I think NBN-3 VHF audio on 91.75 was 10kw, but was horizontal only, so yes given the 20kw on the commercial FMs is mixed, meaning 10kw vertical and 10kw horizontal.
1 Like
Triple M Newcastle are currently having some technical problems. They are playing music instead of broadcasting the Knights v Panthers game.
Tried initially but Jimmyâs mic kept dropping out and we were only getting the refereeâs mic audio.
Thankfully i have my sportsears.
UPDATE: They are back up and running at Half Time
2 Likes
Who is currently doing NewFM workdays? I can see Scott the previous workday jock is now part of The Novoâs team.
Either Mark Pitman or one of the weekends casuals
2 Likes
They also have âMattâ on nights. I wonder who this is?
1 Like
Conspiracy or coincidence you decide.
While I live only about 900m from the 2HD Belmont North FM translator, I still prefer to listen to the 1143 AM transmission, but for the last few months, somewhere Iâd say between 3 - 5 months maybe more, the 1143 AM reception at my place has been quite weak & easily prone to interference, itâs also been quite weak in reception distance too & has been difficult to receive past Somersby when heading down the freeway to Sydney, if I was listening to the breakfast show on 2HD on the way to work, Iâd change to 2SM 1269 AM after Kariong.
To my surprise Tuesday morning (the day after it was announced BC had died & the kids had taken control of the network), my clock radio came on & I woke up thinking 2HD sounded much stronger on 1143 AM.
I decided to listen in the car on the way down to work, & found that spots which had lots of electrical interference (around East/South Lake Macquarie) no longer did or it was only minor, & while most people would switch stations, I was happy to hold onto 2HD & as the signal got weaker, & the further away I got, the louder Iâd turn the volume on the radio up, but I found I could easily listen to it all the way to work at Artarmon (like the old days). I havenât had the chance yet, but assume youâd be able to get reception of 2HD 1143 AM on the car radio driving around in many parts of Sydney again now, including in the Sydney CBD where Iâve had it in the past?
Now I donât know if they had problems with the transmitter & the power was turned down & now theyâve replaced it with one of the AM transmitters removed from the network after an FM conversion, or if they had the transmitter power turned down to fake an issue & push for an AM - FM conversion of 2HD with ACMA? One way or another Iâm convinced the 1143kHz signal is much stronger now than what it has been for months.
Iâm not sure if the 2HD mast is lit of a day/night any more either, I donât think it is? The aviation lights on the mast arenât that old, they were replaced with LED ones no more than 10 years ago, so I canât see theyâve just gone out or be faulty, they should last 30 years with next to no maintenance, the only reason I can think theyâd be off is to âsave moneyâ, which running the 4 or 5 LED tower lights would only be costing 2HD maybe $200 per year if they were on 24/7.
Now Iâve said this, the signal will probably get weak again, but I hope not, as itâs back to the good old days & sounds good again too, the processing has been fixed & it has some bass again.
5 Likes
Thatâs good news, hopefully they can fix the lack of stereo sound and RDS on 90.5 too.
4 Likes
As you get closer to and into Sydney, is there any interference from the Sydney signals on 1107 and 1170?
No, there never has been, because you have 2 or 3 full spaced AM channels in between them.
The only stations that interfere are 1224 2RPH Sydney & 1233 2NC/ABC Newcastle as they are next to each other, & 1224 interferes with 1233 in Sydney but not in reverse because 1224 is too weak heading North.
3 Likes
Agree, the Sydney - Newcastle AM spacing was never an issue except for 1224 vs 1233. I recall 1224 has a very sharp notch towards Newcastle, but oddly 1233 doesnât have one towards Sydney (probably because it was on air first).
1233 can be heard pretty much as soon as you get on the M1 at Wahroonga, but going the other way from Newcastle, Jilliby is the earliest you can get 1224 at all, but even then itâs very weakâŚ1224 has a much better signal towards Singleton and the Upper Hunter.
2 Likes
Is that they nickname the place? 
3 Likes
Oops! Damn auto correct! Fixed, thanks for that.
2 Likes
Yes I do remember as a child heading towards Newcastle, as soon as you hit the M1 at Hornsby/Wahroonga you would start to lose 1224 but the other AM Sydney stations travelled a fair way north. My parents were 2WS listeners. Iâd assume it was to stop interference with 1233 Newcastle as I think it is also meant to cover the Central Coast to a degree too.
The 2RPH website used to have a 1224 coverage map but they seem to have taken it down. You could see it has much more coverage in the north west hence why it is received better in parts of the Hunter.
1224 doesnât get out well towards the south coast either but travels well south west into the southern highlands even though there is the 1215 Bowral issue, as well as west to Bathurst
5 Likes
Issue no longer as was reported here the country HPON has gone to FM as a LPON, probably way over spec.
2 Likes
I wonder why 2ws got 1224 am. Although as the first owners of 2ws would of been happy so close to the juggernaut of 2SM. Still there must of been a slot available especially north of 2sm ie around 2ka.
2 Likes
Maybe they wanted it, itâs in between what wouldâve been at the time 2UW on 1107, 2CH on 1170 & 2SM on 1269, remembering that 2WS started the day Australia changed to 9kHz spacing on the AM band, so the frequencies mentioned are correct.
Also with AM/MW frequencies, that may have been the best option for the Western Sydney licence area coverage, but also not to interfere with or be interfered with any other National or International AM/MW stations.
Unlike FM, when AM frequencies are allocated (or were) ACMA & itâs predecessors had to work with their equivalent in neighbouring countries to make sure none of our AM stations would interfere with any of theirs, & vice versa, especially overnight, when Sky Wave propagation is at itâs greatest.
4 Likes
Yes, maybe they had that idea in mind for their jingles, as the âAll The Greatest Memories and Latest Hits, 1224 2WSâ ones were very catchy (to my ears anyway).
I donât think it would have worked / sounded as good with most other frequencies.
3 Likes
I am guessing you are all referring to the Prospect AM radio site next to the Motorway??
That site used to be 2WS and I did a site audit there just after it became RPH. Back then it had a complex 3 tower pattern with a couple of nulls likely to protect co and adjacent channel stations at night. It was 2 big towers and one smaller tower that looked like an after thought possibly to alleviate interference. If that place is still running its a piece of Sydneyâs radio history
5 Likes
I think 2RPH still uses the same site for itâs 1224 Western Sydney service.
6 Likes
Yes same site as 2ws.
The whole allocation of an radio stations is a different topic.
I know that there is a 702 am in Auckland. I am surprised they use that frequency. Must be low power. I never hear interference in Australia. I wouldnât be surprised if in Auckland region it does get interference from Sydney.
4 Likes