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Post by Boomer on Dec 25, 2018 11:35:09 GMT
Figures it would happen around the holidays that my station's computer would go down. It happened two weeks ago when I tuned to my signal and found dead air. The Atom mini desktop that had been continuously serving the station since its start 4.5 years ago, apparently had a power supply failure. The computer sent mono audio to the transmitter, then early in 2018 we got a stereo AM generator put together, and the computer was put into stereo audio mode to drive it. When the computer stopped, I decided to go mono for a while, since the PC and stereo generator are kind of tied together with their settings matching each other and I didn't want to change that. Before the plans to go stereo, I'd acquired an Inovonics 215 audio processor, an old mono unit from the late 1970s, intending to use it with the mono broadcast, but never got to try it. The computer down time opened the door, because I needed something to get the station back on the air and watch the levels. I set up a Dell laptop, Red Caboose Radio's old one, which is low spec, with 320 megs of memory and a 20 gig hard drive with XP, but still performs decently. That feeds the Inovonics, which controls the audio level to the LPB transmitter and coupler to the power line, a simple system that cost little. I looked at the new Schlockwood processor that's made for low power AM, by the creator of the Inovonics line, but have this philosophy that my station should have balance, across the cost of the equipment used in it, and how much reach it has. With old equipment and a tiny broadcast range I don't want to upset the Feng Shui of my station by putting in a nice device. Well, that, and I already have the old Inovonics.. It does show though, that you can have a useful and halfway pro system for a low amount of money, if you work at it a little. Boomer
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Post by End80 on Dec 25, 2018 16:38:50 GMT
Dammit, I click the picture again to look at the automation software and lost all of what I had typed in. What are you using?
It's cool your doing carrier current. I'd like to toy around with it someday.. not sure why exactly, but figure it could come in handy to have the equipment and know-how for some future project where cc would be the better option. So happens I had that exact same Dell laptop, in fact I may still have it packed unless I gave it away. Anyway it's a good thing it was your computer that conked out and not something else, old computers are a dime a dozen, if not free, and it you don't need much processing power just to run automation.
I've already decided I want to get a Schlockwood next year.. maybe. At first I was turned off by the price but later had second thoughts.. I know I must have spent at least $600 or $700 total over time for the second hand rack gear I have, maybe more. So really that Schlockwood is a deal at.. what? $430? and it does it all, and originates from a reputable source with a strong reputation - so really it's a deal.
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Post by Boomer on Dec 27, 2018 8:40:50 GMT
I've had things like that happen on forums before, mistakenly hitting Tab and then another key that takes me back or to another page by mistake.
The playback program is VU Player, a program it seems that I found around 2005, when I read about a small station using it. I'd been looking for something simple and light and not much of a fuss to use. It does crossfading when tracks get to the end and fade, or if a CD-origin track suddenly stops it will hit the next track fast. With short events and promos I add 8 seconds of silence to the end of each, so voice pauses won't be detected as endings and fade to the next track.
I also find VU to be great for live assist shows, put in a set of music or programs and you can get freshened up or do something else for awhile and come back. Press stop at track end, it will play to the end of the current track and stop on its own. It's at vuplayer.com
I like carrier current, it has so good features, one is stealth, from the street there's nothing that shows there's a radio station in that building, everything is inside. It's protected from the weather, and that might help with lightning protection too. Another positive is that the bandwidth can be wider than with a 3 meter antenna, so I like it for being able to broadcast full fidelity audio to 15 khz, and for stereo.
The signal is best for listening in homes, and that will vary depending on how many homes are on your branch of the circuit. Carrier current is always recommended to be used at the low end of the band for better signals. I think a good combo would be to have an antenna station at the high end, to reach cars whip to whip antenna, and CC down lower for homes.
That was a common Dell back then I guess, and I think it's still the original XP on it.
I like what I see in the Schlockwood processor, and how it's built with low power AM in mind. Compared to other processors it does seem like a good deal, especially if it's just what you need for your station. You can get used equipment for cheap, but since it's old electronics it could require more repairs.
Boomer
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Post by End80 on Dec 27, 2018 23:41:49 GMT
I'm pretty sure I used VU Player just as like a home jukebox a long time ago before I ever even got into part15. You know Boomer, Zara is just as simple and straightforward as that program is, but with Zara you can also automatically include time and weather announcements, as well as the capability of automating in timed streams. There's two reasons I've always stuck with Zara, one is because it's so simple and basic to use and very light on resources, and two, it's incredibly stable 24/7.
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Post by Admin on Dec 28, 2018 2:49:51 GMT
Zara is great!
I've been using it for our LPFM over 4 years with no lock-ups or other problems.
I've been using Zara for my license free low power broadcasting over 10 years with only a couple minor anomalies.
Highly recommended...
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Post by Boomer on Dec 28, 2018 21:49:02 GMT
Thanks Dr. Bob, I know you use it and like it a lot, and it's fine from hobby to pro applications!
I was watching a news report in the 2000s and there was a country with fighting going on, military taking over, and rebels had set up a broadcast, and I think they'd hooked up to the town's radio station with a temporary studio, and the computer screen shown was running Zara software, while several people were broadcasting nearby.
VU Player is good for simple use, where you want to keep the programming rolling. I have shows, music and a sprinkling of IDs, PSAs and put it on random, so the items play when they want. I can make a playlist and time it out to be more formal, and hot swap playlists, but that's about it, no going to feeds or having IDs at the top of the hour.
Boomer
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Post by Boomer on Dec 28, 2018 22:41:53 GMT
Right End80, I'll probably use Zara at some point, it's already on the system now, put there by the previous station that had the laptop. I should learn it, if even to show others, when they are looking for automation.
The station down time isn't even so bad, it's allowing me to be experimental. I'd gotten locked into a system that was good, and settled enough that I didn't do much with it.
The latest is, as a test I've bypassed the Inovonics for the moment and am using Sonos Limit, another old standby program that's great on XP machines. It's a simple processor, yet it has the basics you need for radio. Usually I use Vwestlife's RADIO.FMT preset, but started with his 'AGC only' file this time, and turned up the compression and limiting until they just start touching.
That also makes it easy on the high frequency limiter in Sonos too, not driving it nearly so hard, where before it had been almost constantly responding.
The result is a dynamic sound that lets more bass through, and I was almost shocked at how the highs could sound on their own without as much limiting and clipping. To hear the gentle high frequency dynamics of acoustic guitar, bells and tambourine was a surprise, and something you never hear on the radio these days.
It depends on the recording, and most modern pop is already heavily processed, but get an easy track from the 1970s recorded with quality and it will shine through.
Boomer
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