Now that’d be a great name for a really local radio station.
3 Likes
yes I know that but was it really needed was what I was implying
1 Like
OK, so I’ve actually managed to find something which may put the Early 2002 “Incredible Birthday Game” TVCs for Mix 106.5 (which I received video of from the Frankster at the end of March, along with some other Early 2000s spots for Mix stations that have already been mentioned in this thread) into further context.
Going by the Terms & Conditions for the Mix 106.5 Incredible Birthday Game (found via archive.org), the “Incredible Birthday Game” competition ran between January 29 and March 1 in 2002. The permit number (TPL 02/00489) listed at the end of this page is a match with the one at the end of those ads.
Unless this is a typo it seems like the four commercials may have been produced in advance of their permit being issued on January 24, 2002 because 23/1/2002 is the date on the pre-countdown slate before them:
With $10,000 being given away on Thursdays going by the ad + “Total Cash amount will not exceed $87,000 for the length of the competition” being among the T&Cs, it seems possible that smaller cash prizes may have been given away on other days this competition was running. But since the “Prize Grid” (as referenced to in the T&Cs page) doesn’t seem to have been saved, I couldn’t possibly say for sure.
3 Likes
other examples of AM radio stations changing frequency:
-
before 2JJ began on 1540 kHz in 1975, 2CN Canberra was on that frequency, 2CN had to move from 1540 to 1440. This meant that 3CV Maryborough (later relocated studios to Bendigo) had to move from 1440 to 1060. When 9kHz came in 1978 3CV moved to 1071 (now used by Gold Central Victoria), and 2RG Griffith was originally on 1070 and moved to its present frequency of 963. 3BO Bendigo moved from 960 to 945 (which is now Bendigo’s RSN outlet as a HPON after 3BO converted to FM).
-
5SE Mount Gambier moved from 1370 to 963. Not sure why, but the frequency is the same as 2RG and would cause problems on days when AM signals go a long way and interferes with each other.
-
5MU Murray Bridge moved from to 1460 to 1152.
5 Likes
5SE was originally on 1370kHz and then moved to 1300kHz sometime in the early to mid 1970’s. Moved to 1296kHz in 1978. They moved to the current 963kHz in circa 1983-84. Not sure why they moved but they use a directional antenna as does Griffith on the same frequency.
6 Likes
2CN Canberra had another frequency move in around 1983 from 1440 to its present 666.
1 Like
Seems very odd for them to put 2CN down that end of the dial, given that most other capital city ABC stations were down the lower end of the dial.
I also wonder why they put JJ initially on AM, given that FM was literally just around the corner. I know there wouldn’t have been many FM tuners around in 1975 but surely it would have been better to put it on FM from day one?
And ABC FM was soon to launch too…
4 Likes
Yes, the 5SE move to 963 is most peculiar with that already in use not far away in Griffith.
1296 was only in use in QLD and WA.
3 Likes
Looks like the frequency change from 1370 to 1300 was made during the year 1972-73 to accommodate an increase in power and installation of directional antennas
Source: Australian Broadcasting Control Board Annual Report 1972-73
It appears that the later change from 1296 to 963 was to accommodate a further increase in power from 2000 to 5000 watts.
5 Likes
The budget for 2JJ was fairly limited. The AM transmitter used was 2BL’s back up and even the studio setup was some sort of back up system as well. I would also guess that the ABC had no capability of putting out a stereo signal to an FM transmitter so a new studio and infrastructure would have been required for FM to be possible.
6 Likes
Fair point. I guess they decided to put the dollars into developing ABC FM based in Adelaide which was going to form a network, whereas extending JJ nationally was put well on the back burner.
4 Likes
It was probably also possible because of the Whitlam Government of the time. The commercial stations were dead against the introduction of competition. They had just lost out on delaying FM broadcasting. Perhaps ABC thought that if they didn’t start then, it would not be approved by a coalition government. The new FM broadcasters were very worried later in the year that they would never go to air with the change of government.
5 Likes
I suspect ABC Classic FM was really only a “last minute” reaction to 2MBS coming to air as before that, the ABC either wasn’t interested or couldn’t care less…
2 Likes
When Double J started in 1975 we have to remember that FM radio was far from mainstream. Many people did not even think that stereo broadcasting would be that different to AM radio.
- Cars only had AM radios so to put JJ on FM meant that it would not be able to be listened to in the car. Cars also only had one speaker in the dashboard - AM or FM - the sound was not going to be that different. Not many people were envisaging cars with two or four speakers.
- In houses most radios were single speaker clock radios or single speaker portable radios. The double speaker “ghetto blaster” was only widely available in the 80s. The first Phillips double speaker was available in the US in 1969 and Australia is 1973 (but they was expensive and not popular at first)
- There were no Walkmans so few people listened to the radio via headphones. Most transistor radios only had one small headphone - ONE! - and it was of poor quality.
Probably the only radio in the average household where FM stereo would have made a difference would have been the stereo in the lounge room. This was controlled by adults and not the younger generation
In 1975 JJ may not have been listened to very much on FM, but positioned up the dial from 2SM on the AM dial - now that was the place to be. 2WS was to prove that instant success awaited new AM broadcasters.
Commercial FM broadcasting was approved by the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal in 1976. One year into Fraser’s time in government. Yet the specifics were not decided. Would AM stations be able to broadcast on FM? Conversions? Would there be new players? It was in 1978 that it was decided to give the licences away for free to new players.
I have heard speculation that the AM stations were not that interested in FM broadcasting because of the reasons above and the cost of converting to stereo and setting up new antennas. But I have only read this on chat sites and not through any other source. I would love to know the thoughts of the music stations to the new FM sound - 2UW, 2CH and 2SM in particular. I know that by 1983 FM was a threat. Did they think so in 1980?
Ultimately FM became popular as technologies changed - cars had two speakers and better quality speakers, double speaker portable radios replaced the smaller one speaker trannies, and in 1979 the Walkman finally combined a portable radio with quality headphones.
9 Likes
Yep totally correct.
With emerging technologies evolving, what FM was doing to AM back then, streaming is doing the same thing to radio now (particularly FM)
6 Likes
Great analogy Radiohead - and I don’t think when the Internet started in the 90s, that radio saw the threat. The first internet connections were dial up and kept dropping out. They were also expensive. How could this technology work “on the go”
I used to think that cars will never have radios with internet connectivity. But I never envisaged that your phone could bluetooth to the car radio. So easy.
I also remember when the first iPhones had a cord for the headphones with an FM radio embedded. Now we just stream straight from the phone - and not usually the radio - but a streaming service.
In 1985 FM radio was the sparkling new technology in Australia. 35 years later it is struggling. Maybe in 20 years it will be the Internet that is losing popularity. It sounds impossible but…
4 Likes
You’re probably right. Never underestimate human’s desire to do the same shit in new ways!
5 Likes
Commercial stations lobbied hard against the introduction of FM in Australia, managing to delay it by decades. There was even a push to have it broadcast on UHF putting the country at odds with the rest of the world and pushing up the costs of radios for consumers.
5 Likes
the ABC had been doing experimental FM broadcasts as far back as the 1940s, so I think it was something on the radar for them but perhaps hindered by funding plus inactivity and mucking about from the government and commercial sector as mentioned above.
When ABC FM launched it wasn’t exclusively a classical music station. Although it was classical music most of the time, the format included some form of rock music (??), jazz, folk music and some spoken word content including plays. I don’t think it was long before those other elements were phased out and it became purely for classical music.
Although I think stating “one in three” people having access to an FM tuner was a bit ambitious??
this does put it well into context.
I suppose it also ties in with some commercial AM stations still starting up in the second half of the 1970s, with 3MP, 2WS, 2CC and 5AA.
5 Likes
So true. The manufacturing industry certainly wanted UHF broadcasts for radio as that would mean most radios would need to have been made in Australia. Manufacturers like Pye did not want imports and having a different standard of broadcasting would prevent those pesky Japanese products swamping the market.
I have posted this before but in 1979 2SM became the first commercial FM broadcaster in Australia. Six months before the new FM licences were granted, 2SM was keen to show how it would sound on FM. We are still waiting.
[http://smharchives.smedia.com.au/Olive/APA/smharchive/SharedView.Article.aspx?href=SMH%2F1979%2F05%2F28&id=Ar01401&sk=0BB7F56F ]
Of course, once Triple M and 2DayFM were gaining traction in the Sydney market, they lobbied hard to stop any new licences or even the crazy idea of AM to FM conversions taking place.
4 Likes