Radio Adelaide 5UV and their claim to be the oldest community radio station. It started in 1972 as the Adelaide University educational radio station VL5UV. But … the UNSW educational radio station VL2UV started in 1961, and their educational television station started around 1966. The UNSW radio station closed in 1986, and the television station was also closed.
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Was the station known on air as VL5UV? All Australian stations technically had the VL prefix. Even though VL2UV would have needed some sort of licence, I don’t think it would have been classed as community as it was on a frequency outside the AM broadcast band.
It appears it was, I think because it was originally outside of the usual AM broadcast band, up past 1600. I did some more research and found out that the station actually started broadcasting in 1969.
VL2UV used that call sign on-air. I remember listening to it.
ACMA approves transfer of Radio Adelaide licence
The community radio broadcasting licence held by the University of Adelaide will be transferred to Educational Broadcasters Adelaide Inc (EBA), following approval by the Australian Communications and Media Authority.
The University represents the educational community interest in the Adelaide RA1 licence area and EBA will represent the same community interest.
The University now has 90 days to transfer the licence to EBA.
The University and EBA provided copies of a membership policy and a community participation policy to the ACMA.
These policies indicate that, at a minimum, the five universities in the licence area will have the opportunity to participate in the operations and programming of the service, to the same extent currently enjoyed by the University of Adelaide.
Accordingly, the ACMA was satisfied that the educational community in the licence area will be able to continue to participate in the operations and programming of Radio Adelaide.
In addition, the University and EBA provided written assurance to the ACMA that EBA will develop and provide a community consultation strategy and a structured engagement program by 1 March 2017, for implementation from that date.
All Brisbane FM community radio stations off-air at the moment, due to the current thunderstorm. 96five, 98.9fm, 4EB, 4ZZZ and 4MBS.
EDIT: Back on-air as of 5.20pm now.
Hope 103.2 isn’t simulcasting Nine News Sydney tonight…
Their website still lists it as being part of their Drive program.
Wonder if that is just a holiday season thing or a permanent change?
Maybe it’s just a holiday thing. Also, they sometimes don’t do the news simulcast during their donation drives.
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It’s due to holidays. It will return.
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Does anyone know if that 101.3 TCBL from Murwillumbah has gone off air sometime over the Christmas period? I haven’t caught a trace of its signal around the GC where it used to boom in - wondering if the pin got pulled on it?
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Nothing on the ACMA database for a Community licence.
Yep, there was discussion in one of the industry Facebook groups - something to do with antenna placement and/or power output. It read to me like it was too powerful to cover the RA2 license area.
Interesting - especially remembering our discussion in the DX area about the new transmitter location being unsuitable to serve the LAP; perhaps it was a forced change. Can’t receive it anymore at my location in Brisbane.
Paraphrasing the industry conversation:
It’s supposed to be a community licence, however apparently it was more or less being run by one guy only, supposedly the lease for the existing TX site was up & it couldn’t be renewed, this guy moved the TX site without ACMA approval, & he moved it to a site that increased the coverage across the Gold Coast (outside the licence area) & the new site also reduced it’s coverage inside the licence area, apparently there were spots inside the licence area, that could no longer receive the signal (can’t remember if it was Murwillumbah or Tweed Heads area).
He applied for a TX site move & ACMA knocked it back & shut it down, because it didn’t serve the area it was supposed to, & the new site & power levels were making it a pseudo Gold Coast station.
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Yeah I heard a bit of it, and it seemed to play almost wall-to-wall pop music. The signal definitely did leak into the Coast too, it would pump into the northern GC areas like a local (you could autoseek it on a car radio near Dreamworld and beyond).
Thanks for the info guys. I wonder if the frequency will be given to another aspirant in time?
I remember the Tweed used to have a good (aspirant) community station, 100.1 COOL FM, back in the late 90s.
I did wonder whatever happened to them.
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RF Burns’ paraphrasing is spot on what happened.
Mark Chapman Smith’s TCBL wasn’t renewed. He doesn’t get it that to be community, you need community involvement, it can’t be a dictatorship.
Why ACMA approved it in the first place is beyond me.
I doubt many were listening, why listen to someone else’s iPod when you can make your own playlist, that’s all it was.
Good question, be interesting to know who was behind it and where are they now.
If you are on the Tweed coast to Pottsville or north of the river from Banora Point northwards, you’re better off joining a Gold Coast community station which can be easily received.
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Fair points, all of them. Thinking about it, the GC does well with community stations too, a wide range all of which service the entire Gold Coast. 4CRB is probably the most ‘community’ of them, but you’ve also got something for the kids (Radio Metro), the Christian station in Juice, as well as the quasi-commercial 94.1
The sure have enough Christian stations as well as Juice the C in 4CRB stands for Christian.
Same as Canberra and Gosford, they each have 4 community radio stations.
Even Brisbane and Adelaide only get 4 community stations on FM (BNE gets a 5th on AM and both get several suburban ones).
However, Newcastle and Wollongong make do with just 2.
(Edit: 3 for Newcastle if you include 2RPH).