which from that point, they then started using the newer jingle, which included their new FM name, XLFM.
Something tells me that 2GN would become GNFM when they finally convert to FM. 
5 Likes
Not me.
1 Like
Stations still give out stickers if you go into the studios?
2 Likes
Some do, some no longer bother. With some stations the stickers keep getting smaller due to costs etc. Some stations focus on other limited run promotional items, eg stubby holders etc
3 Likes
ACMA has today finalised its LAP variation for Grafton, meaning that 2GF’s FM conversion has been given the go-ahead: https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2020L01430
Elsewhere, looking at ACMA’s Register of Radiocommunications Licences, the licences for the incoming FM conversions for 2ST, 2EC & 5MU (inc one for its Mt Barker translator), has recently been granted. This would indicate that the FM conversions for those stations should be occurring within the coming months.
7 Likes
thanks for the update. I suspect the 2EC conversion will be dependent on finances after they had to rebuild their entire operation for 105.9/104.3 after last summer’s bushfires
2 Likes
It’ll be interesting to see how well 2ST on 91.7 MHz will make it into Sydney (if at all). I can’t get anything from Cambewarra Mountain at all at the moment, though 2ST will be 5 kW towards Sydney, higher than anything else there at the moment (1 kW max towards Sydney).
4 Likes
I just looked at the specs for the new 2ST licence it will be at 5KW towards Sydney at 65m v 1KW at 15m for the existing fm broadcasts on the tower.
My guess a good car radio in the eastern suburbs of Sydney along the coast, with LOS to the south will get permanent reception. Tropo events from the south will bring it in to other parts of Sydney.
@Radiohead will get much stronger reception at his location with tropo when it changes site and powers up.
5 Likes
Yes, definitely.
And more often too.
Even just mild enhancement from that way might be enough to bring in listenable reception.
Though whenever the 91.6 Sydney HPON is on air will make it a lot more difficult.
5 Likes
It might be the other way around in major southerly tropo events where 91.7 causes interference to 91.6.
4 Likes
91.7 will probably be a pest here as well, at least with a Yagi. You can hear the existing Huskisson service from the higher hills. 101.1, 103.7 and 104.5 are there too.
1 Like
The sole submission can be read here:
https://www.acma.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-11/Super%20Radio%20Network%20(SRN)%20Submission_%20IFC%2026-2020.pdf
Greg Cupitt is listed as having mobile number: 0419 230 149. Perhaps he may have news on 90.5 Lake Macquarie.
The 2RE submissions can be read here:
https://www.acma.gov.au/consultations/2020-07/proposal-vary-taree-licence-area-plan-consultation-242020
Submissions from:
Super Radio Network (SRN) by Greg Cupitt
Rebel Submission by Aaron Jowitt
Manning Great Lakes (Rhema FM) by Mark Spencer
Gloucester Broadcasters Association by Shayne Holstein
Christian Media and Arts Australia (CMAA) by Nathan Brown.
1 Like
Reading through Rebel’s submission on 2RE - putting aside my liking of their content - fundamentally I see no reason that a ‘remote area’ broadcaster should get protection against overspill from adjacent license areas.
Deliberately limiting the coverage of a local commercial service to create space for a ‘remote’ service is counter-intuitive - remote area licenses are a last resort for regions well outside the reception of other stations, but too small to justify the creation of a unique radio market.
It shouldn’t be the first outcome though - sticking to the letter of the map and restricting a growing audience that would find the local content of an adjacent market relevant is a poor outcome for listeners.
6 Likes
One could argue if you’re going to protect other commercial broadcasters from overspill, then you should protect all broadcasters. But we know that wont happen
2 Likes
Just looked at the ABC Outages page on Crookwell. The Wades Hill transmitter will have a planned outage next Tuesday & Wednesday early morning between 1:06 & 4:50am. Interestingly, this will only affect its two ABC FM stations, with ABC TV (which also transmit from there) not affected by the outage.
Just maybe this time around, with the planned outage to occur over two nights, RN will finally change its frequency to 104.5, so 2GN can finally convert to FM. After all, it has been nearly a year (where has the time gone?!) since 2XL converted to FM as XLFM.
6 Likes
Respectfully, the ACMA needs to afford better protection to the RM market than what this LAP proposal would gift to SRN.
Good luck with that argument Aaron.
1 Like
Apologies if this has been discussed already, but…
When stations are converting from AM to FM these days, are they still required to change the call sign from 2 to 3 letters? I’ve noticed there’s no sign of a changed callsign for either 2BS or 2XL upon their conversion from AM to FM.
2XL added an extra letter when they converted to FM, in which it became 2XXL. Other solus FM conversions to date maintained the 2 letter callsign of its AM predecessor.
1 Like