I find the construction and engineering of this radio to be excellent, everything carefully wired and shielded. Clearly the manufacturer was very proud of their product. You don’t often get that these days.
Hi Stephen. Yes, these old radios come from a time where quality counted. Engineers and manufacturers took pride in their work and it shows. Component tolerances were big and so they are very forgiving to work on. Cheers
Cheers Kristof. I had Carly Simon stuck in my head for ages after editing the video. Of course I had to cut most of it out. Yeah 3K subscribers! That last video did very well. This one's just going average though so I don't expect too much.
Excellent job done on that radio Don looks fantastic amazing progress to what it looked like at the start. Also some very good tips given there as well. Look forward to the next episode.
Hi Don, I missed the notification for this video, I was on the road home from Sydney. Your radio works great, I love the sound from it, it sounds like home. I don't remember what magic eyes Blitz sent but if I have one you are welcome to it 👍🙂
Hi David. Thanks for the offer of the magic eye tube but I picked one up from a bloke in Perth. It's a Japanese Toyo branded 6E5 but identical as far as I can see. Works a treat and very bright. Not sure if it's NOS or just new. Turns out this bloke (Reg Harwood) has designed an interesting bluetooth conversion which I'll have a look at in my next vid (or the one after). Cheers
37:30 If you put a thin copper rod or something similar through the shield first, you can attach it to the wires (tape or solder) and use it to pull them through the shield. Much easier than forcing all the wires through that flimsy shield. 😊
Hi Alan Yes these old ones are really nicely made. They were obviously an expensive household item and they come from a time where quality counted. I also really liked the Columbus 90 that I did recently. It was so nicely built and a credit to the Radio Corporation of NZ. Cheers
Works really good, it will be a really nice hmv radio, when you done with restoration, Don.that reminds me of my tube radio project,i only need to order more capacitors from eBay.
Hi Richard. Yes, as they say, it's only original once. That Philco should be a great little radio. I looked it up on Radiomuseum and it seems very similar to the HMV I'm working on now in construction, although smaller of course. We don't get many Philcos in Australia. I'm not sure whether there were any 240V sets made. Cheers
I didn't notice the dial glass until I saw this video again. DO NOT break it. Yes, the dial glass can be made again ( by a company in Australia 🇦🇺), but, it can involve time, money 💰, and inconvenience. The dial glass can also be repainted with new numbers. David Tipton knows 👌 this. By watching some of his 👋 radio videos 📹, is how I came to find out. Your friend, Jeff.
Hi Jefrey. I was surprised how well that crack turned out. It's hardly visible. Yes I've had a couple of dial glasses made by Michael Raanen (Radio Mike) here in Australia. It isn't cheap but worth it in some cases.
Those plastic cord retainers are called "Heyco" which is a trade name. They make a special set of pliers which makes it easy to insert or remove them. I still have my pliers which I got maybe 40 years ago. I just looked on Amazon and genuine Heyco pliers are very pricey. The import copies are under $20 USD.
The Heyco name sounds familiar. For the amount of times I use them it's probably not worth buying the pliers but I did think there must be a better way to fit them. They do work well. Cheers
"hmm that might be music" that made me chuckle. But you were probably right to move off it, to prevent a YT stike. That radio is looking and sounding real fine. Once aligned and in the restored cabinet it will make a fine addition to your collection.
Yes it's turned out ok. I was surprised how much of the rust stains came off. I'll still do a bit more work on it though. I think I can get it a bit better.
Nice job, Don! It works really well! I’m impressed by the number of short wave stations you received. Also really enjoyed the story of getting the dial glass cut. It’s great when you find someone who’s willing to help you, just because they think what you’re doing is interesting. Do you have a zoo adjacent to your radio shed? I hear all kinds of animals. ;-)
Thanks Superhet, Actually that was a bad night for SW reception. I had left it quite late. The following night I spent a couple of hours listening to a number of SW stations. The 30 metre band especially was really coming in well. From the noises in my videos you would think I lived next to a zoo. Our neighbors have quite a few pets but there's also wild birds and possums in the huge gum tree that towers over the shed. Every now and then a gum nut falls off it and hits the roof with a loud CRACK and scares the crap out of me.
At the time this set was built, EMI(Australia) Limited was still trading as *Columbia Graphophone(Australia) Limited* and would do so until the early-to-mid-1950s.
@@Donno308 EMI in Australia was trading as Columbia Graphophone(Australia) Ltd. through the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s and up to the mid-1950s. If you have any LPs or 45s in your collection from the late 1950s, particularly carrying the Columbia, Parlophone or His Master's Voice brands, you'll see in the peripheral text: Made for Columbia Graphophone(Australia) Ltd., Sydney Australia. The EMI branding first appeared on London and Capitol branded 78s in the mid-1950s but it wasn't until 1960 or so when the EMI(Australia)Ltd. branding appeared on 45s and LPs. as for radios and earliest HMV TV sets, Columbia Graphophone still held sway. Note: Columbia and HMV were the two *flagship* brands.
@@neilforbes416 Interesting. I've got a number of HMV & Columbia 78's. I'll have to have a look. I've also got a couple of HMV wind up gramophones and have previously had a Columbia but I don't remember the details of the branding on the Columbia. Probably not made in Australia though.
@@Donno308 Columbia Grahophone did make their own gramophones *before* they merged with The Gramophone Company to form EMI(The Gramophone Co.) Ltd Hayes Middlesex England in the 1930s. But all the divisions around the world took their own time to change their branding.
Hi. Yes I don't like to paint a chassis unless it's really too far gone. I'd rather see a few blemishes on it in keeping with its age. I will try to improve it a bit more though - I want to make sure the rust spots are properly treated so it will last well into the future. Cheers
This is one of those radios 📻 that 😳 ya can receive stations from other countries. Ya can also grab Shortwave on it, too. It probably even has civil defense markings on the dial, as well. Too bad 👎, nobody makes 😪 these radios 📻 anymore. Your friend, Jeff.
Hi Jeff. Yes Shortwave was very popular over here back in the '40s, especially with the world on the brink of World War 2, it would have been the only way of finding out what was going on. We never had civil defense marked on radio dials in Australia because that was handled by the government radio stations, the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Commission) on their normal broadcast stations and still is.
Hi Chris, Glad you're enjoying the videos. I's going to be a nice old wireless when it's finished and I'm thinking of putting a bluetooth module in it (removeable of course). The pigtails I do by winding the component lead around a small jeweler's screwdriver - you know the type = you buy them in sets for not much. I use the smallest one in the set, usually about 1.5mm or so. About 3 turns around the screwdriver does it. You can pull some off if necessary to get the right lead length. Then I pull the screwdriver out and insert it from the other end of the pigtail and just bend the pigtail coil to face in the right direction. When I'm happy with it I just nip off the loose end. It sounds complicated but only takes a few seconds. I'll make sure to show it in the next video. Cheers
There are Braided heat shrink Tubing/Sleeving available that won't fray, I also saw someone using coloured braided Heat shrinking sleeves, but whether they are still available or not, I'm not sure as when I googled for them recently, I couldn't find them anymore..
Hi. That sounds like a better solution. The stuff I used was just what I had laying around but it was horrible to work with. I cut out the worst of it as the video was running too long but I won't be using that stuff again!
The way it sounds I think the IF can stickers are pretty safe, hope you got my email as I can help you out with a good ME tube and I am local, looking forward to the cabinet restoration, have learned a lot from your previous restorations. Cheers
@@Donno308 Don't they make a much cheaper solid state version to the original? Might be better, to get one of those and save the one you're getting for a better specimen. Just a thought.
@@Raul_Gajadhar Hi Raul. Yes I believe they do make a solid state version. I've seen some on eBay but I don't really like them - the individual leds are clearly visible and they just don't look quite right. And they're not that cheap either. Part 3 will be published in a few hours so you'll see it there. Cheers
Looking at the dial glass shows 2CK which was for Cessnock NSW, The Hunter Region lost a few stations around the late 1940s and early 1950s, some by going broke, another notable, though temporary departure from the airwaves was 2HD Newcastle near the beginning of the 1940s. Founder, Harry Douglas started the station back around 1928 but I suspect he was a Jehovah's Witness. During the war years(1939-1945) 2HD, being owned by the JWs, were ordered off the air because they were *providing aid and comfort to the enemy*, the act of treason. When the war ended, the station(with its licence restored) was sold to one Mr Alan J. Storey who operated the station initially out of a studio adjacent to the Civic Theatre in Hunter Street. The station had a sizeable auditorium which is now the home of the Hunter Valley Theatre Company. In the 1950s station studio operations were relocated to a new "home" in Sandgate. The rest, as they say, is history.
@neilforbes416 2NM was originally licensed to Cessnock as 2CZ, owned by Coalfields Broadcasting Co Pty Ltd, but the station's call letters were changed to 2CK prior to its launch on 9 January 1937. The station operated on 1460 kHz, with a power output of 300 watts, and was managed by Albert Ryan. The station catered for the mining community of Cessnock and surrounding areas, and was the official station of the Australian Coal and Shale Employees' Federation. A feature of their programme was a mining news bulletin, transmitted at 5.34am, 6.15pm and 9.00pm, relying on information from mine officials and managements. Because of the working hours of the local industry, the station commenced operations at 5.30am, with the first national news program in the country for the day transmitted at 5.45am, using the resources of the Newcastle Herald. This was complemented with local and district news, racing programs from 2UW, the Daily Telegraph Sports Parade program (exclusive to 2CK in the region) and other programs of local interest. The station transmitted between the hours of 5.30am and 11am and from 5.30pm to 10pm weekdays, 5.30am to 11pm Saturdays and 9.00am to 10.00pm Sundays. 2CK was closed down after a fire burnt the studios down late one night after the announcer had finished the station's transmission for the night at 10pm, and left in a rush for his bus back to Maitland, leaving the electric heater on. 1937-1950s - 2HR Singleton/Maitland The Upper Hunter had its own station based in Singleton, 2HR, owned by Hunter River Broadcasters Pty. Ltd. The station launched on 30 August 1937. The owners included the Singleton Argus and the Robinson family. Three years later, they moved to Lochinvar, near Maitland. 1954-1980s - 2NM Muswellbrook / 2NX Newcastle Hunter Broadcasters had purchased the two stations during the early to mid-1950s, and decided to move both stations away from their existing locations. The 2HR license and transmitter was moved to Bolwarra, in order to serve the Newcastle market. 2HR was given a new callsign, 2NX. The 2CK license and frequency was moved to Muswellbrook, and also received a new callsign, 2NM. The callsigns were devised by station manager Ken Robinson, who had served in the Australian Army. His army identification number included the letters NX. Therefore, the Newcastle station was given the 2NX name. 2NM's callsign was created only after trying out other combinations that could smoothly follow 2NX. 2NM could also represent 2 Newcastle Muswellbrook. 2NM was launched on 14 January 1954, from facilities located along the McCully's Gap road just outside Muswellbrook. In 1971, Hunter Broadcasters were taken over by Catholic Broadcasting Company, a division of the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney. During this time, while during the day 2NX and 2NM were operated separately, from 6pm overnight, 2NM relayed 2NX's programming, and was identified as 2NXNM and as Upper Hunter 2NX. In 1978, the station moved from 1460 to 1458 kHz, as part of a nationwide radio frequency adjustment. Two years later, on 2 August 1980, 2NM changed its frequency again from 1458 kHz to 981 kHz to improve reception in parts of the Upper Hunter. A new 5000 watt transmitter site was commissioned on Begalla Road, next to the Bengalla coal mine. The old 2NM tower on McCullys Gap Road was not torn down until 2009. The old transmitter building still stands to this day. 1458 kHz was reassigned as the Newcastle frequency for ABC NewsRadio. The overnight simulcast of 2NX came to an end in July 1989, due to the opening of Newcastle's first FM station, New FM, which was taking listeners away from 2NX, and as a result, 2NX changed formats to compete.
I find the construction and engineering of this radio to be excellent, everything carefully wired and shielded. Clearly the manufacturer was very proud of their product. You don’t often get that these days.
Hi Stephen. Yes, these old radios come from a time where quality counted. Engineers and manufacturers took pride in their work and it shows. Component tolerances were big and so they are very forgiving to work on.
Cheers
Fantastic share my friend!
Very nice restoration.
Nice restoration. Looking forward to the cabinet resto.
It's a bit rough but we'll see how it turns out.
Great to see a specimen like this being restored. So important for our history. Well done 👍
Thanks Peter. Hope I can do the cabinet justice.
Good work Donnie Boy. ❤️keepem coming👍
Chassis looks great. Looking forward to the cabinet. Thanks.
Cheers David
I got to hand it to you Don that was a lot of tedious detail work. She deserves it as a rare example of early Aussie radio tech.
A master craftsman at work. Very absorbing video. Thanks Don for your efforts…
Many thanks!
Well done Don, don't give up I need my Ozzy fix here in the cold reaches of Canada especially this winter.
Hi Mark. Yes I don't envy your Canadian Winters! But I don't think you would like our Summers much either!
Cheers
Awesome job. Great chassis. And congratulations for passing 3k subscribers! 🎉
I do have Carly Simon stuck in my head now, though...
Cheers Kristof. I had Carly Simon stuck in my head for ages after editing the video. Of course I had to cut most of it out. Yeah 3K subscribers! That last video did very well. This one's just going average though so I don't expect too much.
Coming along nicely, looking forward to the cabinet restoration. keep going Don!
Thanks 👍
Excellent job done on that radio Don looks fantastic amazing progress to what it looked like at the start. Also some very good tips given there as well. Look forward to the next episode.
Glad you enjoyed it
Looking realy good Don, i reckon this one is going to turn out real nice, keep persisting, Looking forward to part 3 cheers
Hi Dom. Yes it's turning out well so far. The cabinet's pretty rough though so we'll see.
Hi Don, I missed the notification for this video, I was on the road home from Sydney. Your radio works great, I love the sound from it, it sounds like home. I don't remember what magic eyes Blitz sent but if I have one you are welcome to it 👍🙂
Hi David. Thanks for the offer of the magic eye tube but I picked one up from a bloke in Perth. It's a Japanese Toyo branded 6E5 but identical as far as I can see. Works a treat and very bright. Not sure if it's NOS or just new. Turns out this bloke (Reg Harwood) has designed an interesting bluetooth conversion which I'll have a look at in my next vid (or the one after).
Cheers
Nice job as usual Don, seems like the God of radio is smiling on the land down under.
Cheers Mack. I seem to have been lucky lately. Touch wood!
37:30 If you put a thin copper rod or something similar through the shield first, you can attach it to the wires (tape or solder) and use it to pull them through the shield.
Much easier than forcing all the wires through that flimsy shield. 😊
Hi. That sounds like a good idea. I'll try it next time. Thanks
Very good job well done I find it very interesting to see how things are done with all these old radios. Cheers from NZ
Hi Alan
Yes these old ones are really nicely made. They were obviously an expensive household item and they come from a time where quality counted. I also really liked the Columbus 90 that I did recently. It was so nicely built and a credit to the Radio Corporation of NZ.
Cheers
Nice work, Don, much enjoying these videos on this HMV receiver,
Great work Don!
I jumped too when there was a sharp noise outside just as you were power testing the radio! It's happened to me before
Works really good, it will be a really nice hmv radio, when you done with restoration, Don.that reminds me of my tube radio project,i only need to order more capacitors from eBay.
Hi. Yes it seems like there old radios just want to work. All you've got to do is give them half a chance. What are you working on?
Don, nice job on the chassic I am like you I try to keep the chassis as original as possible my current radio chassis is my Philco 38-10T .
Hi Richard. Yes, as they say, it's only original once. That Philco should be a great little radio. I looked it up on Radiomuseum and it seems very similar to the HMV I'm working on now in construction, although smaller of course. We don't get many Philcos in Australia. I'm not sure whether there were any 240V sets made.
Cheers
I didn't notice the dial glass until I saw this video again. DO NOT break it. Yes, the dial glass can be made again ( by a company in Australia 🇦🇺), but, it can involve time, money 💰, and inconvenience. The dial glass can also be repainted with new numbers. David Tipton knows 👌 this. By watching some of his 👋 radio videos 📹, is how I came to find out. Your friend, Jeff.
Hi Jefrey. I was surprised how well that crack turned out. It's hardly visible. Yes I've had a couple of dial glasses made by Michael Raanen (Radio Mike) here in Australia. It isn't cheap but worth it in some cases.
Those plastic cord retainers are called "Heyco" which is a trade name. They make a special set of pliers which makes it easy to insert or remove them. I still have my pliers which I got maybe 40 years ago. I just looked on Amazon and genuine Heyco pliers are very pricey. The import copies are under $20 USD.
The Heyco name sounds familiar. For the amount of times I use them it's probably not worth buying the pliers but I did think there must be a better way to fit them. They do work well.
Cheers
Nice
"hmm that might be music" that made me chuckle. But you were probably right to move off it, to prevent a YT stike. That radio is looking and sounding real fine. Once aligned and in the restored cabinet it will make a fine addition to your collection.
Hi. I did once get a copyright breach for some garbled foreign hash on SW. Their algorithm will pick up just about anything!
For a chassis that you didn't paint it turned out very clean
Yes it's turned out ok. I was surprised how much of the rust stains came off. I'll still do a bit more work on it though. I think I can get it a bit better.
Nice job, Don! It works really well! I’m impressed by the number of short wave stations you received. Also really enjoyed the story of getting the dial glass cut. It’s great when you find someone who’s willing to help you, just because they think what you’re doing is interesting.
Do you have a zoo adjacent to your radio shed? I hear all kinds of animals. ;-)
Thanks Superhet,
Actually that was a bad night for SW reception. I had left it quite late. The following night I spent a couple of hours listening to a number of SW stations. The 30 metre band especially was really coming in well.
From the noises in my videos you would think I lived next to a zoo. Our neighbors have quite a few pets but there's also wild birds and possums in the huge gum tree that towers over the shed. Every now and then a gum nut falls off it and hits the roof with a loud CRACK and scares the crap out of me.
At the time this set was built, EMI(Australia) Limited was still trading as *Columbia Graphophone(Australia) Limited* and would do so until the early-to-mid-1950s.
Hi Neil
The decal on the top of the cabinet says "The Gramophone Company LTD Sydney NSW" Not sure if Columbia was involved at that time.
Cheers
@@Donno308 EMI in Australia was trading as Columbia Graphophone(Australia) Ltd. through the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s and up to the mid-1950s. If you have any LPs or 45s in your collection from the late 1950s, particularly carrying the Columbia, Parlophone or His Master's Voice brands, you'll see in the peripheral text: Made for Columbia Graphophone(Australia) Ltd., Sydney Australia. The EMI branding first appeared on London and Capitol branded 78s in the mid-1950s but it wasn't until 1960 or so when the EMI(Australia)Ltd. branding appeared on 45s and LPs. as for radios and earliest HMV TV sets, Columbia Graphophone still held sway. Note: Columbia and HMV were the two *flagship* brands.
@@neilforbes416 Interesting. I've got a number of HMV & Columbia 78's. I'll have to have a look. I've also got a couple of HMV wind up gramophones and have previously had a Columbia but I don't remember the details of the branding on the Columbia. Probably not made in Australia though.
@@Donno308 Columbia Grahophone did make their own gramophones *before* they merged with The Gramophone Company to form EMI(The Gramophone Co.) Ltd Hayes Middlesex England in the 1930s. But all the divisions around the world took their own time to change their branding.
@@neilforbes416 Makes sense. The Columbia had nothing in common with the HMVs.
Good not to go painting the chassis imo it came out really nice with what you did. Seems to perfor well. Looking forward to the kabinet restoration.
Hi. Yes I don't like to paint a chassis unless it's really too far gone. I'd rather see a few blemishes on it in keeping with its age. I will try to improve it a bit more though - I want to make sure the rust spots are properly treated so it will last well into the future.
Cheers
This is one of those radios 📻 that 😳 ya can receive stations from other countries. Ya can also grab Shortwave on it, too. It probably even has civil defense markings on the dial, as well. Too bad 👎, nobody makes 😪 these radios 📻 anymore. Your friend, Jeff.
Hi Jeff. Yes Shortwave was very popular over here back in the '40s, especially with the world on the brink of World War 2, it would have been the only way of finding out what was going on.
We never had civil defense marked on radio dials in Australia because that was handled by the government radio stations, the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Commission) on their normal broadcast stations and still is.
37:45 A python swallowing a mouse..... was that python's name "Monty" perchance? LOL😁
Hi Don Really enjoying this current restoration. How do you do the coil/pigtail on the component leads . Looking forward to the next episode cheers
Hi Chris,
Glad you're enjoying the videos. I's going to be a nice old wireless when it's finished and I'm thinking of putting a bluetooth module in it (removeable of course). The pigtails I do by winding the component lead around a small jeweler's screwdriver - you know the type = you buy them in sets for not much. I use the smallest one in the set, usually about 1.5mm or so. About 3 turns around the screwdriver does it. You can pull some off if necessary to get the right lead length. Then I pull the screwdriver out and insert it from the other end of the pigtail and just bend the pigtail coil to face in the right direction. When I'm happy with it I just nip off the loose end. It sounds complicated but only takes a few seconds. I'll make sure to show it in the next video.
Cheers
Thanks Don
There are Braided heat shrink Tubing/Sleeving available that won't fray, I also saw someone using
coloured braided Heat shrinking sleeves, but whether they are still available or not, I'm not sure as
when I googled for them recently, I couldn't find them anymore..
Hi. That sounds like a better solution. The stuff I used was just what I had laying around but it was horrible to work with. I cut out the worst of it as the video was running too long but I won't be using that stuff again!
The way it sounds I think the IF can stickers are pretty safe, hope you got my email as I can help you out with a good ME tube and I am local, looking forward to the cabinet restoration, have learned a lot from your previous restorations.
Cheers
Hi Reg, I just fount your email in the junk folder. Typical! Anyway I have sent you a reply.
Cheers
The Eye-tube?
Yep, the eye tube is dead. Someone has offered me another one though and I'm picking it up tomorrow so that's hopefully sorted.
Cheers
@@Donno308 Don't they make a much cheaper solid state version to the original? Might be better, to get one of those and save the one you're getting for a better specimen. Just a thought.
@@Raul_Gajadhar Hi Raul. Yes I believe they do make a solid state version. I've seen some on eBay but I don't really like them - the individual leds are clearly visible and they just don't look quite right. And they're not that cheap either.
Part 3 will be published in a few hours so you'll see it there.
Cheers
Looking at the dial glass shows 2CK which was for Cessnock NSW, The Hunter Region lost a few stations around the late 1940s and early 1950s, some by going broke, another notable, though temporary departure from the airwaves was 2HD Newcastle near the beginning of the 1940s. Founder, Harry Douglas started the station back around 1928 but I suspect he was a Jehovah's Witness. During the war years(1939-1945) 2HD, being owned by the JWs, were ordered off the air because they were *providing aid and comfort to the enemy*, the act of treason. When the war ended, the station(with its licence restored) was sold to one Mr Alan J. Storey who operated the station initially out of a studio adjacent to the Civic Theatre in Hunter Street. The station had a sizeable auditorium which is now the home of the Hunter Valley Theatre Company. In the 1950s station studio operations were relocated to a new "home" in Sandgate. The rest, as they say, is history.
Hi Neil. Interesting about 2CK. I guess other regional stations have similar stories, like 2GZ in Orange, where I grew up.
@@Donno308 Yep, only now it's a hell of a lot worse! Too many regional stations being *gobbled up* by greedy bastards like Bill Caralis!
@neilforbes416 2NM was originally licensed to Cessnock as 2CZ, owned by Coalfields Broadcasting Co Pty Ltd, but the station's call letters were changed to 2CK prior to its launch on 9 January 1937. The station operated on 1460 kHz, with a power output of 300 watts, and was managed by Albert Ryan.
The station catered for the mining community of Cessnock and surrounding areas, and was the official station of the Australian Coal and Shale Employees' Federation. A feature of their programme was a mining news bulletin, transmitted at 5.34am, 6.15pm and 9.00pm, relying on information from mine officials and managements. Because of the working hours of the local industry, the station commenced operations at 5.30am, with the first national news program in the country for the day transmitted at 5.45am, using the resources of the Newcastle Herald.
This was complemented with local and district news, racing programs from 2UW, the Daily Telegraph Sports Parade program (exclusive to 2CK in the region) and other programs of local interest. The station transmitted between the hours of 5.30am and 11am and from 5.30pm to 10pm weekdays, 5.30am to 11pm Saturdays and 9.00am to 10.00pm Sundays.
2CK was closed down after a fire burnt the studios down late one night after the announcer had finished the station's transmission for the night at 10pm, and left in a rush for his bus back to Maitland, leaving the electric heater on.
1937-1950s - 2HR Singleton/Maitland
The Upper Hunter had its own station based in Singleton, 2HR, owned by Hunter River Broadcasters Pty. Ltd. The station launched on 30 August 1937. The owners included the Singleton Argus and the Robinson family. Three years later, they moved to Lochinvar, near Maitland.
1954-1980s - 2NM Muswellbrook / 2NX Newcastle
Hunter Broadcasters had purchased the two stations during the early to mid-1950s, and decided to move both stations away from their existing locations. The 2HR license and transmitter was moved to Bolwarra, in order to serve the Newcastle market. 2HR was given a new callsign, 2NX. The 2CK license and frequency was moved to Muswellbrook, and also received a new callsign, 2NM.
The callsigns were devised by station manager Ken Robinson, who had served in the Australian Army. His army identification number included the letters NX. Therefore, the Newcastle station was given the 2NX name. 2NM's callsign was created only after trying out other combinations that could smoothly follow 2NX. 2NM could also represent 2 Newcastle Muswellbrook.
2NM was launched on 14 January 1954, from facilities located along the McCully's Gap road just outside Muswellbrook.
In 1971, Hunter Broadcasters were taken over by Catholic Broadcasting Company, a division of the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney. During this time, while during the day 2NX and 2NM were operated separately, from 6pm overnight, 2NM relayed 2NX's programming, and was identified as 2NXNM and as Upper Hunter 2NX.
In 1978, the station moved from 1460 to 1458 kHz, as part of a nationwide radio frequency adjustment. Two years later, on 2 August 1980, 2NM changed its frequency again from 1458 kHz to 981 kHz to improve reception in parts of the Upper Hunter. A new 5000 watt transmitter site was commissioned on Begalla Road, next to the Bengalla coal mine. The old 2NM tower on McCullys Gap Road was not torn down until 2009. The old transmitter building still stands to this day. 1458 kHz was reassigned as the Newcastle frequency for ABC NewsRadio.
The overnight simulcast of 2NX came to an end in July 1989, due to the opening of Newcastle's first FM station, New FM, which was taking listeners away from 2NX, and as a result, 2NX changed formats to compete.