[HCDX] NEWS ABOUT AUSTRALIAN MW RADIO

["Bob Padula" <bobpadula@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dear Radio Monitoring Colleague,

Happy New Year from Melbourne, Australia!!!

-----> Here is an extract from the latest edition of the Electronic DX Press
Newsletter, which may be of interest to you.

If you wish to start a trial membership of the EDXP (totally free!) please
send me an E-mail, at edxp@xxxxxxxxxxx,

or use the On-Line Form in the EDXP Homepage
http://members.tripod.com/~bpadula/edxp.html

EDXP concentrates on Asia, Pacific, Middle East, the sub-continent, and
Siberia, and membersare able to post "FLASH" items directly into the EDXP
E-NET fo instantaneous transmission anywhere in the world. We focus on
shortwave, but Australian medium-wave news is given from time to time. We
have 150 members worldwide.
--------------------------
AUSTRALIAN MEDIUM WAVE NEWS
---------------------------
AUSTRALIA. Changes have happened, and are planned in the medium-wave band!
Here is a summary from Ian Stanley, Beaufort, Victoria:

531 2PM Port Macquarie, new call (ex 2MC and 2KM)
639 2HC Coffs Harbour, new call (ex 2CS)
846 4EL Cairns new call, (ex 4CA)
1008 2TAB Canberra new call, (ex 2XX)
1026 4AA Mackay new call, (ex 4MK)
1071 3EL Maryborough new call, (ex 3CV)
1089 2EL Orange new call, (ex 2GZ)
1116 3AK Melbourne, planned move from 1503 during January 2001
1116 3AB Melbourne, ceased October 2000
1215 2TAB Nowra, new call, (ex 2ST)
1278 3AW Melbourne, is mono
1341 3CW Geelong, new call (ex 3BM)
1413 Radio Rhema, Shepparton, 60 Watts, anticipates upgrade to 400 Watts,
temporary antenna at the Pine Ridge site
1467 3ML Mildura, new call (ex 3MA), mainly relays 3UZ-927 sport
1620 3GB Melbourne, ceased April 2000
1629 3MM Hoppers Crossing, Melbourne, ceased end 1999
1629 3RG Shepparton, 400 Watts opened September 1999
1629 3-- callsign not known, Williamstown, 400 Watts, opened May 2000

Following the move of 3AK from to 1116, the vacant channel of 1503 has been
allocated to a new short-term community radio licensee, "Laugh Radio", based
in  Melbourne, with an anticipated start-up date of March. (Chris Hambly,
Box Hill, Victoria)

- Australian AM stereo transmitters:

The following stations transmit entirely or partially in stereo:

531 3GG Warragul
612 4QR* Brisbane (local programming only)
693 3EE Frankston
"   4KQ Brisbane
702 2BL* Sydney
864 4GR Toowoomba
882 4BH Brisbane
927 3UZ Melbourne
954 2UE Sydney
1008 4TAB Brisbane
1017 2KY Sydney
1053 2CA Canberra
1143 2HD Newcastle
1242 3TR Sale
 "   4AK Toowoomba
1287 2TM Tamworth
1323 5DN Adelaide
1377 3MP Melbourne
1503 2BS Bathurst
 "   3AK Melbourne (to move to 1116)

--> The listings of Australian MF and VHF stations in WRTH-2001 are quite
out of  date, and incomplete, bearing little resemblance to the true
situation.

There is a much better solution, and it's TOTALLY FREE!

All details about Australian MF, VHF and TV stations are available FREE OF
CHARGE from the Home Page of the Australian Broadcasting Authority!! There
are links to:

* MF - in callsign order
* VHF - in callsign order
* MF - in frequency order
* VHF - in frequency order
* all MF and VHF - in order of area served
* TV - in order of State/call
* TV - in order of Channel
* TV - in order of area served

The site also has a lot of other information, including technical details,
licensing data, standards, and planning proposals.

There is a hard-copy manual available for sale from the ABA, known as "RADIO
AND TELEVISION BROADCASTING STATIONS 2000", which contains all of the above
information: ordering details are on the Site. The annual subscription price
of A$55 also includes free monthly updates, sent to your specified E-mail
address, in Excel format.

http://www.aba.gov.au

------------------------------------------------------------
ABA ANNOUNCES GUIDELINES FOR DAY/NIGHT SWITCHING OF AM RADIO

ABA announces guidelines for day/night switching of AM radio The Australian
Broadcasting Authority has released the technical options and implementation
guidelines for day/night switching of transmission power and for permanent
power increases to improve the reception of AM radio broadcasting services
in Australia.

The increases in transmission power that will be facilitated by the
guidelines will improve the signal quality of AM radio listeners whose
reception has deteriorated over the years as a result of an increase in
environmental noise. This increase in noise is primarily due to urban
development in capital and regional cities. The higher power levels will be
subject to not causing unacceptable interference to other services.

Day/night switching is the term used to provide AM radio broadcasting
services with an increase in their maximum transmission power during the day
time whilst retaining the existing level at night. Day/night switching is a
spectrum efficient way of improving the reception of existing services
during the day while not raising the potential for interference to other
broadcasting services at night through reflections from the ionosphere.

A second option is a power increase during the day and night, however
transmit antenna radiation pattern changes may be necessary to prevent
interference at night.

To pursue either option broadcasters will need to submit a proposal to the
ABA setting out the viability and practicality of the proposed change. The
ABA will determine any increases in power level to be applied on a case by
case basis.

BACKGROUND
The current licence area planning processes are dealing with submissions
requesting a change to the transmission power and day/night switching for
AM-MF services. Day/night switching is the term used to provide AM
broadcasting services an increase in their maximum transmission power during
the daytime to improve reception and coverage within their coverage or
licence areas.

Some regional and metropolitan AM broadcasters, through the licence area
planning process, have reported that listeners were experiencing coverage
and reception difficulties with their broadcasting services. The
difficulties were attributed to population spread, particularly at the
peripheries of existing coverage within the licence areas and increases in
man-made noise,
which is a by-product of urban expansion.

The ABA has recognised that the coverage provided by some AM broadcasting
services is no longer adequate, due to the extended urban sprawl,
particularly in regional and metropolitan markets near the edges of licence
areas. These deficiencies in coverage are further exacerbated by the rise in
man-made noise which has contributed to an increase in the radio noise
threshold, requiring higher levels of 'useable' signal strength to receive
an AM broadcasting service.

The useable field strength (Eu) at any location is the minimum value of
field strength from a wanted transmission necessary to overcome anticipated
levels of atmospheric and man-made noise and radio interference from other
services at that location. In order to improve the deficient coverage and
increase the 'useable' signal strength it is necessary to provide for higher
levels of field strength on the ground. To achieve this an increase in
transmission power will be required.

In submissions to the licence area planning process in Sydney, Melbourne,
Brisbane, Adelaide and certain regional markets, some AM broadcasters
requested day and night time power increases, including day/night switching
of transmission power for their stations. The ABA advised the broadcasters
in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane in the draft and final licence area plans,
that power increases would be considered after the ABA developed the
guidelines for the implementation of day/night switching of transmission
power of AM broadcasting services.

In February 2000, the consultation paper Guidelines for the Implementation
of Day/Night Switching of Transmission Power of Medium Frequency-Amplitude
Modulation (AM) Radio Broadcasting Services proposed a set of draft
guidelines for the implementation of day/night switching of transmission
power of AM broadcasting services in Australia. The paper was circulated to
the broadcasting industry and other interested parties for consideration and
comment. In general the submissions received were supportive of the
day/night switching draft guidelines.

Submissions on the consultation paper from broadcasters in some regional and
metropolitan markets requested that the ABA consider other methods such as
permanent power increases, in addition to day/night switching of
transmission power, to alleviate the existing coverage and reception
difficulties.

USEABLE SIGNAL
The reception of an AM broadcasting service is dependent on the ability of
an AM radio receiver to respond to a 'useable' signal in the presence of
existing radio 'noise floor'. Noise floor is made of contributions from
atmospheric noise, man-made noise and radio interference from other stations
at that location.

The level of 'useable' signal required during the day is relatively lower
than that required during the night. This is because, during the day, the
'useable' signal is affected only by atmospheric and man-made noise
(contribution to an increase in man-made noise is greater during the day
because of higher percentages of industrial equipment usage).

During the night, the interference contribution from other AM radio
services, through the reflections of the ionosphere, becomes the predominant
factor. Contributions from other stations increase the level of the noise
floor, requiring a greater 'useable' signal strength for the wanted service
thus effectively decreasing the night time coverage of the service.

The daytime coverage area of a station is that area wherein its field
strength is equal to, or greater than, the daytime useable field strength.
The primary (nighttime) coverage area of a station is that area wherein its
field strength is equal to, or greater than, the nighttime useable field
strength.

In general, a greater 'useable' signal is required during the night, to
adequately receive an AM broadcasting service. (ABA, Dec-21)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
** RADIOMAG. I have received many requests from Australia and overseas for
subscription information about Australia's newest commercial magazine for
radio enthusiasts and these have been passed on to the Managing
Editor/Publisher.

The RADIOMAG Home Page should be visited for latest details,
http://www.radiomag.com

---> Publication of the first issue is imminent, which includes my own
segment "BROADCAST MONITOR". Irrespective of where you are in the world, if
you would like to be a member of the "BROADCAST MONITOR NETWORK", please let
me know urgently! Keep in mind that planned circulation of RADIOMAG is of
the order of 10,000 copies, so if you want to see your name in the Broadcast
Monitor column as a special contributor, then this is your big chance!
-----------------------------------------------
Bob Padula,  Melbourne, Australia








_______________________________________________
Hard-Core-DX mailing list
Hard-Core-DX@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www2.hard-core-dx.com/mailman/listinfo/hard-core-dx
http://www.hard-core-dx.com/
_______________________________________________

Copyright (c) 2000 Hard-Core-DX.com

Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Text. A copy of the license is available in http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.txt.

All the other copyright notices are VOID.