Correct. Same from Noise FM, listen live - i.e. ID as: “Hawkesbury’s 87.6 River FM”
Well its a bit complicated as we are still waiting on ACMA on the 88.0. But its all just crazy for now.
Yeah very bad branding for Noise as there is no online presence for them now as it was all switched to River FM, maybe @RiverFM / @NoiseFM can shed some light on the plans for 87.8.
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I wonder how often some of these narrowcast owners check if their transmitters are working? 3ABN (Seventh-day Adventist radio) has a licence for 88.0 FM at Duffy in the ACT. It’s currently broadcasting dead air.
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I was up at Kurrajong Heights today and had a listen to the narrowcasts, At the Grass Karts 87.6 The River and 87.8 were mixing on 88.0.
So it appears nothing is on air on 88.0 at Kurrajong Heigjts.
87.8 Noise fm does not seem to be on air from Kurrajong Heights because it was very weak and suffered cochannel from another narrowcast coming potentially from the west as it was not Vintage fm.
Noise fm seemed stronger around North Richmond but again was much weaker then the River and suffered some cochannel.
88.0- As said earlier in this post nothing seems to be broadcasting on this frequency at Kurrajong Heights.
My 88.0 started to be received reasonably well in North Richmond so I am assuming this was coming from Penrith. Starter fm would need to mirror the specs and use the broadcast site of the River to compete with the strength on my 88.0.
87.6 The River has excellent coverage and gets out quite well to the west. I had it weak but receivable on the other side of the mountain at Kurrajong Heights. It was also receivable but with minor cochannel at the tv tower on Burralow Rd. Noise fm could not be received at this spot.
@TheChase if you can get 88.0 starter fm to match the specs of 87.6 The River that would be very good.
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I know for a fact that one isn’t owned by 3ABN, but an individual with an affiliate agreement, running from a home owned by someone else as the licence holder isn’t in the ACT, so hard to access. I believe it’s in the process of being rectified or sold. One of the two.
By the way, the only owned and operated transmitters 3ABN have are the 1629 AM one in Busselton WA, and the 87.8 FM one at the studios in Morisset, NSW.
EDIT: seems like the house where the Duffy transmitter is was going to be pulled down. Maybe it has been already and the licence owner hasn’t been told. I just spoke to them and they weren’t aware it wasn’t on air. I got my wires crossed about the rectified or sold bit.
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There’ll be a lot of upset country music listeners in Toowoomba:
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I thought the open carrier on 88.0 in Canberra was from CRI. Receivable here in Bungendore so it’s wasting a fair few watts. Weaker than Raw 87.6 though.
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The Duffy one for 3ABN is 88.0. So is the Casey one.
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Yes there was lots of complains on Triple M country Facebook post about the frequency been changed to 99.1 which is a low power broadcast off the top of the SCA studios which is the Easternwell Building in the Toowoomba CBD
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Thanks as always @gordo92, their page is at 500 comments and rising; unhappy about the change which seems to have happened without notice:
For those unaware with the topography of Toowoomba, the CBD is at a confluence of two creeks, one of the lowest parts of the city. Toowoomba sits in a caldera of sorts with a ring of hills surrounding it in all directions.
The former site of the TAB HPON atop a hotel would’ve had better coverage than this. @4TAB-1008kHz moved that site to Picnic Point from memory for excellent coverage improvement of a lower power service and the commercial FMs along with the 91.5 HPON are atop Mt Kynoch which is at least 150m higher on the NW corner of town.
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… not exactly “low power” … it’s a 20 watt tx which brings it under the “high power” category …
What programming was 99.1 airing up until Wednesday? Was it Buddha Hits/Hit Buddha/whatever it happens to be called this week?
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When I left Toowoomba last February it was playing Hits Buddha
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We all understand it’s a HPON, as is 91.5 at 1kW and a much better TX site.
20 watts is extremely low power if you’ve been used to the coverage of 1kW ERP. Audience reaction totalling over 500 comments and rising certainly have made that clear.
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It’s owned by John Malkiewycz who is the chairperson of 3ABN Australia. When I drove past the house last week I saw the aerial at the front. It was definitely broadcasting, just broadcasting nothing.
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He’s the individual I was referring to. He has the licence in a personal capacity. I’ll let him know what you observed.
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Does anyone outside these forums even know SEN QLD exists? They’ve done zero promotion and I doubt they’d made much traction in Brisbane and the Gold Coast at all.
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Agree. The many unhappy country music listeners in Toowoomba and the Darling Downs are aware for all the wrong reasons.
Using the multiplier theory of the number of people who make the effort to complain online and there would be thousands of unhappy people on the Downs who are aware.
SEN will not do well in Toowoomba, the @4TAB-1008kHz HPON already serves those who listen to racing and sports betting information. A loyal listenership who won’t be impressed by the half baked, Brisbane/Melbourne hybrid product of SEN Track.
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I wonder if SCA might now be considering or trying for a power increase & transmitter site change for 99.1 Triple M Country Toowoomba with ACMA to appease their former 93.7 Triple M Country Listeners?