-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
Report from Australia
- Thread starter wildthangjim
- Start date
KTN Corp said:
That would be quite a trick especially on Australia's west coast.
I think WLS might be a stretch...it wasn't that strong from my old house in Houston! WBBM and 670 were the only strong Chicago stations there.
Perth is different in some ways from a comparable (pop. ~2mm) market in the US. There are not nearly as many stations on either band. We have several "community" stations on FM with specialty programs, similar to non-com stations in the US. The ABC (government broadcaster similar to BBC) has multiple stations. On MW, there are 3, all news, ABC Local, and Radio National (close to Radio 4 or NPR in content). On FM, we get ABC Classical and Triple J, which is alt rock. There are also a few ethnic stations, including a MW station that is all-Italian. The commercial stations are very similar in sound and quality to US stations, and have similar formats/branding - I believe the most popular is Mix 94.5. Most are live and local sounding, but a couple are affiliated with national chains and have drive time shows originating in Sydney.
One interesting thing is that music is still alive and well on MW here. The oldies/classic hits station here is on 1080 (they have an FM, but it's outside of Perth and too weak to get in my house). The ABC Local station plays some music in the mornings, and there are a couple of networks of stations around WA outside of the city that are Hot AC/classic hits. Kind of cool to hear rock tunes on AM, just like in my youth.
The local TV network affiliates have their own local evening news programs and look very similar to a comparable TV newscast in the US.
Perth is different in some ways from a comparable (pop. ~2mm) market in the US. There are not nearly as many stations on either band. We have several "community" stations on FM with specialty programs, similar to non-com stations in the US. The ABC (government broadcaster similar to BBC) has multiple stations. On MW, there are 3, all news, ABC Local, and Radio National (close to Radio 4 or NPR in content). On FM, we get ABC Classical and Triple J, which is alt rock. There are also a few ethnic stations, including a MW station that is all-Italian. The commercial stations are very similar in sound and quality to US stations, and have similar formats/branding - I believe the most popular is Mix 94.5. Most are live and local sounding, but a couple are affiliated with national chains and have drive time shows originating in Sydney.
One interesting thing is that music is still alive and well on MW here. The oldies/classic hits station here is on 1080 (they have an FM, but it's outside of Perth and too weak to get in my house). The ABC Local station plays some music in the mornings, and there are a couple of networks of stations around WA outside of the city that are Hot AC/classic hits. Kind of cool to hear rock tunes on AM, just like in my youth.
The local TV network affiliates have their own local evening news programs and look very similar to a comparable TV newscast in the US.
Thank you for keeping us informed on what's happening in Australia. Very interesting.
I'm glad you guys are enjoying the posts. I hope to have some more interesting DX in the next couple of months of winter. We're going over to Queensland in July (NE coast). I expect that to be a better place to try for Hawaii and other Pacific stuff (WLS would still be a stretch 
). I hope I can find a less-noisy spot than my current house.
One thing I've noticed is that I've caught many stations from Melbourne and the Victoria area (1800 miles away), but only a couple from Sydney (2100 miles). I assume it's because Melbourne is about 60% water path, Sydney ~30%, but not sure. I've heard several 2kw stations from the Melbourne area, and 774 ABC Melbourne is probably the strongest distant signal here at night.
There are some good stations down here that stream. One interesting one here in Perth is Capital Radio 101.7, radio for seniors (!). It's actually pretty interesting, playing lots of old jazz and big band, along with 50's/60's rock and roll. You'll hear some things you haven't heard in years, or ever. Some you wish you hadn't!
http://www.capitalcommunityradio.com/index.html
). I hope I can find a less-noisy spot than my current house.One thing I've noticed is that I've caught many stations from Melbourne and the Victoria area (1800 miles away), but only a couple from Sydney (2100 miles). I assume it's because Melbourne is about 60% water path, Sydney ~30%, but not sure. I've heard several 2kw stations from the Melbourne area, and 774 ABC Melbourne is probably the strongest distant signal here at night.
There are some good stations down here that stream. One interesting one here in Perth is Capital Radio 101.7, radio for seniors (!). It's actually pretty interesting, playing lots of old jazz and big band, along with 50's/60's rock and roll. You'll hear some things you haven't heard in years, or ever. Some you wish you hadn't!
http://www.capitalcommunityradio.com/index.html
I'll be very interested in your DX reports from Queensland. You may be able to hear some US west coast stations. KNX comes to mind and there are quite a few others that send their signals out toward the Pacific.
schmave said:
That distance from NE Australia to Hawaii is all over water. Like I previously mentioned I did pick up Brisbane, Australia in Hawaii a few years ago so it can be done.
4700 miles is still quite a haul, but certainly seems possible. The different frequency spacing over here will help, if my radio is selective enough. The dial is a bit more crowded over on that side of Australia however. Any ideas on which Hawaiians I should try for?
C
cd637299
Guest
wildthangjim said:
If you were near the East Coast of Oz, Hawaii would be more possible than from Perth.
590/650/690/760/940/1040 would likely be your best bets, but don't lose sleep trying from W.A.!!
cd
wildthangjim said:
The frequency spacing is why I was able to hear Brisbane in Hawaii. Honolulu has some good signals on 650, 690, 760, & 830.
There are also good signals on 720 and 670 from the other islands. The high end of the band may offer good opportunities as well.
Of course I don't know what kind of nearby stations you'll have when you get to your destination. Here is a link to a list of many of them.
When you get to where you're going you can check and see which frequencies are the clearest.
http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/locate?select=city&city=honolulu,+hi&x=14&y=6&sid=
Good info, thanks. Hawaii is a bit too ambitious from WA, but will give it a try from QLD. From a selectivity standpoint, 760 looks good, with the 9 khz spacings at 756 and 764. 720 is a 9khz frequency, my strongest Perth local is there.
wildthangjim said:
I think you'll get a decent shot at Hawaii from NE Australia. You may even get a chance at the west coast of the US. Others in eastern Australia have heard the US mainland.
- Status