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Post by Deleted on Jun 20, 2018 22:33:35 GMT
2 Seconds Ago I Had An Idea
As some may recall, there was once a thread called "Be On Blare OnAir" in which we broadcast from the TeamSpeak Open Room on the 5th Saturday of months that had five Saturdays. But that tradition ended when I canceled all programs as part of a Silent Protest in effect until the Autumnal Equinox, in late September.
But I thought of this... Part15 Engineer, one of the Trustee Moderators here at TheALPB, declared the sale of his entire radio property, following years of being one of the most highly refined low power stations in America. What the hell?
So here's the deal... if Robert, Part15 Engineer, joins me at 7 PM EDT Saturday June 30th on the TeamSpeak Server, hosted by the way from his own computer system, we will do Low Power Hour No. 120 and get a picture of what and why, as well as a portrait of "Who".
I'll be there.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 22, 2018 14:47:59 GMT
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Post by part15engineer on Jun 22, 2018 16:01:03 GMT
i am actually rethinking the selling idea and might just box everything up and put it in storage until we find a better place where the people might be more receptive to a local low power community station.
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Post by mark on Jun 22, 2018 21:17:24 GMT
i am actually rethinking the selling idea and might just box everything up and put it in storage until we find a better place where the people might be more receptive to a local low power community station. So there's more to you up and quitting than what you told me? What have people in your area done to make you feel unwelcome as a local area radio station?
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Post by part15engineer on Jun 22, 2018 21:58:06 GMT
not really it i what i told you i'm tired (actually my wife is tired) of paying 200-500 in utility bills to run something only me and one other person listens to.
and there really is no great report the the neighbors here they are not friendly and welcoming at all and the property manager does not like me and doesn't understand my radio hobby.
so i may just pack it in till we get a house or a mobile home in a senior mobile home park where the people are more likely to appreciate and support a small community station.
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Post by Boomer on Jun 24, 2018 3:31:16 GMT
I've thought about the power that my station takes when it's running all the time, and it's been on since 2014 pretty much continually.
I can see rooms full of pro gear sucking the juice, plus the extra room-cooling needed. Those bigger LPB transmitters can pull lots of power, 150 watts AC draw for the 30 watter, and I'd think The Fox transmitter would be about the same. Then you have processing, console, computers and their screens. Thankfully flat screens use much less power these days, than their tube predecessors.
Equipment suppliers don't really think about power economy in the studio it seems, double regulated supplies and lots of lights, LEDs, and today microprocessors.
The other side to that is that some of the early solid state, transistor and op-amp no frills equipment was low power, like a compressor limiter that uses 6 watts, and that's with a linear power supply too, and some LEDs. It's like companies tried to sell on the idea of low power draw compared to tubes at that time.
Maybe you could go down to a single 100 milliwatt antenna transmitter and mp3 chip player, and kick on the studio when you want to do real radio, interview, or have friends over for a station party.
Boomer
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Post by mark on Jun 24, 2018 4:58:34 GMT
Up to $500 a month for electricity is quite a large amount of power and I can understand why your wife is uneasy about this. In continuing from Boomer's post you don't really need all that gear running(you have quite an elaborate studio there) especially if its automated the majority of the time.
I have a Decade MS-100 which runs on A/C not D/C so measuring the A/C current it uses 125 mA. Volts(120)* amps(.125) = 15 watts continuous. The compressor uses the most power and also runs on A/C not a D/C adaptor and with this I haven't measured the actual A/C current consumption but I figure the watts would be 1 1/2 times the transmitter so I estimate 30 watts continuous. To measure the A/C current I have to ruin an adaptor by cutting one side of the cord and connecting the meter to complete the circuit again and A/C to A/C adaptors are not as readily available like D/C ones.
So far 45 watts.
I am still using an MP3 player(allbeit a more expensive one) which has gapless playback and on board custom EQ and holds 4000 tracks in one folder. This uses NO power as I rigged it to work on regular batteries, not the rechargable internal one, and it runs on 3 AA batteries which is a week continuous playtime and a 50 pack of alkaline AAs cost 10 bucks at walmart. You can't have down time recharging all the time!
If I was using the computer for the audio source with Zara or Groove Music for example the computer would use as much power as a small TV set....still not a huge contributer to a monthly bill. All together the same as having a 75 watt incandecent light bulb on all the time....a LOT less than the power you use now!
And that's my set up. All the music(and volume leveling) and ID's, jingles, etc. are pre done on the computer and transferred to the MP3 player. Not an amount of power that will break the bank. All hobbies cost money, you can't have a "free" hobby.
You can still do your station and drastically cut your power use, and still sound like a "real station" You can even fake listeners calling in for requests or commenting on the station and insert this in the mix in MP3 files, all automated. Just like the sample I sent you....What do you think the commercial stations do!
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