Stock standard CBAA PAD… Identical across all DRP community stations.
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I was in byron bay during the week and was suprised to get good reliable reception of DAB in my i30 around the lighthouse
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I only got a brief decode from there in August 2017, using my Sangean DPR-34 pocket DAB radio. It would be interesting to go back with my i30. I usually don’t visit the area during tropo season, though (too damn hot).
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Chemist Warehouse Remix and Elf Radio are stuck playing the first 8 seconds of all its songs (and IDs) on a loop.
This is also on there webstreams.
Video: https://youtu.be/Z5mKZYNor7w
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At least for the latter station, that’s probably an improvement.
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Also good at the street on the ridgeline of the water tower south of the lighthouse down to the top shop cafe.
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I recall back in the 80s that the trendy shops in Byron used to have FM 104.1 playing before there was any other commercial radio station in the area.
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Interesting! I didn’t think FM104 would have reached that far south. Reception for me on the coast wasn’t great around Kingscliff even.
Radio 97, 2LM and most likely 4GG would have been received there too. Quite possibly Stereo 10 and 4KQ too as they had great signals on the Gold Coast.
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Back in those days people used to spend time with outside aerials to get long distance reception of stations like FM104. I recall staying at a hotel on the Gold Coast in the 80s and the hotel spruiked its “superior” aerial for better FM reception of FM104. The hotel room had a radio plugged into the external aerial.
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Very interesting, thank you @TV.Cynic. I remember a shop in the 90’s with a Band II pointing towards Qld, I asked the staff in the shop, they said it was for radio, still had the cabling and radio but had moved to CDs.
I recall similar, today with quality, modern car radios, I can receive it at Kingscliff, certainly quite the attenuation of Brisbane FM signals beyond the ridge of Banora Point/Terranora.
The ERP of 104.1 4MMM began as 6kW did it?
For Byron types, especially in retail there, they wouldn’t have considered Lismore nor Murwillumbah/Tweed to be local for them, so I guess went with a music choice. No memory of 4GG, it was directional with limits to the south due to co/adjacent channels 1188 Inverell, 1197 Adelaide, 1206 just down the road at Grafton & Canberra.
Correct, 1008 still received well along the coast in that region as @4TAB-1008kHz could confirm. The St Helena Island site gives excellent signal.
4IP in one of their incarnations mentioned the coverage as Byron to Noosa or was it further north?
Correct, as media choices were limited to what you could get in your local area. No Media Spy, no VPNs for Netflix or whatever country you like.
Regional audiences were light on for local choice and invested well in good equipment for long distance reception. Often the local hotel would be the leader as they had the highest roofline, double stacked phased array Band III. At a time where TV was at a premium, not the ‘cheapies’ you can buy today, hotels would have the most TVs.
Antenna like this: 03MM-BIGRAY - Phased Array Digital TV Antenna Vertical/Horizontal with Balun 16 Elements - Matchmaster Digital TV Antenna Often many for surrounding markets.
Yes! That’s the wonderful effort that businesses would go to for media choices. I remember some accommodation going to this length. Would’ve been quite the job for installers, paid for their Christmas holidays well and truly.
There are many homes of 80/90’s construction on the Gold and Sunshine Coast with two antennae, one for local TV and a three element Band II towards Brisbane. Must’ve been a common antenna installer up sell of the time. Interesting that a three element at close to roof height (remember, below the local UHF is the order) on a single or double storey home did the trick, nothing fancy needed.
Same in Toowoomba on homes of all ages, remember, this is a city with only a community FM and ABC 80 - 100km away until 2000 when one commercial FM began. Toowoomba locals, due their elevation, had enjoyed Brisbane TV signals since 1959, so FM reception from the same site followed like clockwork.
Here’s some for digital radio (not a big choice, not that we’re surprised):
https://www.radioparts.com.au/product/00643785/ant3030810-vhf-yagi-dab-antenna-1-2-band-3-element-fracarro#.Xa-gUJMzY5c (Does a specific band section: 198 - 223MHz, 6dB gain somewhere within)
https://www.radioparts.com.au/product/00643780/01edab-dab-folded-dipole-antenna-digitek#.Xa-gUpMzY5c (whole Band III)
Matchmaster still make 3 and 8 element FM/Band II antennae, no digital radio at a quick look.
Jaycar market one for digital radio yet it covers the entire Band III:
https://www.jaycar.com.au/dab-outdoor-antenna/p/LT3159
In the ACMA reserved allocations for DRM/DRM+, the antennae would be fun, back to wonderful, mountain bending signals with Band I and lower with their large elements.
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6KW - yes. The change to 104.5 brought an on air announcement of a power increase but it and B105 were still listed as 6KW
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Would be interesting to know if the Brisbane FMs are running at spec or how much below and in what directions. All non national FM services are OD, with the nationals at 1/3 of their full ERP in some sectors.
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Interestingly I’ve noted that the Brisbane FMs “come back” at Byron. You lose them entirely at Kingscliff but they magically come back in quite strongly in parts of Byron. And so does River 949 in fact.
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Yes @crankymedia I vividly remember the huge TV aerials in Gympie so they could receive Brisbane TV and presumably also FM104 for some. Gold Coast/Tweed also. I wonder if Lismore/Byron residents also invested in them?
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On some of the older houses on the Gold Coast, there are remnants of the old Brisbane antennas, plus old Band 3 antennas aimed at Lismore. Some of the more elevated parts of Lismore were able to get Brisbane and antennas were installed accordingly.
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Regarding spectrum allocation in the VHF Band for DAB (in relation to a regional rollout), I wonder if the ACMA should have been more flexible about using different channels in adjacent areas to minimise co channel interference on DAB - eg Newcastle uses Channel 6 for DAB on vertical polarity, or would DTV on ATN-6 from Sydney be likely to interfere with that and vice versa?
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Good question. I understand the modelling software available freely allows such scenarios, not that I’ve used myself.
@RFBurns and others may have a better idea.
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