We found out at today's HRSA auction that 2GN Goulburn (1368) is moving to FM 107.7, this frequency conflicts with 2GO-FM Gosford which is much stronger, so 2GN-FM (as they will be known) will not be audible in Sydney.

Test transmissions are already happening, and the changeover to FM will occur on Friday 13th May (next Friday), then simulcast on AM and FM for 2 weeks, and then the AM transmitter will be shut down.

1368 has always been quite weak, so most people probably didn't know it was there except at night.

Apparently the government really wanted them off AM, so they paid for the FM transmitter.

Anyone with a valve radio in Goulburn will need to hook up a large external antenna so they can receive Sydney or Canberra during the day. I know the Sydney stations can be received in the car, but home setups may be different.

Soon to be 2GoNe.

Another one bites the dust.

You would think they would "get with it" and go to Digital-Radio!

DAB+ has never reached beyond the capital cities unfortunately. That said, I once hired a car with a digital radio in it and when driving through Sydney's many road tunnels I doscovered that they are not covered by repeaters which keep the radio working when inside the tunnels. There are repeaters for AM, FM and base stations for mobile phones, and I would assume, police radio.

DAB+ has an enemy which is probably yet to be resolved, though since I last did any research into this, things may have changed. The issue is, when it was rolled out - the signal just doesn't go that far. A typical 5kW AM transmission can easily cover 100,000km² but no DAB+ transmission covers anything like that - yet.

Since people in Sydney would most likely not be listening to either 2GO or 2GN, the shift of 2GN to FM won't make a difference. I am not sure why the Government would be encouraging it though. There was a time when they put FM licences up for auction and existing stations had to bid on an even playing field with no first right of refusal. That said, in many cases, the local station won the licence and ran it as a second station, whilst keeping the AM one going. This applies to stations like 2TM and 2NM (Tamworth and Muswellbrook).

There is no reason why the same studio cannot feed both an AM & FM Transmitter. However that does defy in the case of one lot. The Australian bureaucratic principle of if it works, kill it. If it doesn't adopt it.

Apart from range issues DAB and the newer CFA transceivers in rural areas has, from what I have been told (not a member), have serious failings. We are actually going backwards. Mobile phone has not been reliable here since its inception.

As I have noted before: I am around 5km from the nearest tower to my East. Yet it misses every Wangaratta tower and connects to Beechworth 40km away. I have a letter saying they have no intention of addressing it.

You wonder what year FM licence prices peaked, maybe late 1980s? A classic 'supply-squeeze' (only so many slots on the band)
Little could they foresee their future nightmare of streaming and satellite radio, plus growing public apathy!

Goulburn already has had a FM station for many years, Eagle FM on 93.5, but it isn't audible in Sydney. Only 2GN could be heard, sometimes.

At this location (NSW Southern Highlands), Sydney AM is by far the easiest to receive, although night-time can bring interference.

DAB+ cannot be received unless I hook up an outside antenna, and even then it struggles to overcomes the auto-mute.

A good FM receiver can get most Sydney stations, however an average receiver is simply not up to the task.

Why did the Gov want them off AM?

As I recall as far back as the start of FM broadcasting in Australia in the '70s (1976?), the stated aim by the Federal Government of the day was that all musical transmissions would be on FM and AM would only be used for 'voice' transmissions such as news and sport/racing. Later DAB+ was justified on the grounds of better 'sound' quality. All this was viewed from the perspective of what worked in the major cities where distance was not important. As Brad noted, only AM can give any worthwhile coverage in country areas. It would seem that there is a definite but unstated policy to close down all AM broadcasting so that the band can be used for something else.

To add something else to the mix. Its not being talked about at the moment but I'm pretty sure it will be. Elon Musk is now supplying reasonably cheap internet via his starlink network to the outback. I'm thinking he will also be able to supply DAB via satellite as well. This would really shake the system up.

The transmitter on 1368 is still there, but a voice continuously says to retune to 107.7 .

I'd expect it to disappear within days, leaving another clear channel across the whole country, together with 909.

So, since I was down that way yesterday, I listened in to GN-FM to see how well the FM signal is getting out.

For those who don't know, the previous AM signal on 1368 was quite poor, in the daytime it was only heard around Goulburn itself - once you left the area it could not be received. Even at night it was never very strong.

The FM signal was received at good strength as I drove north, the limiting factor is not if it would fade out, but when it would be interfered with by MMM Gosford. This turned out to happen from Berrima to Mittagong. After that only the Gosford station could be heard. Still, GN-FM gets out far better (in the daytime) than the previous AM incarnation ever did.

Could they have put Goulburn on a different polarisation to Gosford. Or wouldn't that work for motor vehicles?

I have two DAB+ radios but haven't listened to digital yet from the Illawarra - just too weak. Have thought of making a yagi antenna with horizontal elements to pick up FM and vertical to pick up DAB+; seeing as DAB+ wavelength range is very nearly half that of FM, might be possible to do something elegant in combining the two signals. Such an antenna might work seeing as the signals would be approximately in line from Sydney to the Illawarra, and would only need one antenna. But never got to the tube and hacksaw stage.

The polarisation question is pointless I think. Even if they did use different polarisation, and you knew about it, what can you do in your average car to choose one signal over the other? Nothing.

I've got a DAB+ radio, but the signals are too weak to trigger the inbuilt mute circuit. The TV set has a monster UHF aerial (to Knight's Hill) and VHF (to Sydney) with a combiner / masthead amplifier, and connecting to this is the only way to get enough signal for DAB+. It's not what the DAB+ crowd would have you believe.

Yes didn't think that out - would need antenna with the right polarisation. I pick up Sydney FM from my TV antenna which has elements for the old VHF Channel 3 , even though it is pointed at Brokers Nose. But haven't tried DAB+ on that antenna because it is about half the wavelength. Will give it a go.