Great memories. Wish they stuck to the old 2uw format when they went FM.
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I donât remember much of 2UW from that era, though I did have a sticker with that logo adorning my bedroom. I think my parents got it from the Easter Show or similar.
It was a good format and mixed some current hits (e.g âSlaveâ by James Reyne) with the oldies. I donât think it was doing all that well in the ratings at that time; they were probably working towards a strategy for FM conversion by this point anyhow.
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In the ratings survey that was released in June 1991, 2UW was ranked 8th with a 6.1% share. By contrast, AM music rival at the time, 2WS, was ranked 4th with a 10.5% share.
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Sydney did have some choice of music on the AM band then. 2uw, 2ws, Gold 1269 and 2ch. I do like classic hits with new music. SWR is probably the main station in Sydney who play that style but less safe than 2uw. Triple M, Smooth, I guess play new music but it feels different.
That era also had a great local feel with current weather conditions. You could tell they invested in the news rooms.
I hope 2ch will evolve into something like 2uw or 2ws. I do listen from time to time. Its getting there. It at least has a local feel to it.
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Here something from 4 years ago. That dab radio broke. From Winmalee testing the repeaters. Good old 2ue.
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just found this blast from the past, an aircheck from 3TT in 1989, including top of the hour pips and news intro at the 3:27 mark.
YouTube: dxer22000
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And to think I find it odd hearing mid-2000s songs on Gold 104.3 - that aircheck opens with the end of âBrass In Pocketâ, only ten years old at the time!
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Yes indeed. But âclassic hitsâ back then did refer to songs that could be as new as 10 years old, even less IIRC
In fact when the genre of classic hits first started it was a lot closer to adult contemporary than what it refers to today. Classic hits back then implied the music was a bit softer than AC but could still be quite contemporary. The definition has kind of shifted over the years and these days classic hits generally means older and not necessarily as âsoftâ as it used to.
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I have major issues with that âClassic Hits Liveâ jingle, particularly the bit at 2:05. I know there were different versions made for various radio stations but, to me, the classic hits live on 2UW! I could recite that jingle word for word when it was airing on Sydney radio and television in the 1980s. 3TT clumsily removed reference to the Bee Gees and replaced them with The Yardbirds at one pivotal point. Sacrilege! â'60s, '70s, '80s Bee Gees, Animals, Beatles, Eagles, MonkeesâŚâ. The Yardbirds? Pfft. Itâs a bit like hearing a cover of one of your favourite songs with all the words mangled. Doinâ my head in the more I listen to the 3TT version. 
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That âYardbirdsâ insert sounds so out of place and I canât imagine why theyâd blank out the âBee Geesâ reference. Iâd never noticed it before but it sticks out like a sore thumb. I wonder if itâs authentic.
Thatâs what struck me as being really odd about it. I know there were several versions of the jingle and different cuts of it used during the life of the campaign but it baffles me that theyâd have a reason to replace the Bee Gees, an Aussie act, in that one line. Surely 3TT played the Bee Gees.
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The Bee Gees were a bit âuncoolâ in the 80s if you remember.
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It depends when other 92.9 services came on air. If 6FMS had moved beyond an off air feed of 92.9 from Bickley before other 92.9 services began, it may not have been as bad as the current circumstances.
Hopefully the FM review for SW WA by ACMA will address the co-chanelling.
Do I recall reading here of a Geraldton FM also receiving a Perth signal off air for some purpose?
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Didnât 6FMS and 6SAT have different owners to begin?
Red began on narrowcast and satellite for direct to mine sites?
Thanks @tvradiotech for your detail of the circumstances back then, fantastic to read.
Mt William is east of Yarloop, (does that put it on the Darling Scarp or east of it?), thatâs much closer to Bickley for better reception of the Perth signals.
Were the digital playout systems useful or difficult to configure and keep running reliably @tvradiotech? I recall some of the early systems werenât what they were made out to be.
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I thought 6SAT was WA FM (though I could be wrong). 6SAT/WA FM became Spirit, whilst Red FM (6FMS) ditched rock and became a crappy CHR station.
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Ooops yes, corrected now!
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To my knowledge, though take this with a grain of salt:
WAFM was the branding used under Redwaveâs ownership of the North West Radio s.39 licenses - 6HED Broome/Port Hedland (sister of 6NW), 6GGG Geraldton (6BAY) and, oddly enough, 6RED Karratha (6KA) - as well as 6GGG Geraldton, formerly 6GE.
KA/NW/BAY became Spirit, aligned with 6SAT, and HED/GGG/RED were aligned with Red FM, albeit with separate branding. WAFM, by now a CHR station, was merged with Red FM in February 2015. Other than the latter, I canât confirm the timeline of any of the above - nor whether, for example, 6SAT was branded as WAFM for a time.
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Thatâs more like my understanding too.
I also recall reading that RED FM coaxed the owners of some 6FMS mining TXs in switching from the WAFM feed to the RED FM feed, even though the programming for both originated from the same Perth based source.
RED FM acquired the WAFM S.39 licences in north west WA and converted them to RED FM branding.
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Correct me if Iâm wrong but I remember signage on the top of taxis more recently (as in the last 5-10yrs) in the Caralis era.
There were also bus ads on the back of some Premier Coaches - especially for Talkinâ Sport.
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