Hi all.
I'm presently doing some historical research on Australian broadcast stations. Does anyone know when 3LK, Lubeck (1090 kHz) went off the air? Also, did it survive after 23-11-1978 when the 9kHz spacing came in effect, and if so, what was its frequency? 3LK started on 24/12/1936 and took over from 3HS, Horsham (started 11/09/1933). It was operated by 3DB Broadcasters Pty Ltd and was a relay station for 3DB.
Cheers.

According to Wikipedia (yeah) 3LK is now 3WM in Horsham, at 1089 kHz. If this city is near Lubeck, then it's likely they just moved their studios to change their "city of License" (assuming! the rules are like those in the USA). According to Google maps, these cities are about 30KM apart. ..

Thanks for that. It all makes sense as 1089 kHz is close to the old 1090 kHz. All I need to know now is when 3LK changed to 3WM. There is a road in Lubeck called 3LK road. But I'd hardly call Lubeck a city though - it consists of a grain silo and a couple of farm houses!
Cheers.

In rural areas media moved town with the people it served. Money was also an issue and in 1933 we were about 1/3 the way through the Great Depression and because 3HS and 3LK were Class B stations they had to rely on advertising revenues rather than handouts from listener's licence fees. It would have been a bumpy ride even for the stations in the state capitals.

Australia's first Class B station, 2BE, lasted about five years.

Hi all.

As 3LK was from the beginning a relay station for 3DB, perhaps it didn't even have a proper studio and thats why it could operate in a place that was & is barely a town. 3DB & 3LK's licensee, 3DB Broadcasters, was owned by the Herald Weekly Times - so I dont think money would of been an issue. Not so for 3HS. This station was owned by Wimmera Broadcasters and came on air during 1933. 1933 & 1934 were very lean years for broadcasters and only a handful of stations commenced operations during that time. 3HS, on a frequency of 1370 kHz, was one the few stations in Australia to retain its spot after the big Wavelength Change-Over, which occurred on 01/09/1935. 3HS ceased operations when 3LK commenced, and on the new frequency of 1090 kHz. Thanks to Wa2ise's information it seems that the station, in its various incarnations, has gone full circle and is back in Horsham where it all started.
And for the record, 2BE (Burgin Broadcast Service), 950 kHz, commenced 07/11/1924 and ceased 02/04/1929.

Cheers.

A lot of American rural AM stations are low-power, serving a small area. For demographic reasons Australian AM stations typically cover larger service areas, at higher power. The ABC's Horsham AM transmitter is one of its most powerful nationally, covering all of western Victoria and heard far more widely. So transmitter sites were usually chosen for the ground earthing conditions, with closeness to studio of less significance so long as power and line access were available.

I remember announcers in the 1950s-60s using the combined callsign "3DB 3LK" as standard identification. Does anyone in radio today call himself an "announcer"?
It used to be a glamorous profession, most of them wearing military moustaches and putting on fake British accents. We've come a long way, but it's funny to remember!

Maven

The British accent is still used by many on both radio and television. It's just a little less detectable. Bob Rogers OAM has a slight accent on 2CH although he also holds the distinction as one of the world's oldest radio announcers at the age of 85. His parents came out from the Mother Country and settled in Victoria before Bob was born so I suppose the accent is inherited in that case.

As a listener of the Bob Rogers show (on a valve radio of course) I think the best thing is that Bob can hold a conversation without resorting to the filth that is allowed on other stations.

Even as a proud Aussie, I think a slight British accent adds an aire of dignity and refinement to a radio announcer.

Several dozen stations around the country transmit with huge power outputs and 50kW is not uncommon for these.

Some of the ABC's AM transmitters serve huge areas of land. Even those on the eastern seaboard and inland to the Great Divide serve vast listening areas even only with around 2kW of power. 2NU Tamworth is one. 2UH is another. Most of these stations also run repeaters to get their signals over some of the mountains and these are on the FM band at much lower power outputs.

From what I can see, the most powerful transmitter is on the FM band in Bendigo, VIC with an output of 250kW. Second highest is in Mount Gambier, SA with 240kW. Third is in the Central West of NSW with 220kW.

The high radiated power is because FM relies more on line-of-sight than AM does and with all else being equal, FM has nowhere near the coverage that AM can deliver.

You got me inspired to do some good old fashioned DXing. It is a bit after 8:30 pm here in Melbourne and is still light. 2CH is starting to come through but not very well. There is 3CS Colac on one side and 3RPH on the other. One night I picked up 2YA, Wellington as clear as a bell. Sorry Brad, lest the sky fall in on my head, but my best DXing is done with a 1960's transistor radio with an RF stage!

Cheers.

2WEB 585kHz at Bourke is only 10kw
It has great coverage. Works fine out at Cameron's Corner (about 400ish km line of site) and most of western NSW.
It can be heard in Dubbo at night fairly easily

There are reports of it making all the way to the to W.A. and a few scattered reports of it being heard it the US.

I think its coverage has a lot to do with the surrounding terrain, the geology of the land and the low frequency.

Before ipods 2WEB was about all you could hear 'out west'

Years ago when I lived in Tamworth I could pick up Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth stations on a five valve HMV radiogram with a 10 metre aerial wire. 4WK, 4BC, 3MP and 6PR to name a few.

This talk of DXing reminds me, back in April 1986 when I was on vacation at Ayer's Rock aka Uluru, NT I brought along an AM/FM cassette recorder portable radio (pictured below). During the day, I could not receive any stations, AM or FM. First time in my life had I been in such a radio quiet area. At night, of course skywave came in and there was plenty of stations on AM.



I taped a number of "airchecks" of various Aussie radio stations on my trip (Cairns, Alice Springs, Melbourne, Sydney), and if anyone wants copies, I could email the mp3s of them.

There wouldn't have been much in the way of FM outside the state capitals at the time. Maybe a few ABC translators, if that.

8HA, Alice Springs would probably have been your closest station and is one of only two commercial AM stations to broadcast in the Northern Territory, with the other being the long lost 8DN.

Territorians had to survive by trying to bring in signals from Adelaide before 1960.