tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59650345150559469922024-03-13T03:44:08.756+00:00World Of SteelegbrA strange old mix of radio, broadcast engineering and IT.steelegbrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641287000806163089noreply@blogger.comBlogger100125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5965034515055946992.post-16402701749438540542010-02-16T11:27:00.003+00:002010-02-16T11:43:21.952+00:00Handling Power Loss - Cost vs BenefitAs part of my day-to-day life, I'm currently holding the president position in WiredSoc (the student computer science society in St. Andrews). It's an interesting and challenging position to hold.<br /><br />One of the responsibilities I have (and delegate to some extent) is the reliable operation of WiredSoc's servers. Specifically it's me or the systems administrator that get complained to if something goes wrong.<br /><br />This brings me onto a recent outage we had. At approximately 1am on Monday morning, services disappeared due to a brief power interruption/surge (I've got conflicting reports on that one). 2 of out 3 severs dropped out and came back online. Our public facing server came back online at about 9am and only after I manually kicked it into action.<br /><br />Now an 8 hour outage on a voluntary service - is it acceptable? I would say yes. There is no way I'm going to force someone to go onsite at 2am to fix a problem when there is no compensation available. It's just beyond the bounds of acceptability! Really, would you volunteer to do it?<br /><br />Also, a UPS (uninterrupted power supply, basically a battery used to keep computers ticking over in power loss) is out of the question - too costly and of little benefit. Realistically, power outages tend to take out our connectivity as well. So, we could remain powered up but of no use to anyone!<br /><br />This leads me onto a similar problem I also saw with STAR's systems when I was in charge of those. Would it have been worth installing a UPS if we had the budget? Nope - power outages again took out the network and server. So, even if the studio was still live, we could not get the broadcast out (we were an online station).<br /><br />In conclusion, it is my opinion that voluntary projects should strive for high availability. However, it should also be taken into consideration that it is not the end of the world if your service disappears temporarily.steelegbrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641287000806163089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5965034515055946992.post-13282889702663288882010-02-15T15:14:00.002+00:002010-02-15T15:19:47.579+00:00A Lick Of PaintThere's many benefits to developing AllDay DJ in Java. These include the usual things like cross-platform support on a whim (I'm developing and testing on both Windows and Linux).<div><br /></div><div>Also, the Swing toolkit (the library I use to build the user interface) comes with support for "Look and Feel". This leads me to one of the more frivolous benefits - the ability to change how AllDay DJ looks on a whim.</div><div><br /></div><div>After a bit of mucking about on the internet I found the <a href="http://personales.ya.com/nimrod/screenshots-en.html">NIMROD look and feel</a>. After a bit of tweaking, this is what AllDay DJ 3 now looks like:</div><div><br /></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMlsPSDhJPT0ZIM51-CSv8yOfszHa4lP7aAIkoIr8YJ0wkH6lTbvMezySA74GCQXwQuZLtm7a23tPxCKBlKMhBHOgN4iZjXf44gQStoaimwjP9uQPmqzJPtSf3Ru7WoI7GyLyyOS5B_RdN/s1600-h/addj_laf.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMlsPSDhJPT0ZIM51-CSv8yOfszHa4lP7aAIkoIr8YJ0wkH6lTbvMezySA74GCQXwQuZLtm7a23tPxCKBlKMhBHOgN4iZjXf44gQStoaimwjP9uQPmqzJPtSf3Ru7WoI7GyLyyOS5B_RdN/s400/addj_laf.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438490008680238546" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I'm sure you'll agree, it's much easier on the eye.</div>steelegbrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641287000806163089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5965034515055946992.post-59177875057695816842010-02-10T23:32:00.007+00:002010-03-12T10:52:27.540+00:00Radio Station In A (Linux) BoxIt's an interesting concept - is it possible to go from source audio file (mp3, wav, ogg) to a complete streaming station on just one computer system. The answer is <b><i>yes</i></b> and with only one soundcard too! (Though the software I developed and use can punt out to many soundcards for live use).<div><br /></div><div>This past week or so, I've put together an internal test stream for AllDay DJ 3. This is mainly to prove it's up to the challenge. Also, it means I can run this on a headless (no monitor) system in a rack that I don't need for things like coursework. I can also get the music on any computer in the house then - very useful!</div><div><br /></div><div>So, let's talk through the components, starting with the system itself. Well, it's your off the shelf Linux box. The one I'm using currently runs Gentoo (not my choice) but I have also done this with a stable Debian system.</div><div><br /></div><div>Basic system in place, let's get our audio playing. A silent radio station is useless!</div><div><br /></div><div>I installed PostgreSQL, a VNC server and Sun Java 6. This is enough to get AllDay DJ 3 ticking over. My music library (now categorised and rather broad spectrum) and some jingles I knocked together were loaded. At this point, I have a playout system pushing audio out to the sound card and sounding a bit like a radio station. The music choice got a bit of a mixed response from friends helping with the project. :P</div><div><br /></div><div>Now, we've got our audio - how do we get it to the audience of one (me!). Well, that requires streaming. There's two components to this - the streaming source and the streaming server.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you're not up with the terminology: the streaming source (as I've called it), is the piece of software that captures the audio then sends it to the streaming server. The streaming server then supplies copies of this stream to the listener.</div><div><br /></div><div>Being a Linux box, I went open source. Initially I used Darkice as the source software and Icecast as the server software. Simply tell darkice to use the "Stereo Mix" as a source. It worked and I got an MP3 stream direct to my desktop.</div><div><br /></div><div>However, it sounded a bit lifeless, especially compared to what you hear on the dial. Time to add some audio processing.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now, I don't own a compressor and whatnot that I could plug into the audio stream. Also, it kills the idea of using the "Stereo Mix" source if I have to use external kit. To top it off, most audio processing kit can't be adjusted remotely.</div><div><br /></div><div>What I needed was a software solution. Thankfully one exists. It means I have to move from an MP3 stream to an OGG stream. That's not a huge issue.</div><div><br /></div><div>The solution is to make use of ecasound and ices. Both are tools that I had not heard of before until recently but due to the stdin/stdout support, they can be tied together without the need for another sound card - useful!</div><div><br /></div><div>Now the command line I used to launch the internal stream is:</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">ecasound -i alsahw,0,0 -o stdout -eca:10,0.01,1,1 -ea:500 | ices /etc/ices2/ices.xml</span></span></div> <div><br /></div><div>This tells ecasound to take take audio from the first alsa sound card (set to record from "Stereo Mix" using alsamixer). The "-o stdout" bit tells ecasound to spew out to the ices streaming source software.</div><div><br /></div><div>The next parts of the ecasound command are the inteseting parts. </div><div>"-eca:10,0.01,1,1" is the compressor settings. It means knee at 10%, attack of 0.01s then use a 1:1 ratio (I just want everything level / heavily compressed to start with, I'll adjust later). "-ea:500" just means amplify 500% (or 5x).</div><div><br /></div><div>The final part of the command tells "ices" to launch with the correct config file. This has details of my server and to take an audio stream from stdin.</div><div><br /></div><div>The suprising result of all this is that it possible to run an radio station from a Linux box. All be it one that streams on a closed network.</div>steelegbrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641287000806163089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5965034515055946992.post-52380639011894769212010-01-31T21:37:00.010+00:002010-01-31T22:24:07.642+00:00The Work Keeps GoingSo, when I should really be working on my coursework project, I've been putting a bit more time into AllDay DJ. In the short time I have been doing this, I've managed to pull a fair bit off. Below is the list of features I've added this week:<div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><b>Sweep Point</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">In previous version of AllDay DJ sweepers and voice tracks were dumbly played over the intro for songs. Now it's possible to have such a sweeper fully produced then sweep on the dry bit (like those "we play music like this... Donkey <name>FM!" jingles). How? Just set the sweep point.</name></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><b>Networking</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">A large number of stations are doing it - taking programming from another station. The command cart system has been built in AllDay DJ to allow simple networking between a "server" station and a number of clients. The result: you get a nifty program from down the road with your own adverts and jingles.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Even better - it's a plain text protocol. This makes building extras for the system easy. All command start with <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">ADDJ 3.0 <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">to indicate the protocol (ADDJ) and version (3.0) and then consist of single words plus parameters. Proof, I suppose, that I listen to my lecturers about designing network protocols.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Command Cart System</span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">It's not only networking that has benefited from work in this area. It's now possible to take an IRN feed and have it go in any sound card on your system and out any other. Very useful! The only issue now is endurance testing it - there's only so many times I can put up listening to a dummy news feed (really some music).</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><b>Keyboard Shortcuts</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">No need to fumble with that mouse any more! Some sensible shortcuts have now been build into AllDay DJ and work no matter what AllDay DJ window is in focus. Not bad for a Java application. The plan is to work on an extra mini-keyboard at some point with will have all the major keys in one place.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><b>Scheduling</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">This is mostly done - music and jingle scheduling works on the well loved "deck" model and repetition rules can be enforced. As for adverts - erm... I've never had to schedule any in my life! Ideas for what would be required here are always considered good.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">So... wrapping up: Remember - this is all cross-platform. I've been developing on a Windows XP system and testing on a headless Linux server (well, running vnc4server - there's no monitor plugged in). Also, it's all sitting on top of the reliable and easily backed up PostgreSQL database system. No bespoke binary rubbish here!</span></div>steelegbrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641287000806163089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5965034515055946992.post-3942760518881776122010-01-24T10:57:00.003+00:002010-01-24T11:05:45.237+00:00Voice Tracking in 4 Easy Steps<div style="text-align: left;">It's a part of modern radio that you can't get away from - voice tracking. If your response is "voice what?", it's the recording of presenter links in advance to be played out by the computer later. Often you won't know this practice is being used.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, its a feature missing from the older versions of AllDay DJ. So, I've just added it to version 3 as demonstrated in the following screen capture:</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy4UrlYJWWVgopxCLIybyxnur34X_x2ynT7q-bLN_LZMzbbwobSwSey2o3BnvDMRziSep9j0EOcdKighkFEVxobSfRcHW8MCQtJT9m_Xb5T-zWncMBJSiQK3xZUWjjd3aHWsahbWF1Z6s0/s1600-h/vt_steps.bmp"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy4UrlYJWWVgopxCLIybyxnur34X_x2ynT7q-bLN_LZMzbbwobSwSey2o3BnvDMRziSep9j0EOcdKighkFEVxobSfRcHW8MCQtJT9m_Xb5T-zWncMBJSiQK3xZUWjjd3aHWsahbWF1Z6s0/s400/vt_steps.bmp" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430259915549936866" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 160px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The left screen is the voice tracking panel and consists of the following steps:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ol><li>Record or choose the audio to use.</li><li>Review the audio.</li><li>Add details (so other users can tell what it is).</li><li>Save then drag-and-drop into the log.</li></ol><div>The right-hand screen is the log screen. Normally, it's showing the current log. However, as shown by the banner, it's actually a "future" log for 24/01/2010 at 11:00. You can edit and save any log without affecting what's going to air. Neat, eh? What's more, you can drag and drop audio from the future log into empty players to preview with. Even neater!</div></div>steelegbrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641287000806163089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5965034515055946992.post-57451771507081953952009-12-20T17:51:00.002+00:002009-12-20T17:57:28.773+00:00Technology - now working and on the blinkAfter finishing university for Christmas I've been busy. 1 live and another VT show. But that's normal.<br /><br />I've spent some of the past couple of days setting up a test server for AllDay DJ (I'm now operating 2). The system is streaming fine from an old Duron 1.6GHz box I've got kicking around the house. This is all complete with in-house "Donkey FM" jingles. Well, you've got to test it with realistic audio. :P<br /><br />Although I now have a few test rigs, development has come to a standstill at the moment due to university commitments. Specifically, I've got a sizable solo software development project to complete by April. It eats up a fair amount of time.<br /><br />On another topic - we've had some technology fail. I'm currently shacking up with family for Christmas where they have a Sky HD box. All well and good, except it's throwing up an error. Specifically moaning about a lack of HDCP (encrypted content protection) support on the TV. Odd for something that's worked fine for a number of months. I've got a funny feeling that it's the set top box on the blink. However, the usual sky box fixes don't work. Go figure...steelegbrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641287000806163089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5965034515055946992.post-29599511334291951722009-11-21T16:40:00.006+00:002009-11-21T16:57:44.312+00:00Pronouncing Local Names On AirLocal radio is made up of a number of different local aspects - stories, views, geographical knowledge, etc. Well, at least that's what it's supposed to be and most stations do it.<br /><br />However, one issue that comes up from time to time is pronouncing place names. It can make you stick out like a sore thumb if you get a name obviously wrong. However, with a lot of names there's even some disagreement between the locals.<br /><br />Take the example of Crossford, a village near Dunfermline. Is it crossf-OAR-d or crossf-OR-d? I'm more likely to pronounce it OAR, but that's due to going to school in the Dunfermline area.<br /><br />My personal point of view is local place names should be pronounced properly if possible (be prepared to see "flem" on pronunciation sheets in Scotland!) otherwise phonetically.<br /><br />As an exercise - why not try to figure out these Scottish place names that are occasionally mispronounced on air:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Kirkcaldy</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">East Wemyss</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Scone</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Falkirk</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Broughty Ferry</span><br /><br />And the answers (from my personal knowledge, may be wrong, etc.):<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Kirkcaldy - Kirk-aw-dy</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">East Wemyss - East Weems</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Auchtermuchty - As spelt but "ch" is as per the Scottish loch</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Scone - Skoon</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Falkirk - Fall-kirk</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Broughty Ferry - Br-aw-ty Ferry</span><br /><br />Feel free to add your viewpoint or pronunciations you see wrong all the time in the comments section.steelegbrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641287000806163089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5965034515055946992.post-75190764969469324652009-11-20T13:17:00.000+00:002009-11-20T13:20:36.249+00:00Raisin WeekendAh, it's almost upon us - one of the strangest traditions I've ever seen. It maily consists of academic families getting drunk and finishes with the children having a foam fight in the quad. It's another one of these uni traditions I don't get invloved in. However, the people I live with have academic children this year so I' ve got no choice.<br/><br/>Let's just hope they don't make too much of a mess!steelegbrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641287000806163089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5965034515055946992.post-75487923814586193752009-08-02T21:34:00.000+01:002009-11-20T13:20:36.241+00:00A 64-bit problemJust as my workload shoots up, a problem is discovered in AllDay DJ. It's an interesting one at that. It turns out that one of the libraries AllDay DJ makes use of no longer exists in the 64-bit Microsoft operating systems (Windows Vista/7) but does in the 32-bit version. There's a supposed workaround for this and I'm looking to test it as soon as I can get a hold of a 64-bit OS ofr my machine.<br/><br/>In other news, I thought I'd take 5 mins from my day to see if the code for v3 I haven't touched in a while works on Linux. It does! Check out the screenshot below:<br/><br/>[caption id="attachment_177" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Screenshot Of AllDay DJ 3 in Linux"]<a href="http://wired.st-andrews.ac.uk/~steelegbr/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/screenshot-allday-dj-3-1.png"><img class="size-medium wp-image-177" title="Screenshot Of AllDay DJ 3 in Linux" src="http://wired.st-andrews.ac.uk/~steelegbr/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/screenshot-allday-dj-3-1-300x175.png" alt="Screenshot Of AllDay DJ 3 in Linux" width="300" height="175" /></a>[/caption]<br/><br/>In my humble opinion, it doesn't look too bad on an Ubuntu desktop.steelegbrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641287000806163089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5965034515055946992.post-1598208108033985532009-06-28T21:14:00.000+01:002009-11-20T13:20:36.234+00:00Hibernate-ificationI decided to take the plunge today. Thanks to the magic of version control it's not an irreversable plunge but still a big one to take. I've decided to refactor the database code for AllDay DJ 3.<br/><br/>A few hours in and I'm most of the way there. That may be down to a bit of forward planning though - I designed the database code around the idea of "repositories". I.e. if you want to store or retrive something, you do it in the repository. Thankfully that all fits into the Hibernate approach.<br/><br/>Yup, I've gone for the complete ORM (Object Relational Modelling) approach. It has the upshot for users of allowing you to choose what database engine you want to use (providing it's supported by Hibernate) and as a developer, I see reduced development time and a better tie into the object model.<br/><br/>As with all things in life - there's a down side. Joins are a mix of being easier and more complex (depending on the object relationships). One specific example that comes to mind is the design I've got for the schedule. I won't give too much away, so let's just say the database schema in v3 is <strong>far</strong> more normalised.steelegbrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641287000806163089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5965034515055946992.post-17692495355702594862009-06-21T18:38:00.000+01:002009-11-20T13:20:36.227+00:003G Access... Fun & GamesIt's a well publicised option for getting internet on the move or if you've no landline. That's why I've had to take up such access. I may as well give you the highs and lows.<br/><br/>Well, I practically live under the tower, so reception is excellent. The service when accessable is nippy enough though it can be painful to use SSH over. The joys of the round trip time.<br/><br/>However, I have run into a slight issue. Look at the line above again - "when accessable". Yup - I've had a few connection issues. Though, that's down to the dongle. I tried the same SIM card on a mobile phone connected to the laptop via. bluetooth - no issues. Just excessively slow...<br/><br/>So, it's the best I've got and I can't complain too much about the service. It does seem a little better than travelling on the X24 makes it out to be.steelegbrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641287000806163089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5965034515055946992.post-40613242162063380492009-06-05T20:51:00.000+01:002009-11-20T13:20:36.219+00:00The Great Move SouthTo say the last couple of weeks were chaos would be an understatement. I've made the move south of the border. For only a few months mind you, but it's still a big move anyway.<br/><br/>South of the border is a big place. So it's probably appropriate to give you more information. It's Bath I'm in. Working for a small but well known company over the next three months.<br/><br/>Now, I've only been here less than a week but it is possible to give my first impressions of Bath. It's a historic place (but then where isn't?) with architechture if you're into it. The place is only a few miles from Bristol but seems to be fairly seperated.<br/><br/>I'm currently staying in university halls. Floor 8 at that! So I'll probably be a bit fitter by the end of the summer. Talking of which, I plan to make a few weekend trips out of the place during the summer break. I've been to Bristol before, however, last time I was in the place, the bus I was on crashed. So it's probably not a good move to return too quickly. But there are other options, I can explore the "west" or even venture east towards London.steelegbrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641287000806163089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5965034515055946992.post-82408654456452373752009-05-27T20:20:00.000+01:002009-11-20T13:20:36.208+00:00Remote Calls - Some PossibilitesAs part of AllDay DJ 3 - I'm looking into ways of handling networked programming. My understanding of most setups is that a single machine will act as the "server" and the "clients" await control commands. Well, that would seem a reasonable enough model to me.<br/><br/> <br/><br/>However, to implement this, I need some way of sending information from the command carts to the clients. (Yeah - command carts - you will be able to have a cart send a network command, play a user cart and wait for a hardware signal to continue - cool, eh?). Now, I could sit there creating my own message passing system then hope and pray I didn't screw it up.<br/><br/> <br/><br/>A preferable alternative is to look at existing message passing APIs. There's two for Java that I'm lookin in to - RMI and XML-RPC. We used RMI for the class team project and I must say it worked. However, it's java specific (I'm looking at doing other little bits in other languages) and insanely "chatty". A few minutes with an RMI session and WireShark would put you off. :)<br/><br/> <br/><br/>The other option is XML-RPC. So it's a bit more open (I can get language bindings for things other than Java) and less chatty (a godd thing I suppose). The only down side - who wants a streamlined XML-RPC server running on their playout box?<br/><br/> <br/><br/>Ok - it's not that bad an idea on a secured network. Certainly going to be more secure than opening a port up and hoping the String / Tokenizer libraries do the job.<br/><br/> <br/><br/>On another topic alltogether - does Myriad v3.5 have any way of mass importing and finding the track ends as well? It currently tops the tracks but at Radio West Fife, we've not yet found a way to tell it "the end of the track is the last point the volume is above x%". We've got a rather sizable stack of music to import into the system - we're looking to avoid doing things manually (ignoring jingles). I've been informed we've asked P-Squared, so I'll await results on that one.steelegbrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641287000806163089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5965034515055946992.post-85301372576888895112009-05-23T17:59:00.000+01:002009-11-20T13:20:36.200+00:00ExamsFinally, they're over. For the next wee while anyway. So that means I'm making the final preperations to go to Bath for the summer (yes, I'm being serious). I managed to land one of those internship things, so it's a working summer. Down side is I'm not going to be presenting while down there (or at least as far as I can tell). But then it's the old trade off of money vs. fun. :Psteelegbrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641287000806163089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5965034515055946992.post-20245656217891717852009-04-28T21:18:00.000+01:002009-11-20T13:20:36.191+00:00Prep and Show NotesIt's pretty much a requirement in radio - you need to do some show prep. For one, you need to know what you're talking about otherwise it's going to be a very boring show. I may go a bit far though, major links with notes and almost two sides of A4 per hour once the show's airing. That's insanely prepared.<br/><br/> <br/><br/>However, there is also an ongoing argument over going in/out of songs. The official line where I do shifts is "do NOT talk over songs that end". Simple rule that I've never broken, even before I took the role on. But how do I know how songs end? Some playout systems will tell you, but that's usually unreliable at best.<br/><br/> <br/><br/>My approach - PFL is key. I listen to the start and end of the song. I've then got little symbols I put on the show notes to indicate how the song starts / ends. As this may be useful to some other people, here is the key:<br/><br/> <br/><br/><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Song Outros</span><br/><br/><img class="size-full wp-image-149 alignleft" title="fade_out" src="http://wired.st-andrews.ac.uk/~steelegbr/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/fade_out.jpg" alt="fade_out" width="32" height="26" /> Song fades out.<br/><br/><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-151" title="ends" src="http://wired.st-andrews.ac.uk/~steelegbr/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/ends.jpg" alt="ends" width="32" height="26" /> Song ends.<br/><br/><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-152" title="sust_out" src="http://wired.st-andrews.ac.uk/~steelegbr/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/sust_out.jpg" alt="sust_out" width="32" height="26" /> Song ends with a sustained note.<br/><br/> <br/><br/><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Song Starts</span><br/><br/><span><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-154" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="inst_start1" src="http://wired.st-andrews.ac.uk/~steelegbr/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/inst_start1.jpg" alt="inst_start1" width="32" height="26" /> Song has no intro.</span><br/><br/><span><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-156" title="intro1" src="http://wired.st-andrews.ac.uk/~steelegbr/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/intro1.jpg" alt="intro1" width="32" height="26" /> Song has an intro. A number in a circle will be used to indicate the intro length.</span><br/><br/> <br/><br/><span>In addition to the into time in seconds, I usually mark the first thing I'll say over an intro with an asterisk (*). This is quite useful to prevent me overfilling that intro. Most time, I've only got one or two lines in the intro. It allows me to enjoy the music as well. :)</span>steelegbrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641287000806163089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5965034515055946992.post-12673481246820068972009-04-26T19:24:00.000+01:002009-11-20T13:20:36.122+00:00Weekend On Air and Calling Out The AA!So, I'm currently covering drivetime as well as my usual weekend shows at work just now. That means 7 days a week on air for a few weeks. It's doable and should be a bit of fun. This weekend also saw the team taking a trip down to the local highland games. It went well enough... if you ignore answering a phone leaving the mic up in the studio. "Hello, <name> speaking...". Rather entertaining hearing it on air actually.<br/><br/> <br/><br/>As for the AA. Well, I lost my alarm remote for the car. I could get in with the key but it set the alarm off and imobilised the vehicle. The guy turned up, used the small key (I had no idea what it was for - I bought the car second hand) on the box under the steering column and the car came to life. Ah well, you learn something new every day.steelegbrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641287000806163089noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5965034515055946992.post-78399867620660132272009-04-09T21:36:00.000+01:002009-11-20T13:20:36.111+00:00Stream Tags... The Good and The BadOnline radio streams, you can do a lot with them. As well as carrying your station's output, you can attach all sorts of metadata. Usually you stop at Artist - Title, e.g. currently playing on my internal test stream is "Bon Jovi - Always".<br/><br/> <br/><br/>That's the basics. At STAR we used to go a bit further with "Now Is Always by Bon Jovi followed by UB40". That's now and next which is on a par with some DAB stations. However this generated complaints! This was due to people using stream rippers and getting annoyed by the tracks getting tagged with the extra information!<br/><br/> <br/><br/>As much as we are not to really cater for steam rippers (it does boost our listener stats though), I can't help but think we maybe went a little overboard. It also forward announced the next track which most of the time on STAR doesn't happen until the track is playing. Good or bad... you decide!steelegbrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641287000806163089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5965034515055946992.post-15030116523010398782009-04-07T23:05:00.000+01:002009-11-20T13:20:36.081+00:00My Music Collection Is Wierd...It's true, I've got all sorts. Heavy rock (I can't stand thrash mind you) through to the cheesiest of pop. I just heard the playout system segue Tom Jones into Van Halen into Britney Spears and finally ACDC.<br/><br/> <br/><br/>I'm also exploring it at the moment to find out exactly what I have. What better way than AllDay DJ. I get to do a sustainer test and hear almost everything I have. So, I've scheduled a fairly random mix consisting of some categorised tracks and the "A to Z" (i.e. everything else) category. Let's see how long I can stand it...<br/><br/> <br/><br/>I'm also facing issues with my wireless connection (still as ropey as ever) so the test box is directly wired into the router. I'm also streaming online (no, it's a private stream, I'm not going to give you access).<br/><br/> <br/><br/>Though I did learn this week that (unsurprisingly really) you can get access to the DAB output of a station via. web stream (though it's locked down from what I hear). How did I find out - a phone call from somebody at the other end of the country monitoring the station output. Makes sense though, it is just an MP2 stream.steelegbrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641287000806163089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5965034515055946992.post-22085775340114376062009-04-05T17:59:00.000+01:002009-11-20T13:20:36.073+00:00End Of A Busy WeekSo that's it, Hospital Broadcasting week is over. I can get a rest. 9 days solid presenting... I've managed it! Not 9 days 24/7 mind you (that would be a bit mad). 7 breakfast shows and 2 afternoon. Ah well, it's done now.<br/><br/> <br/><br/>I've also got most of the way through the team project stuff for university. The code should display and update the required information. I say "should" as the standard for accessing logs seems not to have been agreed on! Great with such little time to go... Though, a lot of it is down to the sudden major change of system more than half-way through the project.steelegbrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641287000806163089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5965034515055946992.post-50610036848352533402009-03-31T21:01:00.000+01:002009-11-20T13:20:36.002+00:00It's *still* Hospital Broadcasting WeekOkay, that's day 2 over. I'm stil having fun. Who thought getting up early could be ok. Anyway the "smell" disappeard from yesterday (a rather unpleasent smell appeared in the studio just as I left). Though unlike my colleage at Perth FM, I can't complain about the cold - we're right in the centre of the hospital. No windows or anything. So it can get rather warm!<br/><br/> <br/><br/>So, Bridge @ Breakfast continues at 8am tomorrow. I've been prepping away the last hour or so and I 've got some cracking content. Though, unfortunately the I'll actually have to buy a local paper at some point. Do the "local" thing. Hanging around Dundee yesterday didn't get me much in the way of stories to talk about...<br/><br/> <br/><br/>That reminds me - I ought to do some coursework. I've done some team project stuff (a rather funky web interface with graphs to track "blobs") and have "THE MALLOC PRACTICAL" to get done. Its name is in caps as it seems like it'll be a killer.steelegbrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641287000806163089noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5965034515055946992.post-48889197011601819312009-03-29T20:57:00.000+01:002009-11-20T13:20:27.276+00:00"It's Hospital Broadcasting Week..."No trip south of the border this week for me this time. Last year I was at the awards pushing my playout system. This year, I'm presenting breakfast at Bridge FM, where for the last few years they've done an RSL covering the city of Dundee to celebrate.<br/><br/> <br/><br/>So it's an early start all week. Oh, all right, 8am - it's not too bad. It should be rather poppy music as well (I'm aiming to wake myself up as well). Now, let's see if I can give this pen on my desk away as a prize... well, the budget is tight! :Psteelegbrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641287000806163089noreply@blogger.com117tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5965034515055946992.post-2126450224803190612009-03-26T17:31:00.000+00:002009-11-20T13:20:27.268+00:00Levels, Levels, Levels... and More!Gah! It annoys me a bit. Peaking constantly for any period of time. It sounds horrible and sadly it's a bit of a habbit among STAR's on-air team. Even if it's not too loud it tends to be levels all over the place, almost as if PFL had never been discovered. <br/><br/> <br/><br/>Hopefully my new notice may get them to pay attention. It has large lettering, angry underlines and the required expletives (well, not really). I can accept mistakes that are corrected when you catch them, I do it from time to time. But listening to the output and not doing anything about distortion for minutes at a time... I'm not so happy about that.<br/><br/> <br/><br/>And for the "more" bit. I've picked up the position of President of WiredSoc (Computer Science society). Let's see what we can do with Wired this year...steelegbrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641287000806163089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5965034515055946992.post-48132631098791343942009-03-22T18:55:00.000+00:002009-11-20T13:20:27.261+00:00Election Results InWell, they finally counted the votes. It's Phil to head up STAR. Is it unexpected? Not really, but it does mean STAR will now edge further into Musfund's territory with Starfields.<br/><br/> <br/><br/>We disagree on music policy but it's completely in his hands now. I only ever disagreed on the basis we were too specialist - we're not competing with Kingdom, Tay or Wave but iTunes. Hopefully this year we will see money dedicated to a rotation based playout system (currently it's on select a random track from collection X).<br/><br/> <br/><br/>Where will STAR go this year... who will know? But let's just hope we can get the listener figures up. :)steelegbrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641287000806163089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5965034515055946992.post-32769879324527979832009-03-21T13:51:00.000+00:002009-11-20T13:20:27.253+00:00Blog Moved, etc.Well, after the incident involving a complete rebuild of Wired, I've decided to move the blog into my own home directory. It's Wordpress and should survived moving between machines better than movable type. All the old posts have been moved over.<br/><br/> <br/><br/>This week has been a busy one. Not only have I been working on wired, I've also been campaigning to become station manager at STAR (we still await results).<br/><br/> <br/><br/>At work, we've got a new website as well. Check it out at <a href="http://www.perthfm.co.uk/" target="_blank">http://www.perthfm.co.uk/</a> It's better than the old one and has some content. Talking of which, I got my photo taken and have submitted the required material for the "DJ Blog".steelegbrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641287000806163089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5965034515055946992.post-30050137729357672932009-03-12T09:29:00.000+00:002009-11-20T13:20:27.246+00:00Pointless OffersMy mobile phone company has given me one of those topup offers. I've topped up a tenner and been given 300 free texts. Not bad... until you remember I've sent 5 texts since Christmas!steelegbrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641287000806163089noreply@blogger.com0