Wikipedia’s explanation is not bad:
Special equipment was required. In the late 80s I can remember a brief conversation with the then GM of 3XY, who indicated that it could be used for slightly better quality transmission compared to AM (with no buzzing from trams impact), but equipment and paying for access meant it was of no use. After the challenges with getting punters to move to AM Stereo equipment, his attitude was not surprising.
Thanks for that 
I seem to recall that before DAB, Coles or Woolies or whoever used the SCA on one of the community radio frequencies to transmit their in-store radio to their supermarkets. Not sure if I recall that correctly. For some reason I think it was 3RRR in Melbourne that carried it, but I don’t know where that idea came from.
But as above, why would the ABC bother to add JJJ and 2BL to ABC FM in Melbourne? What use did that serve?
It’s to my understanding that in Sydney, the 67khz carrier of 2WS-FM (back in the days it was still branded as that) was used for Franklins in-store radio. Also around the Late 1990s/Early 2000s, the 67/92khz subcarriers were used by 2CBA for elevator music and 2SER for the BBC World Service and a Croatian programming station.
Of course I never got to listen to this stuff (info is from the old aus.radio.broadcast news group, amazingly still out there on the net) nor do I have any idea as to whether radio stations are doing anything interesting with their subcarriers these days, but if they were it might be technically possible to receive such things via SDRs?
the old TEAC T-515 tuner I had could hear these broadcasts without the special decoder if I tuned to the edge of the FM station. 3RRR tested it with the call sign AXV-304.
what did they do with it?
And do you know if there was any significance in the call-sign or was that assigned for them?
don’t know sorry - if you wish to hear the mp3 of it [PM] me with your email address
When I first got the Sony XDR-F1HD, I could hear Indian language programming on 102.4 and 102.6, which was carried on 2MBS’s subcarrier. The service was called ‘India Maik FM’ or similar. Not sure if this is still on air. I may be able to hear it on 102.6 during intense tropo if it’s still on; 102.4 is ‘no go Joe’ due to 102.3 Canberra.
It’s gone. All the SCA broadcasts have gone in Sydney and surrounds, one exception seams to be 107.9 Move FM which is using a data service on 67kHz.
I wonder if any program SCAs still remain elsewhere in the country?
If someone receives one, who owns a SDR, could post a pic of the MPX spectrum & note the station & post a video that would be interesting.
There’s a technique with two copies of either SDR# or SDR Console with a virtual audio cable to decode SCA programs from a FM broadcast signal.
In the “Radio Stations - Music Logs” thread, I mentioned that Wave FM in Wollongong relaunched with its “Playing Whatever We Feel Like” format on this day 15 years ago (30th January 2006), in which I included the first 2 hours of the new format on there.
On that same day, 2CA in Canberra relaunched from their “Good Times & Great Music from the 60s & 70s” format to a Variety-based format in an ill-fated attempt to emulate Mix 106.3, with the positioner being “The old stuff you love, the new stuff you like”.
Here is the website from back then:
https://web.archive.org/web/20060207231519/http://www.2ca.com.au/
The new format was a flop, in which the station scored a new low of just 2.9% overall in the 2nd Canberra ratings survey of 2006. In that same survey, Mix 106.3 was joint-#1 with sister station 104.7 (now Hit 104.7), with an overall share of 22.2%.
Not long after that, 2CA went back to its old format, which saw their ratings go back up to where it was pre-relaunch.
I wonder what listeners thought of the term, “old stuff”? Did it make them feel any younger?
This Jack FM type format was quite popular back in the mid 00’s. I always remember Sea FM (Now Triple M) up in Central and Far Northern Queensland was using a similar format to Wave FM, but Sea was a bit more rock stew than Wave (Very similar to Triple M at the time) Sea FM had the position of “80’s, 90’s and Whenever” and they also used “Playing Whatever We Feel Like”. Sea FM in Townsville was still using “Townsville Best Rock” position.
Uploaded today. A look behind the scenes at Sea FM during a Hot 30 countdown in late 1997.
With some rather dubious segments but beats the hell out of networked shit.
From TRV, a C-Quam AM Stereo recording of 3UL (now 3GG) Gippsland from the winter of 1989
From the Community Radio thread.
I had a mental blank as to its callsign. Was it always 2CFM, even in the Coast Rock days?
I believe it was.
Yes, it was.
Listening today to Hit Mildura , it is sad to see that like the rest of the SCA regionals there is barely any local content on these regional stations anymore.
Thinking back to the glory days (pre StarFm around 2000) I believe the station was originally known as fm 99.5 with a blue logo. Does anyone remember if it had local announcers /playlist across the workday?
From my vague memory it was Matman for breakfast and there was a networked weekend feed called “today’s best music” that also was heard in Bendigo when 91.9 StarFm was launched prior to the Albury hub.
99.5fm is my recollection of the on air station ID, and I have a vague recollection of a small blue logo too with that ID in it.
A few of the pre Star FMs had very original names. There was FM 105.9 Orange and FM93 Wagga. Was Griffith just FM 99.7? The Mid North Coast had Rox FM which was a great station.
