For 10 years the radio programs from KDX Worldround Radio have been aired on AM & FM under Part 15 Authorization, and streamed globally on Shoutcast and Icecast.
In all that time there has been no "audience growth", and even the concept of "audience" remains nebulous and illusive because it cannot be measured.
Going to a deeper philosophical level we would ask: what human disorder causes me or anyone else to "want" an audience? This sort of clinical analysis is a parallel issue and becomes addressed further on.
The Streaming Servers list "connections" which apparently is all any streaming station has to count as "listeners" but the IP addresses shown have no useful identifying features and cannot be contacted to discover who it is or why they are there.
In 10 years there are never more than 1 or 2 connections per week, some the same IP numbers as before, some new.
Connections of 30-seconds are the most believable because that would be the time it takes to decide to "tune away".
We are informed that copyright patrols scan the web looking for streamers unlicensed to program copyrighted music, and despite the "legality" of their snooping, they most certainly are not listeners in any useful way and are not welcome to show their distrust toward KDX. We are not streaming to give the copyright industry someone to sniff.
The motivation to stream is, by my view, a deformation of the species social instinct to communicate with others of the same kind, but I would say that such "outreach" is impotent where response is lacking.
Another part of motivation comes from the sense of "play" inherent in the radio hobby, bringing the "sense" of navigating a global radio service. This is the narcissistic pleasure brought by the hobby.
Even upon stating so many negatives there might be a purpose after all to maintaining a radio stream. Am I about to talk myself back into streaming? Let me give it more thought.
Carl: You're not gonna believe this! I saw a post just like this on another site!
Druid Hills says to Carl: "You're not gonna believe this! I saw a post just like this on another site!"
Carl bristles: Ya? So? All right, I lifted that from another site. No one said anything until you you blabbed it.
I feel so dirty.
Feeling just as bad as Druid Hills I spoke with Agent Orange and am happy to say that he's signed a FULL PARDON.
I forget what the original complaint was but don't look back.
Carl pondered "Going to a deeper philosophical level we would ask: what human disorder causes me or anyone else to "want" an audience?"
Which made me ask myself for the umpteenth time why I or anyone broadcasts as a Part15 hobby. It comes back to my comparing this to model railroading. Railroaders spend much time and effort to construct and operate intricate, detailed layouts just to haul freight and passengers around in circles going nowhere but enjoying the sounds, smells, and sights of the trains moving. Grownups have so little to imagine and fantasize about (at least legal stuff) that is to good that model railroading and Part 15 broadcasting might seem to fall into this category.
There are those of us who seriously cultivate and serve an audience and then there is me who enjoys the technical challenges of running my stations and who hesitates to shut down or interrupt a tune because maybe, just maybe, someone might be listening. It is a way for this old timer to think like a kid again, at least for a few moments, and remember when neighbors and friends nearby really did listen to my station way back when.
Streaming is different and I don't do so but if you ignore the connections and statistics maybe you can simply tell yourself that someone may be listening.
Neil
Rdio8Z Empathetically Pondered: "It comes back to my comparing this to model railroading."
And indeed.
I often think that low power radio and model railroading could be combined in the most interesting way.
You could have Chicago along one wall of the kitchen with several part 15 towers mounted among the tracks and fake buildings.
In the living room you'd have another set of radio transmitters on other frequencies serving those make believe people in what you'd call Detroit.
In Detroit you could DX stations out in Chicago.
Yet oddly, the part 15 transmitters would remain under the authority of the FCC whereas the trains would not be regulated by the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board).
How internet radio would figure into this brings us back to my original question.
Who is behind the anonymous IP addresses that connect to the radio servers?
Why is it that when they travel they have no interest in either Chicago or Detroit but always want to go to Little Rock?
for me.
If there is music or talking that goes through that board
and comes out a radio somewhere (especially vintage) (and the
farther away the better) well that's it.
Oh yeah - my brother is a lot like me. And he makes
fantastic model trains. So there you have it.
Brooce Part 15 Hartford
As a former, professsional model railroad builder, I admit to resenting this comment. I resent it no matter how much I resemble it now as a Part 15 broadcaster. Excuse me while I go in circles.
Despite the brief sanity expressed at the opening of this topic when we questioned the practice of streaming, the KDX streams contiue to leak worldward.
Three Shoutcast Servers:
64kbps mono MP3 for the talk audience;
8kbps mono MP3 for the many dial-up folks;
32 kbps stereo AAC for the future;
Icecast Server:
96 kbps stereo MP3 for deluxe concert listening.
Using the toy train analogy, all this radio is akin to operating multiple train sets and a bus station.
Decision time: three of those leaks have to go. Which one shall we keep?
Another similarity between Part 15 FM and model trains--they both have about the same range.
MorningDJ pegs it: "Another similarity between Part 15 FM and model trains--they both have about the same range."
Maybe if we were ants our hobbies would have more range.
This morning I set out to investigate the Shoutcast Directory hoping to find out why my three Shoutcast streams no longer show up in their Search Tool.
Here's what we found:
SHOUTcast versions prior to 2.0 are over 10 years old and will not be supported and will be delisted from the Website, YellowPages and API soon. Version 2.0 or better is required to retain your SHOUTcast listing. Make sure you’re on a SHOUTcast 2.0 (or newer) server to take advantage of the latest in streaming technology.
Curiously all three of our old servers indicate the SC Directory is "touched" every 10-minutes.
Given the new information we are unchecking the "Make Server Public" checkbox which will stop the servers from contacting the Directory.
Our KDX Shoutcast Streams will be available only from our website at kdxradio.com.
The KDX Icecast Stream continues being listed on the Icecast Directory.
This thread began with doubts and misgivings about continuing with streaming radio services.
Thoughtful comments have been contributed by forum members.
This morning we took a tour of Shoutcast's Directory website and refreshed our knowledge about "the state of the art" of radio streaming.
We took a giant spoon and stirred our thoughts until we had a fresh solution.
This is very official right now.
KDX Worldround Radio would like to announce the Dedication of our new Streaming Radio Experimental Station.
That's what it is. It's a scientific project.
Visitors are welcome to stop by to hear our tests.
Probably the main reason we have so few visitors is the lack of a snack machine.
Public Reception throughout the day.
KDX has closed our 8 kbps and AAC streams to concentrate solely on the MP3 mono and MP3 stereo streams.
Further, we are backing down on the "kbps" rates of both streams to give extra headroom to anything else our computer/internet connection is running in the background.
Nothing is ever permanent in the internet experience, and a tomato juice break would go very well almost anytime.