| Broadcast area | Armidale, New South Wales, Australia |
|---|---|
| Slogan | Australia's Oldest Youth Broadcaster |
| Frequency | 106.9 MHz FM |
| First air date | 27 April 1970 |
| Format | Indie rock, Indie pop, Aus Indie, Aussie Hip Hop |
| ERP | 10W |
| Callsign meaning | 2-NSW UNE-University of New England |
| Owner | Services UNE |
| Website | www.tunefm.net |
TUNE! FM is one of Australia's oldest community radio stations[1] and a multimedia outlet. Based at the University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, it broadcasts on 106.9 MHz. The station styles itself as a broadcaster of alternative and independent music and is aimed at an audience of ages 18 to 30. It has a strong focus on new music and a playlist policy of fifty percent Australian music. It is staffed by 3 employees and around 70 volunteers, many UNE students but also TAFE and school students and members of the community.
TUNE! FM provides radio industry training to volunteers through positions in on-air, audio production, marketing, promotions and general administration roles.
TUNE! FM transmits from a 10 watt FM transmitter on an uncommon narrowcast licence and broadcasts on the internet using web-streaming. The antenna is situated on the roof of the C.B. Newling Building in Mossman Street, Armidale. Two studios, Studio A (broadcast) and Studio B (production) are located in purpose-built facilities in the former location of the UNE Bistro's Footlights Restaurant. The new facility is valued at almost A$1,000,000. There is a microwave link between the studios and broadcast site. The station was previously located at the rear of the Services UNE offices, opposite the Education Faculty. Its previous location is now occupied by a United Campus Bookshop outlet.
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TUNE! FM has a colourful history of broadcasting, both legally and illegally. Its inception dates back to 1968 when a group of five students called the UNE Radio Committee presented a prerecorded, half hour radio show each week on Armidale's local commercial station, 2AD. With the support of this group, Professor Neville Fletcher of the UNE Physics Department approached the then Postmaster-General's Department and presented the idea of establishing a service similar to those emerging on university campuses in the United States. After considering this novel idea, the Postmaster-General wrote on 14 January 1969 to say a licence would be issued. The licence allowed the station to operate a 'closed-loop' system with micro-transmitters located in each of the eight residential colleges on campus.
After overcoming technical and operational hurdles, Radio UNE began test transmissions on 1630 kHz on the AM band in March 1970. The station was officially opened at 7pm on 27 April that year, with a pre-recorded message from the Vice Chancellor, Professor Zelman Cowen who oversaw the license application. Richard "Swinging Dick" Mutton, Station Manager, introduced the first music track, Harry Nilsson's Everybody's Talking[2].
Interference problems and frustration with the low powered transmission system led the station to experiment, sometimes illegally, with alternative transmission methods. At times the station could be heard as far away as Uralla and Guyra. Ultimately the station was granted a licence on the FM band in 1986[3] and began transmission as 2UNE-FM and later as TUNE! FM.
This was a Narrowcast licence, which limited them by transmission power to only 10 Watts. This limitation was appealed during the late 90's, but the appeal was rejected by the then ABA.
Whilst being a Narrowcast station, TUNE! FM is a full member of the CBAA, and voluntarily subscribes to the Community Broadcasters' Code of Practice.
Until 2006, the station was funded by the UNE Students' Association through compulsory student union fees. Following the introduction of voluntary student unionism, the administration of the station was transferred to Services UNE Ltd in February 2006 prior to a Special General Meeting of the Students' Association that wound up that association. On 11 July 2006, the university announced a funding package for Services UNE Ltd and Sport UNE to ensure that a variety of non-academic services, including TUNE! FM, could be maintained on campus [1][2]. In late 2008 the station was allocated $300,000 of a federal government grant by the university in order to build new studios and facilities. The relocation is expected to take place in early 2010.
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