About Tank FM
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The Beginning
MEDIA NAME: 2WET
ABN: 48 549 819 471
Macleay Valley Community FM Radio Station Incorporated, our official name, was founded at a public meeting in 1992. From this meeting, a dedicated team was formed to advance toward the ultimate goal of obtaining a Community Broadcasting license for the Macleay Valley.
The next five years, leading up to our first test transmission in March 1997, required a lot of hard work and dedication from the tireless volunteers who had to sell the idea of the valley's own radio station to the community and raise much-needed funds to finance the proposal.
And there was a mountain of government red tape and paperwork, naturally!
A series of test transmissions over the next two years proved fruitful, leading to the station's grant of a Community Broadcasting license in 1999.
Although licenced as 2WET, the station is known locally as Tank FM because the studio complex was housed in a disused concrete water reservoir, some 40 feet in diameter, in Rudder Park, overlooking the Macleay River and the township of Kempsey on the mid north coast of New South Wales.
Kempsey is a rural town located on the magnificent Macleay River, around halfway between Sydney and Brisbane.
A Change Of Venue
THE MOVE TO 59 ELBOW STREET
Tank FM relocated the shop and studio from Central Kempsey in February 2016 and then relocated the Studio from within the tank at Rudder Park in September 2017.
The decision to relocate was difficult and emotional, given that the station's studio had been operating at the Rudder Park site for over 18 years.
The cost to relocate to temporary accommodation, rebuild the complex within the tank structure and move back in was cost-prohibitive and was some eight times the cost of finding a suitable commercial location within the Kempsey district.
The site at 59 Elbow Street was chosen for its flood-free location, proximity to West and Central Kempsey, ample space, safe, convenient off-street parking, and suitability for the presenters.
Tank FM On The Move... Again!
RELOCATION TO 71B TOZER STREET
Due to rising operational costs, Tank FM was fortunate to secure new premises at 71B Tozer Street, some 800m away from our Elbow Street home.
The premises, despite being small, have allowed us to install our two existing studios, ensuring our capability to handle both live broadcasts and pre-recorded production. Having an internal bathroom was also a bonus to both presenters and office staff!
Community Radio Explained
Australian broadcasting regulations permit the establishment of community-owned and operated radio stations by suitably qualified, not-for-profit organisations. The criteria for ownership and operation of such stations are rigidly scrutinised by the licensing authority, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). Community broadcasting is known as public broadcasting in some countries.
There are hundreds of community broadcasting stations across Australia, and most, if not all, are members of the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA). Tank Radio is no exception.
The CBAA provides guidance to member stations and also operates the Community Radio Network (CRN), the Community Broadcasting satellite service. This service provides a program that can be fed live to air or recorded for later playback. In addition, a national news service is also available on satellite. Many stations use this news service, and an even greater number rely on the CRN overnight service to maintain 24/7 service.
Most community radio stations are operated entirely by volunteers. The presenters who go to air, the people who work in the office, the people who maintain every aspect of the station, they are all volunteers. Very few community radio stations can afford to pay staff.
Some Technical Stuff
Tank FM Radio broadcasts from a purpose-built studio complex located in West Kempsey. There are two on-air studios, which are fitted out with equipment typically found at a radio station.
The studios comprise of three microphones, two CD players, a sponsorship/music playback service, two laptop or external audio inputs and a Digital Delivery Network (DDN) computer. The latter is used to capture programs from the CBAA satellite receiver for delayed playback. It is also used for storing and playing back sponsorship announcements, station promos, and Community Service Announcements (CSAs).
Being a 24/7 based station, Tank FM also relies on our TDN, or Tank Digital Network. This computer-based service provides the station's music, news, and sponsorship automation facilities that are used regularly throughout the day.
The broadcast consoles are AEQ 12 Channel Forum IP (Audio-over-IP) units. They are telephone "talk-back"- capable, and this facility is being gradually made operational through ongoing training.
Separate from the studios is a small equipment room that houses such items as our audio processing server. This is a purpose-built device comprising a compressor, limiter, audio restorer, stereo generator, and RDS insertion package. It also sends a separate processed audio feed to our Internet Streaming facilities. The room also contains a UHF Studio/Transmitter Link (STL) transmitter, satellite receivers for CRN-1, CRN-2, and BBC World News, an off-air receiver, AEQ Phoenix and Tieline OB audio link devices, dual UPS units, and other bits and pieces, all conveniently located and securely stored.
The multiplexed signal from the studio complex is transmitted to the main transmitter site at Greenhill, about 3km to the west of Kempsey.
The Greenhill transmitter site, at an elevation of 30m above sea level, is the location of a large, steel water reservoir upon which is mounted, at a height of 35m above ground level, our main transmitting antenna, as well as our UHF STL receiving antenna. The antenna is a dual-bay mixed array and is shared with SKY Racing Radio, a commercial sports service. The signal is transmitted in both vertical and horizontal polarisation (polarity).
The STL is RVR equipment, manufactured by RVR (Italy), and comprises the UHF STL receiver. The FM transmitter is manufactured by BW Broadcast and operates at 1000 watts. The antenna effectively gives us an Effective Radiated Power (ERP) of our licensed output - 1000 watts.
We are currently reviewing sites to supplement our main transmission site. Our goal is to improve our coverage area by expanding up the valley beyond Bellbrook and down the valley to better serve the South West Rocks, Scotts Head, Hat Head, and Crescent Head regions.
RECEIVING TANK RADIO'S FM SIGNAL
Compared with some community radio stations fortunate enough to broadcast from a very high location, Tank FM is currently at a disadvantage.
The location of a broadcasting transmitter is determined by the licensing authority, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), and it was this organisation that selected the location of Tank Radio's main transmitter at Greenhill.
Given that we must transmit from a less-than-ideal location, and given that, compared with our commercial broadcasting cousins who are permitted to run ten or twenty thousand watts, some listeners may have difficulty receiving the one-thousand-watt signal from Tank FM.
The effective range of an FM broadcasting station is affected by four primary factors:1. The height of the transmitting antenna above sea level. The transmitter power level in watts. The nature of the receiving antenna - is it indoors or outdoors, is it a special FM band antenna, is its polarisation correct? The nature of the terrain between the transmitter and the receiver - is it flat, hilly, or mountainous?
Since the first two items are dictated by the ACMA, and the fourth by Mother Nature, the only factor over which you, the listener, have any control is the receiving antenna.
Just as television signals are affected by hills, trees and house walls, so too are FM radio signals. And just as you need an outdoor antenna for television reception, particularly in fringe areas, an outdoor antenna for FM radio can be the difference between receiving Tank FM properly and a weak, noisy signal - or no signal at all!
Most electronics outlets, and many appliance retailers and electrical wholesalers, sell suitable antennas and associated hardware that can be installed quite easily by the home handy person.
In selecting an antenna for FM radio, the most important parameter is that it is made specifically for the FM band. Some outlets will sell "do everything" antennas that are supposed to work for both television and FM radio. Most of them are not worth the money. They are, at best, a poor compromise and often cost considerably more than a dedicated FM-band antenna.
When erecting an antenna for receiving Tank FM, the antenna elements (rods) must be vertical, and the antenna must be aimed toward the Greenhill reservoir.