Radio Uranus
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Radio Uranus was a pirate radio stationt heard in and around Melbourne on several occasions in the late 1980's.
[edit] Broadcasts
[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.