Radio Uranus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Radio Uranus was a pirate radio station heard in and around Melbourne on several occasions in the late 1980's.
[edit] December 1986
A series of Radio Uranus test transmissions were heard in December 1986 on 98.4 Mhz.
The first test transmission heard by the author was on Sunday, December 14 in the evening, finishing around 11:00 PM. This consisted of an announcer (or two) talking and playing music.
The next test transmission heard was on the following Sunday, December 21, in the afternoon. This broadcasts consisted of two people, possibly the station's founders, playing songs on a record player and talking in between tracks. They said that they were preparing for a major broadcast on Christmas Eve. From the background noise, it sounde like they were on a boat. They may have even mentioned that they were on a boat located somewhere on Port Phillip Bay.
[edit] November 18-19 1989
On Saturday, November 18 1989, at 4:00 PM, this time on 93.7 Mhz, a station conducted a test transmission for an hour. This was repeated again at 4:00 PM the following day. The test transmissions consisted of a variety of test tones, but no mention was made of the station's identity.
Immediately after the second test transmission, at 5:00 PM on the Sunday, the main broadcast started, with the announcer saying that they were Radio Uranus.
The broadcast was similar to the test broadcasts of 1986, with two presenters playing music and talking in between tracks. They said that they were using a 10 KW transmitter located in Kinglake.
The broadcast also featured a live cross to their "Stereo Cruiser" via what sounded like a two way radio link. The cruiser was located near the city, and they were offering the prize of an ice cream to the first person who turned up.
The music and talk continued until some time after 8:30 PM, when the music was suddenly cut short by the announcers saying that they were being raided. There were some ruffling about noises, and the station suddenly went off the air.
Radio Uranus was not heard of since.
During Interview, one of the operators of Radio Uranus advised the author that "the station wasn't ever actually raided, the sounds of a raid in progress were simulated for theatrical effect. After the last transmission went to air, we operators packed up the equipment and drove back to Melbourne. Regretfully on the way home, the station's antenna fell of the back of our vehicle at speed and was converted immediately into twisted scrap metal."
What the operators lacked in announcing skills was compensated for in technical ability. "Innovations at Radio Uranus consisted of a completely home designed and constructed synthesized transmitter, power amplifier and 4 bay stacked co-linear antenna with circular polarization". That's a better antenna than many community stations use today.
A Link to a recording of the first unidentified test broadcast can be found here: Media:First_Uranus.ogg.
A link to a recording of the 2nd last broadcast can be found here: Media:Radio_Uranus_Wiki4416.ogg.
"It is conceivable that Radio Uranus could return to the air in 2007 if demand justifies" said one of the station operators. "We will watch Wikipedia for feedback to see if there is still interest"
