1233 ABC Newcastle is an Australian radio station. It is the Newcastle

Newcastle, New South Wales

The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...

 station of the ABC

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...

 local radio network, and is licensed to, and serving Newcastle and surrounding areas. It operates on the AM

Amplitude modulation

Amplitude modulation is a technique used in electronic communication, most commonly for transmitting information via a radio carrier wave. AM works by varying the strength of the transmitted signal in relation to the information being sent...

 band at 1233 kilohertz. Formerly known by its callsign 2NC, the NC in the callsign is short for Newcastle, while the 2 represents the state of New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

. The station was established in 1930.

History

2NC was the very first regional radio station in Australia outside a capital city. It was set up by Adrian Jose. The first broadcast occurred 19 December 1930, and played the Newcastle Symphony Orchestra playing the William Tell Overture

William Tell Overture

The William Tell Overture is the instrumental introduction to the opera Guillaume Tell by Gioachino Rossini. William Tell premiered in 1829 and was the last of Rossini's 39 operas, after which he went into semi-retirement, although he continued to compose cantatas, sacred music and secular vocal...

. James Fenton

James Fenton

James Martin Fenton is an English poet, journalist and literary critic. He is a former Oxford Professor of Poetry.-Life and career:...

 acting as the prime minister of Australia

Prime Minister of Australia

The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...

 gave a speech. Local Newcastle content was limited to an hour a week and included news, market reports and church services. The station was heard in New Zealand. Its original frequency was 1245 kHz or wavelength of 241 meters. The power was 2 kW with a modulation of 85%. The transmitting equipment was established by Keith Thow of STC

Standard Telephones and Cables

Standard Telephones and Cables Ltd was a British telephone, telegraph, radio, telecommunications and related equipment R&D manufacturer. During its history STC invented and developed several groundbreaking new technologies including PCM and optical fibres.The company began life in London as...

. The transmitting antenna is at Beresfield

Beresfield, New South Wales

Beresfield is a north-western suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, located from Newcastle's central business district. It is part of the City of Newcastle local government area.The suburb of Beresfield had a population of 3,118 in 2006....

. It was designed to have a range of 25 miles, covering a population of 200,000.

In 1931 2YB in New Plymouth, New Zealand was interfering with 2NC causing a heterodyne

Heterodyne

Heterodyning is a radio signal processing technique invented in 1901 by Canadian inventor-engineer Reginald Fessenden where high frequency signals are converted to lower frequencies by combining two frequencies. Heterodyning is useful for frequency shifting information of interest into a useful...

 whistle.

Other early local content included the Newcastle Steel Works Band, the Newcastle Choral Society and the Newcastle Revellers.

For a time in the early 2000's, the ABC Newcastle website included a 5 day-a-week 5 minute TV news bulletin dedicated to Newcastle, shot in the ABC NSW studio.

Programs

Its programs are also heard on ABC Upper Hunter, the ABC's station serving the Upper Hunter

Upper Hunter

The Upper Hunter Shire is a Local Government Area in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It was formed in May 2004 from Scone Shire and parts of Murrurundi and Merriwa shires. The shire council's vision is "A Quality Rural Lifestyle - in a caring and thriving community"...

.

Sports coverage

In addition to Grandstand's national coverage, 1233 ABC Newcastle and ABC Upper Hunter also broadcast Newcastle Knights

Newcastle Knights

The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership...

 rugby league and Newcastle Jets soccer games as well.

Weekdays

• Breakfast – Aaron Kearney, 5:30 AM to 7:45 AM
• Mornings – Jill Emberson, 8:30 AM to 11:00 AM
• Afternoons – Carol Duncan, 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
• Drive – Paul Bevan, 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM

Weekends

Saturday

• Saturday Breakfast – Craig Hamilton, 6:00 AM to 10:00 AM
• Treasure Hunter
  Treasure Hunter
  Treasure Hunter is an Australian radio program broadcast on 1233 ABC Newcastle from 10am to 12pm on Saturday, hosted by Jenny Marchant. It was first broadcast in 2008 hosted by ABC Classic FM afternoons presenter Paul Bevan...
  
  – Jenny Marchant, Saturday 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Sunday

• Sunday Morning Statewide – Helen Clare, 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM

External links

• http://www.abc.net.au/newcastle/ 1233 ABC Newcastle official website
• http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2008/03/07/2183117.htm A history of the ABC in Newcastle