That 2Day aircheck could easily pass as WSFM these days. Good on WS for keeping that sound alive.
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Great air check, I think I mentioned this earlier this was just after 2day fm dropped their All New All Hits Format that came very close to knocking off Triple M.
Better Music and More off it was more rock skewed and closer to the format of 2day fmâs other Austereo sister stations.
It was not until 1993 when Wendy Harmer and the Morning Crew became established on 2day fm that it toppled Triple M. This air check would be when 2day fm was in their rebuilding phase after their All New All Hits format of 1990-1991
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Power fm sounded great back in the mid to late 90âs, it was a great alternative to Wave and i98 and still rated quite decently.
Reception wise I could receive it reasonably well in Sydney including in Oatley which is not the best spot for receiving fm / tv from Knights Hill.
I agree Power fm is now very difficult to receive in Sydney except for the Blue Mountains, again it is no great loss since Grant guttered the station and made it effectively a relay of Wave fm.
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I find Rhema Central Coast is the main impediment to getting Power in Sydney⌠if you can get shielding from the north, it still comes in OK, not as well as it used to of course.
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In the north west of Sydney Rhema CC is so dominant that even with excellent LOS to the south and a blocked path to the north Rhema still dominates the frequency. There is some CCI underneath from Power fm though.
Power fm is received ok down to the lower Blue Mountains and Kurrajong Heights, these area are in the Power fm 10KW bearing.
If Rhema CC had a 500W restriction towards Sydney it would be a fairer fight.
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The last time we changed monarch, to Queen Elizabeth II in 1952, it was discovered that there was no recorded vocal version of God Save The Queen in Australia.
3DB, claimed at the time to be the only radio station outside of the US to have its own permanent full-time orchestra, assembled its orchestra to record the revised anthem and sold it to almost every radio station in Australia.
Source: From Wireless To Radio, The 3DB Story
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Take 40 Australia airchecks are rarer than hensâ teeth; hereâs one from August 20 1995 (the 1994 date is wrong). âYou Oughta Knowâ was #24 on this date and this date only.
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Greg Cary is a legend and a TOP bloke!
You will never meet a nicer radio person then him
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When many of Australiaâs commercial FM stations went to air in 1980 they sounded decidedly uncommercial. About halfway down the first page of The Frankster Archives there is a recording of âEON-FM 92.3 Melbourneâ and there was barely a Top 40 hit to be heard. â3FOX FM Nightsâ is below the Eon recording - and just as bizarre.
FM radio was to become AM radio in stereo - cheesy, crass and in your face with repetitive hits and announcers screaming at you.
But in 1980, some FM operators thought they were going to offer a calmer, more professional sound. By 1984 FM radio sounded totally different to itâs original 1980 sound - in Melbourne at least.
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Very true. I miss that original uncluttered and professional sound of FM when it first launched. It sounded so un-commercial and so un-AM/top 40.
We were very fortunate in Brisbane that FM104 retained that sound a lot longer than Sydney and Melbourne stations. It sounded like that right up to 1989 or so, but ended abruptly when they were sold and B105 launched. It was like they flicked a switch when they re-branded to Triple M, and I didnât like it one bit. I actually remember hearing it for the first time with dread as I knew the golden era was over.
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Fox FM even had ABC news in the mornings and one of its announcers, John Amies, was a former ABC TV newsreader. Michael Schildberger was in charge of news IIRC, heâd come from commercial TV but went on to many years at ABC radio. So hard to think of Fox being this pseudo-ABC and easy listening format now!
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It is so interesting when you think back to the radio disappointments of the past. Yours was when FM 104 changed to Triple M. I was devastated when 2SM stopped playing dance music in 1988. I had to wait for Nova in 2001 before I heard some good 12 inches on the radio again.
In 1994 my heart sank when 2UW moved to FM as Mix. It was so boring and middle of the road. I had to wait until it relaunched in 2014 as KIIS before it was exciting again.
I was also disappointed when vega launched with the positioner â40 years of Musicâ. The network that brought Nova to life had created a very staid sister station - it was not what i was expecting!
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That reminded me of two other disappointments - although nowhere near the magnitide of FM104.
When 4SS converted to FM as Mix 93. It went from a nice sounding adult music station to a wannabe Hot AC/Top 40 thing at first. Before Sea FM came along. But even then it was always very bland compared to 4SS.
The other one was the launch of 97.3, and every year since! When 97.3 launched they were just so safe and repetitive, as they are to this day.
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I remember DXing Melbourne FM and it sounded quite different to FM104. Very mellow, playing George Benson etc. I wasnât sure at the time how representative the limited sampling was.
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Mine was similar: when 3XY became Easy Rock, though they did somewhat redeem themselves when it went back to itâs former hit music format in 1990, but the damage was done and it was soon off the air.
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Did 3XY go back to hit music in 1990 at the same time they started simulcasting on FM 93.9, or did that occur at a different point in time?
I vaguely recall they simulcast for a while but then 3XY split off on its own with hit music and Saturday football, and Bay FM went with a lighter music mix⌠maybe something like Smooth FM is today
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Yes! Absolutely agree @Brianc68. The loss of 4SS to Mix 93 was a terrible anti climax for an FM conversion.
I recall the AM stereo coverage of 4SS and the wonderful music. Staff in 1993 were excited of a conversion as 4SSS/triple S yet the then Randall Ferris owned station was acquired by Sea FM Ltd and their very boring âstation in a boxâ consultant approach.
4SS was almost a hybrid of 4IP/Stereo 10 and the FM104 Brian writes of. It was local, relevant and had a great marketing presence.
Also agree with @Brianc68 on 97.3. A total disappointment at launch in 2001 on that Monday morning 15 October and has continued since. Change of PD has done nothing to freshen up 973.
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Yes agree. I felt 4SS was a bit of a hybrid of Stereo 10 and FM104 and maybe even a pinch of 4BK. It had a very polished yet local sound.
The signal was great too on 828 even in to Brisbane at times.
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