And an even clearer shot of the age breakdowns of Sydney radio in Survey 3 in 1984
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looks like 2UE and 3MP were working off the same template
2SMâs hold on the teens was massive but as soon as they hit 18 it dropped!
Being in that age bracket at the time I remember at school you were either Team 3XY or EON FM⌠but 3XY was the majority. How times changed in just a few years after that!
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I can definitely remember some regional commercial stations closing down overnight in the early 80âs, including 2EC Bega and 7HO Hobart. Meanwhile, others just relayed a capital city station overnight (e.g. 5SE and 5AU relayed 5AD Adelaide). This was a straight relay, callsigns, ads and all. This was not just after midnight, but could be from the early or late evening. I think that ABC stations still closed down overnight, except for ABC FM and 2JJ/2JJJ.
In the late 80âs, I remember many regional stations (and some capital city stations) carrying ARN programs in the evening and/or overnight that were delivered by satellite. These had the stationâs own ads, station idents, etc.
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I remember one such program, âNightbeatâ hosted by Jon Henry I think. Might have been a SKY syndication from 2UE?
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Radio 1 (what is now local radio) used to shut down at midnight, from memory.
Radio 2 (now RN) shut down at 1am. Was never sure why they got an extra hour?
I think it was around 1988-ish It was during the 1987-88 financial year that both extended to 24/7.
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I think 2NC Newcastle used to take Triple J from midnights on Fri and Sat only in the mid 80s. Not sure what they did on other nights.
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They shut down an hour later and went on-air an hour later as well, at 6am vs. 5am for Radio 1. Test transmissions would begin 15 minutes earlier.
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2CN in Canberra did same, as did the Aussat feed of local radio to remote areas. But I thought it was nightly in those cases, maybe it was just Newcastle was only on weekends?
Not sure why JJJ over ABC local radio overnight wasnât more widespread? I donât think they ever did it in Victoria.
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I can remember 4MB used to sign off at about 10 or 11pm up until about 1985, when they started taking programming from 2UW overnight with local ads. I think 4BU went 24 hours around the same time or a year or so earlier, but canât recall if they were local all night or took a networked show.
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From around 1978 to 1980, I occasionally picked up test transmissions just below ABC FM (i.e. just below 105.7 MHz). They would play pop music and occasional messages saying that this is a test transmission being conducted on behalf of the ABC and several other organisations (maybe the Australian Broadcasting Control Board and Telecom Australia).
I thought that Melbourne would get a second ABC FM station like they eventually did in Sydney, but the test transmissions ended in mid 1980 and nothing else happened on FM until October 1989 when 3JJJ went on air.
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It was so good for DXing when stations especially all the ABCs shut down overnight!
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I was more of an AM DXer back then as there wasnât a lot on FM to DX for.
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2JJ came in very strong in Melbourne. It was arguably stronger in Melbourne than the place I stayed at in Sydney (although it could have just been that my radio wasnât that good as it did have some problems).
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From the 1994 World Radio TV Handbook, these were the commercial radio stations that were still not 24/7 yet that year.
7XS Queenstown Tas 6am-Midnight
2RG Griffith NSW 5.30am-Midnight
6MD Merredin WA 5.30am-11pm
2AD Armidale NSW 5am-Midnight
2NZ Inverell NSW 5.30am-12.05am
6KA Karratha WA 5.30am-Midnight
2RE Taree NSW 5am-Midnight
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That reminds me, I think I heard someone tell me back then that 3RRR took 2JJJ overnight in the mid 1980s too? Is that right?
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I canât say i recall that. But i do seem to recall that the SBS music show Rock Around The World used to get a late Friday night replay and be simulcast on 3RRR and 2JJJ.
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Rock Around the World was on Friday afternoons and repeated Friday evening and Saturday lunchtime or early afternoon.
Triple J was also broadcast on the Gold Coastâs ABC station when it was still on AM. I read somewhere that every year over a certain period theyâd have continuous 2JJJ coverage over the Christmas-new year period. I heard it over the 1985-86 Christmas-new year period when I was there for a holiday, but not the following year.
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Source: me 
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Yeah - i mention in this very thread i saved it from your own post that was years ago
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