Unfortunately, I can’t seem to find the Star FM’s Easter 400 song list from 2003 that you sent to me about a decade ago in the old MS forum, @matt86. 
But yes, the old Star FM was quite a good listen back in the early 00s.
Yes, DMG’s Star FM domain was originally starfm.net.au.
Interesting observation of the difference between the frequencies.
There’s a similar situation in Shepparton where Hit use 96.9 as the main frequency, but the 93.7 translators (SFN in Mansfield, Yea and Alexandra) have a different output so they can play different ads.
The timings on 93.7 are different - it operates as a “dirty feed” of 96.9, but mutes that feed to play out local ads (not all ad breaks - maybe about half of them) and news. The timing difference means that sometimes the news (particularly the hourly network news on the weekends) will start 15-30 seconds early, cutting of whatever is on the main feed. When it cuts back to the main feed at the conclusion of the bulletin, the same bulletin is still being played on 96.9 so part of it is repeated. Similar things can happen with ads too. This has been happening for quite a while so obviously no one can be bothered to fix it.
It’s interesting to note that Shepparton got upgraded not that long ago and they kept the 2 feeds- probably to sell more ads though.
In Port Mac, do the 2 frequencies play the same ads, or are they localized?
The ads were always the same on ROX FM - the only difference I can recall as I posted earlier were the positioners and Streetbeat announcements.
The HOT FM logo used in Coffs was pretty much the same as those used by the HOT FM stations in Queensland.
Another ‘item’ the old "Star Broadcasting Company’ cannily made good money out of. Richard Burns, Alan Roebuck, Pete Smith et al might have been laughed at by many, but they are no fools and knew how to make money with what they had of value.
Airlie Beach also has localised feeds on the Airlie Beach translators of the Mackay stations.
Is it just the commercials as I remember it or also freq sweepers or and programs?
Good old FM 91.5 for 4MK, quite the story in the ABT et al journals and those working there at the time would know more of the struggle to get a translator on FM.
The Airlie translator set many firsts in regional radio, least for those in Qld.
Commercials and sweepers. All commercial stations even have RDS on their Airlie transmitters.
Just wish they would increase power or relocate the translator so it covers Proserpine. Coverage on a portable radio from the Mackay or Airlie signals are quite poor.
We see playlists mentioned here with a level ease not possible all that long ago.
Unless you were that fanatic that records JJJ and then logs all the track info, best you could do was a sample hour or get lucky if you had a contact who was a MD/PD/had access to a schedule.
Now we see playlists in full with Online Radio Box and the like.
So the question is, when have you heard of a station (any station) that has been asked to cease and desist using another station’s music schedule?
if your implying this domain was sold you would be 100% incorrect
7HO one of Australia’s seven oldest commercial radio stations officially opened on 13 August 1930. It had an original staff of only five.
The call-sign of 7HO stood for three different things: the first two letters in Hobart, “Hobart’s Original” and the first two letters of founder Ron Hope’s surname.
7HO’s total audience when it started was less than 30,000.
The original power of the 7HO was 50 watts and Ron Hope was in charge of the technical side, and he was later joined by Bill Nicholas.
7HO’s original studios were at 80-82 Elizabeth Street in the Findlay’s Building, which was on the corner of Bathurst and Elizabeth Streets Hobart. The transmitter was situated on the roof and the station occupied two rooms, one with the library and studio, the other containing the technical equipment. The studio manager, announcer and typist were all in the one room. A microphone on a clothesline was moved backwards and forwards according to the needs of singer, instrumentalist, announcer, or studio gramophone. When the announcer spoke, any conversation the manager might be having with a potential advertiser would be suspended.
Random find while cleaning out the desk. I didn’t know i had these. Must have been an ebay purchase at some stage
Speaking of 4IP, I found this interesting thesis about the history of local commercial radio in Ipswich, talking about 4IP/Radio 10/Stereo 10 & QFM/Star/River 949.
Oh my, I didn’t think it would be possible to write 200 pages on Ipswich radio! 
Good find.
You’d be amazed what happens atop the ivory tower of academia…
You may already know that this site exists but I have just found it. Needless to say I spent a few hours in bed last night listening to:
http://www.andrewhost.com/audio-2sm-sales-presentations.html
My productivity at work today is at an all time low. But I had the best night I have had for a long time last night.
That’s what radio should be doing. Connecting and pleasing audiences. Quality radio which achieves that is timeless as evidence by the historical tapes you enjoyed.
With discussions on the “Nova Network” thread about how the Sydney CHR stations are not playing much new music compared to the fringe & regional CHR stations, this is almost reminiscent to the situation about 30 years ago after 2SM dropped its Top 40 format in favour of Light & Easy 1269.
From the SMH The Guide on 2nd May 1988:
Of Sydney’s seven music stations, five - 2UW, 2CH, 2WS, 2SM and 2DAY - now play a high proportion of material over five years old, and often much older than that.
With the recent demise of 2SM’s pop/rock format, there is no longer any station in Sydney dedicated to the 10- to 17-year-old bracket - the “demographic" that created rock ‘n’ roll by buying millions of records in the '60s and '70s.
2MMM played a mix of old & new music with a favourable rock skew, but started playing a bit of Top 40 after 2SM’s demise.
This meant that the best station in Sydney to hear new music was JJJ, which was only available in Sydney at the time or by tuning into nearby regional stations (all on AM at the time) such as 2KA from Penrith/Blue Mountains, 2WL from Wollongong & possibly also 2NX from Newcastle (until it went “Classic Hits” the following year after New FM went to air). And if one had expensive equipment to pick up FM stations from far away, Kix 106 from Canberra was also a better option.
Fast forward 30 years and after changes with 2Day & Nova this year, the fringe/regional stations are once again the best commercial stations to hear new music rather than the Sydney FM stations, such as The Edge, the Hit regional stations (inc. Sea FM Central Coast & Hit 104.7 Canberra), and Eagle/Snow.
To borrow a line from a Bob Seger classic, “today’s music ain’t got the same soul”.
I had a look at the top selling songs on iTunes yesterday, and more than half the Top 20 were songs by the same band, one I’ve never heard of (BST or something I think?). Now that is saying something.
