TR25Road – Bendigo Highlights

TR25Road – Bendigo

Our first stop (of four) was a massive success. Thanks to all who attended. We hope you had a great time and have returned home richer for the experience and connections.

Pre-Day Tour

We started with the Pre-Day Tour at Durra Panel on Friday afternoon which was very enlightening – light being the operative word.  Our hosts attempted to set fire to a piece of Durra Panel using an oxy torch at temperatures around 2800C .  The panel stopped burning as soon as the flame was removed, and the other side was cold to touch.  This is straw that can well and truly withstand a big bad wolf.

The Core-Day

 First session 

Adrian Harper from Agile kicked things off with a deep dive into Analog vs Digital — exploring where traditional meets modern in community broadcasting.

 Second session 

Mikaela from CMTO showcased what’s on offer — from Outside Broadcast Training to Tech for the Non-Technical, and a whole range of hands-on courses designed to build confidence and skills in community media.
Want to upskill or empower your team? Check out cmto.org.au for everything on offer.

Third session 

CBF’s Shea covered all things funding — what’s available, how to apply, and top tips for writing strong grant submissions.
Also explained how to get involved as a CBF grant assessor and support the future of community media funding.
Explore more at cbf.org.au

Fourth session 

Loffy (Michael) shared the magic of Outside Broadcasts.
From gear setups to going live in the wild, Loffy’s break down the essentials of taking your station beyond the studio. Real-world tips, practical workflows, and the confidence to hit the road with your sound.
Contact the CMTO to run an OB training session at your station

Fifth session 

Finn from Durra Panel touched on Accoustics following up from the tour on Friday.

Sixth session 

Declan from CBAA  gave the lowdown on what’s ahead for community broadcasting.
Covered key topics like Codes of Practice, Prominence, DAB+, Federal Election coverage, and the WA Tech Hub, plus where streaming, websites, and podcasting fit in the evolving media mix.

A solid update on what’s happening nationally and how stations can stay ahead.

The Show and Tell session highlighted some very interesting things some stations are doing, have done, or about to tackle.

Seventh session 

Jason and John described Docoblitz and explained how the program will roll out.
It’s not just policies and procedures — Docoblitz helps stations take stock of their tech infrastructure, too. From asset registers to figuring out “where’s the transmitter?”, it’s all about identifying what you have, what’s documented, and what still needs work.
A practical, no-stress way to get your station’s admin and tech records under control.

Post-Day

Three stations generously offered to host us, for our station-crawl.

At our first stop at Phoenix FM studios we got to meet some of the volunteers, checked out their studios and equipment and had a look at their OB van.

Our next stop was at Bunnings for a saugage sagga and canned drinks for a quick lunch and to support the KLFM. Then we continued on to see their studios and facilities. Situated right next to a train line and met up with some more of their volunteers.

Last stop was at the Life FM were we got to meet some volunteers and checked out theit studio and facilities.

Thank you to all who made it a very memorable day.

Summary

The three days of activities were enlightening, informative and lots of opportunies for great netwrking with fellow volunteers.

Thank you Bendigo… we are off to WA next. See you all there June 20-22