1RPH

1RPH
Broadcast areaCanberra RA2 ([1])
FrequencyAM: 1125 kHz Canberra
Programming
Language(s)English
FormatRadio reading service
AffiliationsRadio Print Handicapped Network
Ownership
OwnerPrint Handicapped Radio of ACT, Inc.
History
First air date
5 October 1992 (1992-10-05)[1]
Call sign meaning
1 = Australian Capital Territory
Radio for the
Print
Handicapped
Technical information
Power2,000 watts
Transmitter coordinates
35°12′52″S 149°7′0″E / 35.21444°S 149.11667°E / -35.21444; 149.11667
Translator(s)
Links
WebsiteOfficial website

Radio 1RPH 1125 kHz Canberra (89.5FM Wagga, 99.5FM Junee) is a volunteer-staffed AM band radio broadcast station in the Australian Capital Territory serving all of the ACT and surrounding areas of NSW including Queanbeyan, Yass and Michelago, with FM repeaters at Wagga and Junee,[2] and a streaming media on its web site.[3]

Radio 1RPH is a member of the Radio Print Handicapped Network. Its catch-phrases are, Your information station and Turning print into sound, and it is intended to serve all those who are, for any reason, handicapped from reading printed material.[4]

Newspapers, magazines, books, and other printed material are read to air. 1RPH used to have a frequency just outside the AM band on 1620 kHz,[5] and so suffered little interference, and was heard as far away as the United States.[6]

Equipment

L-R: Transmitter building, dual masts, car park and carport, studio building.

Studios

On-air and production

  • Two studios, each with 16 channel Ogenic broadcast mixers:
    • Audio channel sources:
      • computer
      • CD players
      • satellite channels
      • Tape-recorders
      • turntables
      • outside broadcast line
      • telephone-radio interface

Production

  • digital post-production studio
  • voice-only studio
  • CD-R and tape library
  • recorded music library

Transmitters and antennae

  • 2,000 watt solid-state AM transmitter with standby
  • two 65-metre (213 ft) antenna masts providing directional coverage
  • emergency power-plant

Effect of NDIS

In February 2016, the station management announced that it had been advised that $38,000 would not be available from the ACT Government's Disability ACT as of July 2016, when these funds would become part of the general National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) funds administered by the Commonwealth Government. This amount represented roughly a quarter of the station's operating budget. Disability Minister Chris Bourke declined to promise funding from ACT resources, but said he would make enquiries of the Federal Minister for Disability. Leading the effort to publicise this funding shortfall were: President, Lorraine Litster; Vice President, and People With Disabilities ACT president, Robert Altamore; and volunteer broadcaster and ACT Legislative Assembly member, Vicki Dunne MLA. Litster pointed out that, of the $22 billion/year scheme, only $132 million has been set aside for services including the Radio Print Handicapped Network. The National Disability Insurance Authority (NDIA) has said it will be considering the matter.[7][8]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Community Radio Broadcasting Licences" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 October 2007.
  2. ^ VHF FM RADIO Callsign order Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, ACMA, July 2012, accessed 8 August 2012
  3. ^ "1RPH History". radio1rph.org.au. 1RPH. 2008. Archived from the original on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 4 August 2008.
  4. ^ "Value our Voices" (PDF). CBAA. 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 July 2008. Retrieved 4 August 2008.
  5. ^ Rogers, Chris (24 December 1994). "Station News Australia". International DX Digest. 62 (14). National Radio Club. Archived from the original on 19 January 2013. Retrieved 7 December 2011. scheduled to move on 17 October
  6. ^ Burnell, Jean (6 August 1997). "MW DXpedition in Grayland WA". St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada: Hardcore. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  7. ^ Fettes, James; Francis, Adrienne (11 February 2016). "Disability station Radio 1RPH 'left in the lurch' amid NDIS funding changes". ABC News Online. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  8. ^ Burgess, Katie (10 February 2016). "Radio station for print-handicapped to lose out under NDIS: president". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 23 April 2019.