Melbourne is/was used to relay K-Rock Football to games at the MCG and Docklands. Colac might be KIX Country?
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So Grant own two full power FM, a HPON AM licence, and two LPON licences in one market? Sure itâs legal but does anyone else think it shouldnât be?
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If it were up to me, I wouldnât allow any commercial radio licensees to operate any LPONs. LPONs should be reserved for niche and hyperlocal radio. Commercial operations like Vision and Kix Country would have to bid for HPON licences.
I reckon 1341 should be leased to a consortium of MediaSpy nerds to operate it as they see fit. What could possibly go wrong?
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As far as this 3GL 1341 HPON thing goes, Iâve read elsewhere from someone who says theyâre âclose to the projectâ & a couple of others, that there will be an announcement from Geelong Broadcasters in the new year about it, but what weâve been hearing on air recently, are test broadcasts & a sort of soft launch of 3GLâs return as a Nostalgia Station.
Theyâre not currently at the full 5kW directional, but are expecting to be by or not long after official launch day & that AM Stereo transmissions havenât been ruled out as the old transmission site has been rebuilt after the exit of the Chinese station that were leasing it & the HPON licence.
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The âGood Times, Great Oldiesâ format is niche now so perfect for a HPON - Classic Hits is not the Oldies format. The typical Oldies format playlist is in a transition -
the demos are too old to be commercially viable but it has not yet reached the social status of classical music which makes 3MBS et al able to sustain themselves.
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Iâm hoping that the ACMA sees sense and is willing to accept that a nostalgia/oldies station meets the narrowcast criteria.
Given that the key test is âreception is limited in some wayâ, with this music format having minimal appeal with younger audiences that would be enough to satisfy the test I hope.
If a station like this could be rolled out in other areas (especially regional areas where there tends to be an older population and fewer stations to choose from) that would also be really wonderful and add a bit of much needed variety in listening options.
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This would be fantastic for old time sake
Still quite a few receivers still in the wild
And I am sure everyone knows how much I like it 
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There are other narrowcasters (albeit LPONs) already running a similar format like River FM in Penrith / Hawkesbury and 87.8 Newy FM in Newcastle.
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These are low power stations so could be considered narrowcast because of their small coverage area.
ACMA precedent is that limited coverage â limited interest
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Otherwise you could run a commercial format/service on every LPON.
To add, that doesnât mean that the service is slick and professional, simply not a duplication of formats used in the commercial radio sector.
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This is only an issue because the commercial sector wants to remove any potential for competition.
If you are meeting your stated aims, it shouldnât matter if your station sounds like dog shit or professional - this idea that non-commercial stations should be towards the former end of that scale is just ludicrous.
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I agree, a station that souds great doesnt automatically make it commercial⌠ive had this argument with people at community stations, you can be narrow and or limited and sound crash hotâŚ
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I am hoping Grant offers a live stream of 3gl when and if it offically launches since I donât have any am radios
For some reasons DAB+ radios only offers fm and not am turners
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@bacco007 @Ryan_Bard my intention has been clarified. Never meant what either of you referred to. Simply on format.
@TheGreatOne2 I can send you details of a few models with AM as well as digital radio.
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Finally managed to snag RDS reception of this:
Also, there are at least two sites broadcasting this 3GL program. One is slightly delayed from the other (by a few seconds) so I can null one and get the other. Presuming from where I am, itâs the Geelong City and Leopold sites from that list I can hear.
1341 main site still off-air too.
Iâll explore a bit more over the coming days
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At least the classic hits live onâŚon 87.6.
You must be enjoying the calmer Victorian weather after running the gauntlet through QLD and NSW.
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87.6 has a tiny reception area. It used to be Tourist Radio years ago, I remember they produced a looped pre-recorded show out of either Rhema FM or the Bay studios.
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No road trip this year, just a flight, but yes enjoying that it will be 19 here tomorrow rather than 37 where I normally am. Donât miss the cold winters but will take a temperate summer any day.
On topic, was in Leopold today and 87.6 was strong and bringing the classic hits back there too.
Also, thereâs still definitely only one mast at the AM site, I drove past it today. Iâm no broadcast engineer, but doesnât that mean it can only run omnidirectional? And therefore canât be turned up to 5kW? Maybe they have plans to reconstruct the second mast to allow 5kW DA again
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