I think it’s doof doof.
1 Like
Very good luck to you for your first day of broadcasting on 89.9. I really hope you do have plenty of people listening in near and far around Western Sydney and surrounding areas.
4 Likes
I will be checking it out, the format Starter fm will have is missing from Sydney radio.
2 Likes
I hate to play devil’s advocate- but I think the Hawkesbury community radio licence is the wrong one for a station like Starter FM. I reckon you’d be better off going for a few LPONs in places like Penrith or Parramatta, though of course these may not be available.
How much Hawkesbury specific content will you be running? This is what the ACMA will look at. I can’t see them awarding the licence to a generic dance music station tbh.
2 Likes
Yeah I presume you’ll be running Hawkesbury community content instead of pumping dance shows from the US and elsewhere? ACMA won’t be too happy with that.
1 Like
Bit like Switch 1197 in Brisbane which has gone back to dance music with very little focus on Brisbane I am lead to believe… But with the way ACMA is lately not sure they will do a whole lot unless people complain about the content.
3 Likes
We will focusing on Up-tempo styles of music like Top 40, EDM and Australian Urban Artists.
Thank you
We have a couple of local shows made by people in the Hawkesbury and surrounds, with a few shows from the CBAA and friends from the UK.
As time progresses we hope to have more and more shows made local people.
We will aim to present our programming similar to Fresh 92.7 or Joy 94.9.
We think so with the likes of Wild FM, Free FM, and Radio Dex to name a few that have tried the Sydney/Western Sydney market in the past
3 Likes
I tried listening to Starter fm today but the reception was very weak compared to the other aspirants.
I even receive River Fm stronger. Around Riverstone / Rouse Hill which is closer to the Windsor licence area boundary the reception was variable. Weaker again in Stanhope Gardens with direct LOS to Kurrajong Heights.
My car radio radio struggles to get stereo separation or receive it on a seek.
There does not appear to be RDS, unless the signal is to weak to allow a RDS to decode.
Is starter fm at a lower power or a poor transmission site compared to the other aspirants???
2 Likes
From what I have heard today it sounded more narrowcast then a community station, but it is only their first day on air
1 Like
Yes we have a few teething issues with the transmission signal, nothing that can’t be fixed, but will take time.
And no RDS yet though it something we would like in the future.
3 Likes
To be fair regarding the coverage. The Windsor (RA1) isn’t designed to cover all of Sydney, the radiation pattern dramatically reduces towards Sydney. It’s designed to cover the Hawkesbury LGA so maybe Starter is playing by the rules, whereas the other community aspirants are not.
5 Likes
Exactly, the sub metro licences are best suited to hyper-local radio services that put the local community front and centre. I get that it’s extremely difficult to get a signal on air in Sydney- particularly for a small operation like Starter FM- but the licence should be fit for purpose. It seems to me that Starter FM is a dance music station first and any connection to the Hawkesbury is fairly circumstantial.
I admire the effort to get Starter FM on air, though. I just don’t want to see you put in all the time and effort (and likely, funds) into an ultimately unsuccessful venture.
The audience for EDM is primarily youthful and thus more likely to stream, anyway. A primarily online operation with maybe a few strategically placed LPONs would be the way to go. The music format of Starter FM would be well within the bounds of narrowcasting.
2 Likes
I definitely understand what your saying and I can’t say much but we do have plans, no matter what the outcome may be. Starter FM is here to stay no matter what.
2 Likes
I wish Sydney had a station similar to Kiss Melbourne, Switch Brisbane & Fresh92.7 Adelaide.
StarterFM could be the answer.
3 Likes
This issue is spectrum space, DAB+ or DRM could be answer but all cost more money then I/We have right now.
3 Likes
I do appreciate what the ACMA is trying to do here with the 89.9 frequency. This is community access at its best. BYO Transmitter and you’re on the air, I’m enjoying the diversity on 89.9. Good on Starter for trying something different.
4 Likes
It is significantly weaker then everyone else. If the 1W River fm LPON from Kurrajong Heights is received better their signal needs tweaking.
2 Likes
Yes but Remember River FM are a completely different ballgame, River have a network of low power licences/transmitters, so not really a good comparison - it’s like comparing a Mesh Wifi Network with a Mobile 4G/5G signal from a telco tower.
Ideally you should be looking at the signal level across the different 89.9 operators (Different Days) and even then, listening to some of the others, they are actually stronger towards Sydney, which is completely inconsistent with their licence radiation pattern, whereas Starter appear to be operating within their licence conditions. Can I also add, if you are listening to 89.9 outside of the Windsor (RA1) / Hawkesbury LGA this is fortuitous reception. Driving around the Hawkesbury yesterday afternoon, I experienced a perfect signal of Starter FM on 89.9. So fit for purpose.
5 Likes
I understand that Re River fm. However I have perfect LOS to Kurrajong Heights from my street. I can even see the 4 towers on the top of the escarpment, this is also most of the case in the Ponds where most houses have UHF tv antennas point towards Kurrajong Heights.
Here is the order of Windsor Comnunity aspirants in strength strongest to weakest
- Hawkesbury Radio
- Hawkesbury Gold
- Harmony
- Starter
I have not checked the others so they maybe stronger or weaker.
4 Likes
I totally agree Ant5476. I guess the question is, what does 50 watts ERP across 90 to 180 Degrees (i.e. towards Sydney) sound like? Is Starter on spec or are the others exceeding spec? Very hard to figure out exactly without knowing what everyone has under the hood.
3 Likes