Radio History

[Radiohead]

I think it was 1999 when Bill bought NEW FM.

[TV-Expert]

@Radiohead

I think it was 1999 when Bill bought NEW FM.

Correct. The sale happened in March of that year.

Interestingly, looking at the Newcastle Herald archives from that time, RG Capital was apparently a close contender on acquiring 2HD/NEW. They would’ve been a decent competitor to the then Austereo-owned KO/NX if RG were to have been successful on the bid.

[TV.Cynic]

@crankymedia

Unfortunately the video is no longer available.

If there is interest I can upload my recording.

[crankymedia]

@TV.Cynic

If there is interest

@TV.Cynic! It’s Mediaspy, we always have interest

[dxnerd]

@crankymedia

short lived, even I can’t remember. What was it @dxnerd ?

More Digital played pop hits of the 80s and 90s, and they had the classic Austereo news jingles too. I heard CDB’s ‘Hook Me Up “ on there so they weren’t all safe

[crankymedia]

Sounds very RN, but perhaps LR was as highbrow back then?

[TV.Cynic]

Here are some FM air check from the past. Too many to mention them all but included several stations openings in the SEQ area like 4ZZ, B105, QFM., JJJ expansion, Sea FM, 4GGG. Most states and main centres are featured with varying degrees of reception quality. Also some long forgotten test broadcasts.

Also included B104.9 ident @12:53.

Radio History - Australian FM air checks 1974-96

[crankymedia]

@foxyrover

pip generators aren’t made anymore and when they broke they just turned them off.

ABC is wrong. The company they want to buy them from isn’t supplying them, but they are available.

[crankymedia]

@AJ1

A $100 Raspberry PI with NTP or GPS time syncing and some simple code could be an accurate time pip generator. Or we could program broadcast Axia AoIP software to produce & mix time pips into the transmitter feed. Easy

Thank you @AJ1, modern technology makes it easier than ever.

That’s why you’re on air with a degree of ease and at a reasonable price and yet the ABC are paying dearly for BAI.

Using the Raspberry Pi or Axia AoIP, could the pips accurately be heard on digital radio or streaming?

[Brianc68]

@TV.Cynic

Here are some FM air check from the past. Too many to mention them all but included several stations openings in the SEQ area like 4ZZ, B105, QFM., JJJ expansion, Sea FM, 4GGG. Most states and main centres are featured with varying degrees of reception quality. Also some long forgotten test broadcasts.

Also included B104.9 ident @12:53.

https://youtu.be/BDPew_uvDcw

Some great ones there! Loved it all, thanks for posting.

[crankymedia]

@jason120au

Also you can’t even sync your clocks by calling 1194 but you can use https://1194online.com/

@jason120au, I couldn’t get the site to ‘talk’ to me.

[Jack_Laverty]

I can’t believe this website still works. hahaha

[AJ1]

@crankymedia

Using the Raspberry Pi or Axia AoIP, could the pips accurately be heard on digital radio or streaming?

If each platform had it’s own audio processing, allowing injection of the time pips before the final limiter, you could generate & inject time pips x seconds earlier to compensate for a given x second transmission delay. With the proviso I don’t work with DAB, I’d imagine DAB/DRM you could get close to making time pips accurate within a second on most (but not all) radios, but then they may not line up nicely with a news theme or program change that happens exactly on the hour in program formats like ABC local - unless you generated all your studio programming x seconds earlier to compensate for the digital transmission delay, and added a permanent fixed program delay for AM/FM transmission accordingly - which may impact live sports on analog radio etc.

Internet streaming is not practical given different stream server platforms have differing delays, there could be multiple stream relay servers (or content injectors) in the path that add to delay, and that all the various stream players have different size receive buffers that are often dynamic and drift over time.

For AM/FM it’s doable, DRM/DAB+ perhaps, but not internet streaming.

[ozbark]

@jason120au

but you can use https://1194online.com/

So cool.

[AJ1]

@ozbark

@jason120au

but you can use https://1194online.com/

So cool.

Indeed. Many regional radio stations often set automation and studio clocks via 1194 once a day in the 80’s, or via time pips on the news landline. Memories I don’t miss lol, along with forgetting to manually record the network news pre-feed on reel. It’s so easy today with tech advances, and then there is the next gen of AI.

For FM listeners, the TEF fans on this forum have a multiband radio for <$180 with outstanding FM reception and features that easily outperform the best high end Yamaha FM tuners from the 80’s that sold for the equivalent of over $4k (though they are cool and beautifully made).

[crankymedia]

2DayFM ad (1995)

Sounds like the now departed Ron E Sparks as v/o talent for the TVC.

[crankymedia]

@Petarkco

ad for Triple M Sydney just a week or so after it launched

“Because your ears have brains”, and to fully appreciate the TVC, seems your ‘brains’ needs to have hallucinogenic drugs. Creative team of TVC and/or client clearly under the influence.

[crankymedia]

@TelevisionAU

Here’s another “local” branding, from 1993,

I am not familiar with Esperance but a seal with a bow-tie is… something…

Thanks @TelevisionAU for all the great logos, just discovering them now.

Would be interesting to know who owned Esperance in 1993 as by January 1994, the Radio West virus had spread through southern WA with a very safe music format.

Many vehicles in Kalgoorlie had stickers for 6KG being a rock format yet sadly this had ended. Similar in Albany, however many locals asked said they weren’t a fan of 6VA anyway.

Finally some decent FM at Ravensthorpe with the ABC on FM (from satellite was a novelty then) to hear the cricket.

Madura on the way over was a disappointment as the motel compendium promised satellite radio on the TV of 96fm yet staff told me this ended some years before.

Albany was only useful to hear the (poor) coverage of the nearby markets of Katanning and Narrogin, all the same program and very uninspiring.

Around to Busselton and thankfully warm summer weather had FM signals from Geraldton and Perth floating in most times to hear something useful.

[ozbark]

@crankymedia

Sounds like the now departed Ron E Sparks as v/o talent

Certainly does.

[crankymedia]

@digitaldan

get the impression it was talk.

You’re right @digitaldan, after racing was off 4BC end of 1991, I recall reading that before the Lamb family initiated talkback, with largely 2UE content beyond daylight hours (and Lawsy in mornings of course) in 1993, that 1992 was an unsuccessful year of an ‘entertainment’ format.

Whatever was considered ‘entertainment’, I’m not sure.

Plenty of Brisbane radio people still on radio discussion pages on Facebook who are likely to have a better memory having worked on or against the format.