On October 15th this year will be 21 years since they started officially on air,I was expecting so much from them as a new FM station back then and was soon disappointed 
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for a bit off-topic as a vietnamese here (donât know where to post, sorry @myfriend):
I grew up when they programmed AM services that was (and still is) no different to old-time radio in US or Australia (the only difference over the years that they tends to lean more on news-talk) - and, honestly, the closet we get of a âTop 40â radio service is when some privates leased ten hours daily on an otherwise-âClassic FMâ-ish VOV-3. They are still on air (but still part-time only on 89FM, 24-hour stream are available online), but since withdrawal from VOV-3, their quality has been declined dramatically.
From what you guys describe, AM radio evolution in Australia seems to be follow the US path: old-time network, then full-service, then top-40, then News/talk (most), although some did retain music format (albeit targeted at much older demographics than FM). Here in Vietnam most AM radio services retain old-time radio style in programming, and only shifted to be more like full-service when they flipped to FM.
In Vietnam such a style of âun-commercial/un-Top 40â still exist up until now: there is 91FM, a radio network that although seems like to be an all-traffic service, it does have a good music selection and great entertainment programming and announcers too. 91FM does being complained for too much advertising during traffic block, but when comes to network promotion and music is a straight opposite: very un-commercial, un-corporate. and it ranged from 1950s war-time and vietnamese easy listening to early 2010s soft pop and indie music, and, they would stay away from Top 40 at any cost. Each of presenters and studio brings an entirely different atmosphere, personality and always play music at their, and listenersâ choice too.
The difference between 91FM Hanoi and Saigon is like 4KQ vs WSFM/Gold: Hanoi station plays easy listening and Vietnamese popular music of 1950s - 1990s, while Saigon focused on Vietnamese popular music after late 1990s. The same diving line applies to international hits too: Hanoi focused on 70s - 90s hits (âclassic hitsâ), while Saigon focused on hits after 2000s. But listen to vovgiaothong.vn is still a good way to get back to the calming sound if you know Vietnamese too, trust me @myfriend.
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Sure was and extended to the Gold Coast. I remember as a child thinking how strange it was a Sunshine Coast station was so clear on the car radio on the Gold Coast, hearing Sunshine Coast commercials, news, talk breaks.
Not old enough to hear 4GG AM 1197.
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828 4NA/4SS was the strongest out of market commercial station into the central areas of Brisbane. It was ahead of 4GG and 4GR that would have been next best.
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Yes it was the strongest by far. I remember occasionally getting 4GR and 4GG. Also 4GY once you got out of the northern burbs towards the Sunshine Coast. 4GY had great reach from the Sunshine Coast north past Maryborough.
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Very interesting to hear these observations and comparisons. Thanks for posting.
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Interesting observations. The only thing I know about Vietnamese radio is that they have some AM stations on 10 kHz channels (610 AM is one example; it can be received in Australia sometimes with a longwire). Not sure if this dates back to the âAmerican Warâ or not.
The most American sounding radio outside the US has to be the Philippines, though.
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I used to be able to receive 4GY at fair strength in Brisbane. I always found their simulcasts with FOX FM Melbourne over Easter long weekends interesting. "Itâs 9 degrees in Melbourne and 22 at Noosa ⊠".
The coastal path is great for AM radio. The reverse also applied of course with 4GG receivable close to the water on the Sunshine Coast.
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Agree, Iâve only once DXd a Philippines station over here, DXXX on 1008 I think, and it did have a bit of an American feel to it.
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Yes, was around for those days of Stereo 56 around the time of 4SS converting to bland Mix 93. Coverage was great, extending to at least what is now known as the Steve Irwin Way interchange (old highway) just north of Caboolture.
Great programming too then. Competitive with 4SS. Wasnât around sadly for their joint broadcasts with FOX FM in the 80âs however.
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thatâs the AM Service of VOH, the official local radio broadcaster for HCMC region. VOH-AM is the only radio service (*) that continues to be broadcast exclusively on AM, as almost all radio services in Vietnam are at least simulcasted on AM and FM too.
(*) some of the other radio services that could be AM only are VOV-1 at 657AM in Saigon, or VOV-2 at 702AM in Danang- QuáșŁng Nam region, but these are short opt out (only 1 - 2 hours/day) compared too VOH-AM (20 hours/day, from 4AM to midnight), and the earlier two examples would simulcast VOV-1 and 2 for most of the hours of the day.
610 VOH-AM could be streamed live around the world here: voh.com.vn (also VOH Radio Online app is available to smartphone), @myfriend.
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Out of market stations (daytime) on AM into Brisbane back then was something like this
558 4GY Gympie
720 2ML Murwillumbah
738 2NR Grafton
747 4QS Toowoomba
819 2GL Glen Innes
855 4QB/4QO Pialba/Eidsvold
864 4GR Toowoomba
900 2LM Lismore
963 4WK Warwick
972 2MW Murwillumbah
1071 4SB Kingaroy
1161 4MB Maryborough
1197 4GG Gold Coast
1206 2GF Grafton
1224 then 1242 4AK Oakey
1332 4BU Bundaberg
1566 4GM Gympie
1593 4SO Southport
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No 4GG on 1197?
I could receive 4SS on a Sony hand held radio outdoors.
Thanks for all the love. Since you guys may (desperately?) want to go back to the calmer days, I have some tips about listening to (my favorite) 91fm - sorry as I canât found suitable places to post @myfriend:
The 91fm network doesnât have ânationalâ feed. During national programming block (8 (7 at weekend) pm - midnight, 1230 - 430pm), if the programming is made from Saigon studio, 91fm Hanoi must âjoinâ the 91fm Saigon feed to transmit them (the reverse situation applies when programming is made from Hanoi studio). Therefore, music played could be different every time you tune in (as I already described above): during the time that they played filler playlists to wait until national programming block began, the style of music would be a hint on where the playlist originate from: if the music make you feel âMix FM-ishâ, it would be from Saigon (mostly), but if 80s international hits are played, it would always been from Hanoi.
Musical tastes from individual presenters and/or listeners themselves would influence how the music would sound like on 91fm (not pre-packaged music playlists as mostly seen). There are individual âeditorial teamâ for each programs played (not consultant for the entire station/network), although in nominally presenters would have to prepare music by themselves and insert it manually to the system - therefore, apologies regarding to the songs being âunavailableâ on the system are persistent, even if the song has been played previously (the songs when inserted to the system would be played once only, if they want the song to be played at the next broadcast, they need to be re-insert it again). If listeners attempt to request the song live on air, but they canât play it due to these problems, the presenters would have final decision over what song would be played at the moment.
Influence from presenters over the overall musical styles on 91fm are strongly persistent. Presenters on 91fm often tends to be very âdreamyâ, as they like talking about their life after a day of work and thinking about regular life on themselves in a soft voice, like when talking to a friend or someone very familiar. Some, like PhÆ°ÆĄng Hiá»n, often sounds very âeasy listening/smoothâ because she would always talk about a relaxing life and looking at Hanoi being âfall in loveâ every fall, and straight after that is an easy listening music about Hanoi at the autumn from the 1970s. Duy Thanh from Saigon studio is opposite: his musical choice makes every of his programming and he himself being more âMix FM-ishâ with adult contemporary music from 2000s to today and often AAA songs too (he even played AAA songs that even yet to be seen on Spotify!)
But thereâs a good point of it: every separate âpersonalityâ of 91fm making a whole network very board at musical choice, even if this would result in strange combination of Mix + Gold + ⊠ABC Local. If you want âhavenât heard in a whileâ song, they have it. If you want safe adult song, they also cater that to you too. Itâs just that because their positioner is all about traffic (ID for them would mostly being like âInformation on every kilometersâ) that makes them very underrated, even through other radio stations around the world may have gone downhill (I switched from watching TV to listening to radio for the same reason). Presenters for 91fm openly said on-air that their evening shows may have 800 - 900k listeners, although their total coverage may serve a population of up to 30 million at my own estimate. But if you want to experience these strangeness, simply head to vovgiaothong.vn and just go back to these âdreamyâ days (even if you donât know Vietnamese but it could be relaxing and entertaining too, so I always listen to them every night), @myfriend.
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Yes 4GG as well - forgot.
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No worries @TV.Cynic, hopefully more people will post from their own cities of past decades.
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And for something different AM Signals I could recieve on the Family Farm near Boggabri NSW.
Firstly ill talk about the 3 recievable signals on a portable radio
648 2NU
1080 2MO
1287 2TM
With a long wire on my component receiver
549 2CR
576 2FC
702 2BL
711 4QW
747 4QS
819 2GL
981 2NM
1044 2UH
1134 2AD
1188 2NZ
1233 2NC
1251 2DU
(Alot of nothing)
1512 2NA
1530 2VM
Plus on really calm days add
1341 2NX
1413 2KO
My regular listens were 2MO (Local Signal) 2NM on the tractor and with the longwire and 2SM via nightskip
All that changed May 19 1990 when 2NOW started and I now had a fill time music station on FM 
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Its callsign was 2NA.
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Cheers and corrected 
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I may had not been alive in the 1980s (born 1999) but I did research and this is kinda a recreation of the radio dial here in the Southern Highlands during the day, if you have a really good receiver or a longwire
549 2CR
576 2FC
666 2CN
702 2BL
765 2EC
783 2KA
801 2GO
810 2BA
846 2CY
873 2GB
900 2LT
918 2XL
954 2UE
999 2ST
1008 2XX
1017 2KY
1053 2CA
1089 2GZ
1107 2UW
1143 2HD
1170 2CH
1215 2ST (1206 2CC, 1224 2WS and 1233 2NC would had been too close for reception)
1269 2SM
1314 2WL
1341 2NX
1368 2GN
1386 2EA
1413 2KO
1431 2WN
1476 2KA
1485 2EA
1503 2BS
1512 2NA
1575 2OO
1629 2RPH
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