I’ve listened to it a bit, the whole of inner Newcastle, Charlestown, up to Raymond Terrace and 3/4 of the way to Nelson Bay.
A church owns the licence at Morisset so you lose coverage further down Lake Mac and hear that station.
There is a drive show 7 days a week between 4pm to 6pm with news. I also heard news between 6am to 9am and midday.
Update on 2HD Belmont North Translator:
It’s been very quiet about this, & it hasn’t come up for discussion at the Lake Macquarie City Council meetings yet, so this morning I thought I’d go looking for information.
According to Council development documentations, the LMCC put in a request for further information on a number of points in the DA, back in late April, (reading the questions asked it may have been a loaded request, because while SRN could answer the questions truthfully, most answers wouldn’t answer the questions related to this DA?).
SRN asked for a 21 day extension to answer the RFI back in mid June, to which it was granted.
Start of August the RFI questions still hadn’t been answered & the RFI extension request expired, so the council asked for an update on the DA status, (to which there’s no recorded answer what I can see), then last Thursday 20th August 2020, the council again asked for an update on the DA status for progression, also saying they still haven’t received a request from the tower owner (SRN), to withdraw the DA.
Reading all that says to me, that the council are expecting SRN to withdraw the DA & pull down the site, or if the requested information is not forthcoming soon, the DA will be denied, & SRN will be forced to pull down the site & possibly fined for building without an approved DA.
Everything I’ve read, I believe the council have been reasonable with SRN, & if the DA’s denied I doubt SRN would have any success in the Land & Environment court fighting against it, just costing them more money.
I honestly can’t see this getting approved in any case, & I think SRN know it, so unless they pull it down & rebuild at the ACMA approved site where it was supposed to go in the first place, then this translator will never get on air.
Thanks for your investigations & thoughts on this topic @RFBurns
I agree with your thoughts on the site future & SRN’s probable thinking.
And given these COVID19 times, the FM transmitter probably unlikely to be established & on-air at the authorised site or elsewhere before the end of 2020.
Hopefully they learn from this exercise? I find it unbelievable that normal approval processes weren’t followed in the first place for a large established broadcaster…
As always @RFBurns, I appreciate your updates and analysis on this and all matters which you contribute to this forum. It is a more informed read for your contributions.
Planning matters:
It has been the most stunning TX site planning disaster in a long time. The public nature of it all has been fascinating yet I’m sure it wouldn’t bother those paying the invoices at SRN (local and engineering staff a different matter naturally).
Back to the amusing spin provided to council:
" temporary basis for approximately two years until the upgraded network is constructed on Mount Sugarloaf"
Rare if never in Aus commercial broadcasting has an FM translator been set up and then later turned off when a high powered site is activated elsewhere.
This site would remain in operation for the foreseeable future of FM broadcasting - many decades.
SRN would know that line was simply spin to placate council and concerned residents.
Digital for Newcastle:
Two years is highly ambitious for either FM conversion or a DAB+ commencement day.
Mandurah was a relatively simple DAB+ application, yet required a doubling of the default regional ERP to be approved before the draft consultation was released and then the usual approval process plus time for procurement and commissioning of DAB+ infrastructure, 12 - 18 mths.
SRN would need to have cash strapped SCA and the ABC on board surely for the ACMA to show interest in planning the DAB+ allocation for Newcastle?
Or more likely, via the CRA led committee, SRN would provide the consultant’s report proving the allocation they’d like.
SRN would also likely want well in excess of the default regional ERP planning for DAB+ of 5kW from Mt Sugarloaf to reduce the number of costly repeaters to implement. This negotiation would slow the process considerably or likely put in the too hard basket.
FM conversions for Newcastle:
As for FM conversions, in Newcastle, there’s a large number of services requiring FM conversion. 2HD, 2NC, RN, News Radio, SBS. HPON for 2KY as well which haven’t been included in FM conversion policy.
So five, high power services not including the HPON.
ACMA have listed a consideration of FM conversion in markets with more than one commercial operator down the track, once the FM conversions of solus markets are either more progressed or finished.
To find five high power allocations for Newcastle would require significant reallocation of the FM band in many regions surrounding.
A huge task that is well beyond current ACMA capacity.
I don’t see either happening within two years, proving the submission to council is incorrect.
A pirate seems to have popped up in some parts of the Lake Macquarie region on 88.4, playing dance music.
Have heard it in Cardiff and Charlestown though its not very strong in either suburb, but haven’t driven around much elsewhere to try and work out where it’s coming from.
RAW FM does put out a spur on 88.4 in Newcastle, it COULD be that possibly, but I haven’t heard that here before.
Meanwhile, the reggse pirate on 89.3 in Newcastle hasn’t been on air for a few months now.
I have never understood why pirates choose Even frequencies when using even frequencies ain’t that common in Australia. It makes them more obvious that they are a pirate.
Must be a strong spur from Raw FM to be able to hear it was very some distance. Has Raw FM been made aware of it??
So many questions haha 
what kind of equipment would you need to broadcast on the FM Band??
must be expensive.
Anyone know what song was playing today after 5pm on New fm. 105.3 kate Tim and joel
Try ringing the station and see if they can tell you?
4968 0105 or 13 10 09
The show is produced by NOVA the podcast’s can be found here they don’t play the music but normally name the song/artist, otherwise you could ask at Nova 96.9 (Sydney) Facebook page.
No point talking to Nova - they supply the program, sure, but the playlist is done from Newcastle.
Great Air Check,
What was the timeframe of 2NX going to X13, X107. and finally to NX Fm?
The station did not sound as hot as it did when it was X13 / X107.
I remember picking it up on the car radio in Oatley when it was X13 on 1341khz before the fm conversion. It was very hot, and from memory they did 13 songs a row.
Thanks @AndiCee for the NX aircheck. Do you have any details of what time of day?
Was it an automated shift? Who were the announcers around then?
Thanks again.
Hi, thanks. I’ve been in and out of radio for a long time and have accumulated gigs of air-checks, jingles, sweepers etc.
Until Newcastle got it’s first commercial FM radio station NEW FM which started broadcasting on April 14, 1989, 2NX was pretty much unchallenged. Once NEW FM arrived 2NX lost listeners at the speed of light. And they never really clawed back the market share from NEW FM. 2NX switched to a Classic Hits format but it didn’t help them, finally in March 1991 they ditched the now iconic 2NX identity and re-branded to X13 with an All New, All Hit format.
They wanted the change over to be fast so they applied and got approved the radio call sign being changed from 2NX to 2XX, they did a test broadcast for two days, with only music playing no commercials or talking.
It wasn’t long after that they commenced broadcasting on 106.9 and re-named the station to X107 FM. 2NX had already had an FM licence approved previously. Theychanged the radio call sign to 2XXX FM and simulcast same programming on both AM and FM for awhile before turning the AM signal off.
Mid to late 93, X107 FM was sold and either later that year or early 94 it was re-branded to NXFM but they only changed the on-air name, the radio call sign stayed 2XXX FM. They dropped the All New, All Hit format and started a “Always Great Rock & Roll” format which it kept until Austereo purchased the station in the late 90s. And that was the start of the downfall of NXFM, they fired all the local DJs and imported Sydney dead beats.
NXFM finally started to beat NEW FM in ratings, but only because NEW FM was also sold and the new owners killed it and that was the start of the demise of NEW FM.
Yeah X13 did 13 in a row, then later X107 did 10 in a row. While NEW FM rotated 30, 40 and 60 minute music marathons every hour. And Saturday nights they played 105 songs commercial free.
Both stations are a mess still today. Sorry for the long reply to simple questions, I can talk for days about this topic it’s one close to my heart lol
Unfortunately the hard drive I have most of my “radio stuff” on died and is (hopefully) being recovered at a repair shop. So I’m not 100% sure but, going by the music, there being no presenter and they played the station ID between every song (back then they only really did that every 2nd or 3rd song)(… I’m guessing it was very close to the change over to X13 in 91. As far as I remember no one from 2NX survived the name change. But that imaging I’m sure is from 85/86.
Thank you,
Great information, X107 and New fm were my favourite dx catches back in that time.
Newcastle and Canberra radio was great back in the early to mid 90’s their glory days are now well in the past.
That sweeper at the start was one of the best 2NX (or any station for that matter) ever had, I don’t really remember that voice though, the early 80’s version of it was better.
The longer you listen, the better the music gets, 2NX.
I never knew that one, interesting as there was at the time a community radio station in Canberra with the same callsign.
I also recall they and KOFM relocated to Charlestown during the X107 era too.
Yes, I recall the change from X107 to NXFM as being early-ish in 1994, which was the start of the “Always Great Rock n Roll” format.
I defer to those who’d actually know for certain, however given X13 didn’t come around until 1991 and the station converted to FM the following year I’d guess the 2XX callsign never came to be - of course, the station’s current callsign is 2XXX and has been since the FM conversion.