Would i be too flippant in suggesting that most of the current staff were in nappies or not even in their dads’ testicles in 1983?
1 Like
41 isn’t that old!
But anyone over that age who works there now probably didn’t grow up in the area, since radio staff tend to move about a bit.
1 Like
That tag line, sounds very familiar 
1 Like
Was 1460/1458 a low powered frequency then?
The ITU and ACMA seem to have agreement on a few low power allocations up that end of the AM band.
I think 5MU 1458 was 2kw, as was 2NM was as well before it too changed frequency.(from 1458 to 981) which was also around 1983! Both got 5kw on their new frequencies.
2PB Newcastle uses 1458 now, also 2kw… maybe there’s a Kiwi station that might be the reason for this apparent restriction?
1 Like
The Kiwi station on 1458 is RNZ National Westport which is still on air today as I do receive it some nights via Skywave.
3 Likes
The change of frequency actually happened in November 1988, judging by this newspaper ad from Victor Habor’s The Times (via Trove):
2 Likes
A great ad. But I love how Cold Chisel if the first song played when they’re dissing “rock”.
1 Like
They’re not actually dissing rock, just heavy rock.
They just would not play Metallica, Van Halen, and the heavy stuff by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers which Triple M played.
Queen’s Bohemian Rhaspody and even Led Zeppelin’s Stair Way to Heaven would get the infrequent play on 2day fm around 1991-1994. The strategy worked they took the crown off Triple M, this was also helped by Wendy Harmer and Peter Moon, and Martin Molloy from 1995-1998.
4 Likes
Shortly after starting 2PR FM in early 2003 I reached out to MCM networking at the time, I can’t remember exactly what it was, but I think i needed to get clearance from Coca Cola first before I could get access to the shows, plus I would need to pay for getting the open reel masters transferred to lossless WAV digital.
I had no problem paying MCM for obtaining the transfers, but on reaching out to Coca Cola a number of times, they were just completely non responsive. We were wanting to do something similar to what iHeart channels do today with Casey Kasem’s american top 40. It would have been fantastic to have retro editions of Take 40 Australia on a retro radio station, but unfortunately not. 
3 Likes
I will always miss the olden days of radio,I remember when both commercial radio stations up here,4TO ,
now Triple M 
and 4AY ,now Hit 103.1FM were in the main street in the late 70s(Flinders St ) and they weren’t both owned by the same company like now.THE good old days before networking, I know we can’t go back but I really miss it When radio stations in different cities really sounded different.
I vaguely remember BBQ Bob(from 4BH) on air up here around 1977 .,yes a long time ago
2 Likes
I remember 4AY being listed in early 1980s radio handbooks as an Ayr station, then on 936 AM.
I then suspect sometime in the mid to late 1980s, they moved to Townsville, changed frequency to 891 and changed callsign to 4RR?
Is that right?
2 Likes
,yes that is correct ,the studio was located here in the late 70s ,though. I think they became 4RR sometime in the 1980s ,not sure when exactly
2 Likes
f
4AY’s callsign now belongs to an open narrowcast country music station in Innisfail on 873 KHz.
4 Likes
4AY was one of the stations that took advantage in the 1970s of being able to change from a 2kw station to one with 5kw directional. That allowed them to build a new transmission site with a better signal into Townsville but still stay licenced to Ayr. Same sort of thing happened with 4IP when it moved to 5kw stayed licenced to Ipswich but now served Brisbane. 2MW went to 5kw and moved closer to the Gold Coast but licenced to Murwillumbah etc.
5 Likes
Yes I think it was about '84 or '85 when 4AY became 4RR. I remember them advertising in the TV guide lift-out for regional Queensland. I remember seeing the ads for 4RR “Reef Radio” even in Maryborough in Southern Qld. I could sometimes pick them up at night. They seemed very slick and “Radio 10” like. The only other regional station at the time which I think sounded so slick and Top 40 was 4AK Toowoomba (Oakey).
5 Likes
I was in Airlie Beach in August 1985 and it was still 4AY then… Couldn’t tell if it was 891 or 936 as i didn’t have access to digital display radio then and I don’t remember hearing a frequency ID.
5 Likes
Do you know where in Fig Tree Pocket was the 4BC transmitter located in the 60’s and 70’s before they moved to a new transmitter site in Meiers Road, Indooroopilly? And do you also know where in Fig Tree Pocket was the 4BK transmitter located before they moved to Tingalpa?
Thanks.
1 Like
Corner Cubberla St and Jesmond Rd
1 Like
For both stations?
1 Like