And the most peculiar one of all.
104.7 in Canberra was originally known just as FM104 (even though it was numerically closer to 105 than 104!). The .7 was added a bit later.
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Good memory, me either. It had quite a US style, the look and feel of the logo.
This was the beginning of decline of once great stations that SCA have since made worse.
Its predecessor, Sea FM Ltd, acquired 4SS around the time of the FM conversion, shifted them from Currie Street Nambour to the matchbox that was the Sunshine Coast Radio Centre (real corners cut there) and generally tinkered with what was a great station.
Had 4SS converted to FM as Triple S as originally planned under independent ownership, I believe it wouldâve remained an even greater success than Mix 92.7 is today.
The folklore is an exec arrived at Canberra Airport, asked the taxi driver to put on FM 104, the driver either was being difficult or incompetent and so the exec said the .7 must be added to find the station.
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I always thought the idea of rounding to the nearest whole megahertz in the 80s/early 90s was tied to the use of predominantly analogue tuned FM radio receivers at that time.
2MMM used âFM 105â on their logo/stickers in the early 90s.
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I can understand it in the 80s but by the 90s digital tuners were the norm.
QFM launched as 106.9 and not 107 even though they also had advertising which showed their relative position on an analogue dial 
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They had quite a convoluted ID - MIX106.9 QFM.
I note when they moved to 94.9, they changed their official callsign to 4MIX (with the on air ID of River949), which I think was to stop ARN from launching as MIX 97.3.
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Yes it was a very convoluted ID indeed!
And yes I had heard they changed their call sign to 4MIX to block a Mix 97.3
Their test broadcasts on 94.9 even said âThis is 4MIXâ and occurred just before 97.3 launched.
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More ego than anything as Mix 92.7 Sunshine Coast had been established for years. In an era without reuse of the same brand name in adjoining markets, Mix 97.3 Brisbane and Mix 92.7 Sunshine Coast wouldâve been difficult.
Beginning in the Sea FM Ltd days, the company always had aspirations of getting to air in Brisbane, so by applying Gold to Gold Coast and Mix to Sunshine Coast, it was their tactic that ARN was effectively blocked from converting KQ to FM and using either of the Melb or Syd brands in Brisbane.
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Thatâs a really amazing fact! Thanks for sharing.
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Yep, thatâs definitely him. Combined with the old 2WS/2GO news theme, a winning combination IMO!
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Correct. PS he is also a celebrant these days
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The reason 4MIX was mentioned on the test broadcasts is that you had to identify as a test transmission with callsign, power and contact information and the legal callsign was 4MIX⌠the reason for the callsign change was 1) 4QFM was 106.9 and also had the piss taken out of it in &^% U FM and 2) New frequency, new call sign⌠why not, MIX was available and thus applied for, there was underlying reason or shot at ARN
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I donât recall B105 test transmissions saying 4BBB. And I have never heard Q FM having the piss taken out of them in that way. Anyway they hadnât IDâd as QFM for years. They were Star 106.9 at the time they converted frequency.
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I donât recall Nova doing either to mention 3MEL but maybe that wasnât a rule by then
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Yeah Nova Brisbane didnât either.
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I donât recall 7HT conversion to FM using 7XXX in 1998
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I can tell you that when 2KA were running test transmissions in the days before they went to FM in October 1992, they didnât do any kind of test transmission announcement at all. Well, not that I heard and I was listening to these tests extensively. They only did three days of test transmissions before âflicking the switchâ. They started on a Tuesday morning and that morning, they played Kylie Minogueâs Greatest Hits on repeat and in the afternoon, the CD had been changed to Bobby Brownâs Greatest Hits. From Wednesday until launch day two days later, it was a simulcast of the 2KA program feed, which meant we finally got to hear the 2KA station IDs in stereo.
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Cleaning out my bedroom at my parentâs place and I find one of my treasuresâŚCasey Kasemâs American Top 40 countdown from 1983. If only I had a record player!
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Aldi have had from time to time. Perhaps op shops may have record players available?
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I wish I had of recorded more radio from my childhood days. Interesting how the ABC breakfast was less ânewsyâ in those days, more music. I quite like the format, I wonder if 2CH did something similar with the breakfast show. Although Iâd doubt theyâd play new songs like 2BL did.
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