Two days ago KDX Worldround Radio dramatically changed the way of doing business.
We closed AM 1550, an AMT3000 transmitter, because the antenna needs upgrading.
To maintain our ability to listen to radio while doing yard work we re-opened AM 1680, an AMT5000 transmitter.
Feeding audio to those transmitters isn't done in the same way.
One of them employed the audio output from the sound card, but the other is a Wi-Fi connection requiring USB Audio Out, which cannot be easily achieved while maintaining connection to our Icecast Streaming Server.
So we closed the Icecast.
Using multiple instances of Virtual Cable and other fixes we set up today's Test of a possible solution to feeding audio everywhere it needs to go.
It worked well for the first hour, but then the pitch of the voices started to increase until everyone sounds like cartoon cats.
But we kept it going to see if the pitch would continue to increase, but what has happened is that the voices are starting to sound normal.
Note to self: "I love this stupid hobby."
That would be funny if you had planned it to work that way. Using multiple sound cards at my installation has, at times, been challenging. This works under Win XP but not Win 7.
I researched using multiple audio outputs under Win 7 and found a post by a Microsoft support person who said that multiple audio outputs do not work "by design" and am still wondering the reason for such a design decision.
All three of my transmitter audio feeds originate at a single sound card line output and are patched together in parallel.
I am so disgusted with trying software solutions that I am contemplating building a patch panel which is what I did for audio distribution while in high school. Sometimes the old ways work better.
Neil
There's nothing wrong with "the old ways".
They usually are simpler and more straightforward, easier to build, easier to maintain and easier to document.
I've always said that I enjoy learning about new technology, use some of it, and even like it.
But I *love* old technology (i.e., the old ways). It tends to work (and keep on working).
@RadioArtisan
If Only It Were True..."They usually are simpler and more straightforward, easier to build, easier to maintain and easier to document." - so said Artisan Radio
My recording studio used a balanced + 0 dB professional jack panel, but a lot of equipment is unbalanced at -10 dB, and things got even worse when we added video services to the mix.
All the wiring, soldering, matching...
Never more.
The "transmitter action" described in the opening post has given way to a new way to conduct radio business.
During certain portions of the day it is good to hear newscasts and talk shows, often while working in the botanical forest around the campus. For that, AM 1680 provides solid coverage with our FM off the air.
While setting up the programming in the morning we monitor on KDX-FM., with AM turned off.
Early afternoon we close all transmissions and concentrate on projects that require attention.
On a whim from time to time we maintain radio silence (over-the-air) and listen to our Icecast Stream in Experimental Mode, only on for a brief time.
In this way all our needs are met yet we maintain a ghostlike absence much of the time on any one medium.
Why Oh Why Is It Always Something
While checking around with my experimental Icecast Stream, I observed that KDX does not show up in a search on dir.xiph.org, the official Icecast Public Directory.
But then I checked the Icecast Radio Directory encased withing the VLC Player, and KDX comes right up by a search.
The VLC info says KDX is listed from dir.xiph.org.
KDX is both true and false at the same time.
Later Things Changed
After an hour I looked again and KDX was listing properly on dir.xiph.org, the Icecast Directory. I'm guessing there was a time delay of some kind.
But something else was wrong. The beautiful' Ogg Player that gets generated when transmitting the Ogg format was not present.
Looking at my Icecast Server page the Ogg Player shows just fine.
Learning New Confusions
We have learned that the B.U.T.T. streaming Encoder,even though there is a new version 1.1.6, does not quite do what a proper Icecast encoder should do... it does not generate a proper Ogg Player inside of the Icecast Directory Listing.
I proved that a different encoder DOES generate the Ogg Player, and that is AltCast V 1.1 Standalone Version, from 2016.
To see if anything is new we paid a visit to altcast.com and see that this V1.1 is no longer there, and only a "nestled" version for RadioDJ is available, which I think is a "plugin" type.
Friday night, sun going down, no street map, no bus fare, stranger in town.
Hold On! I went back to Altcast and found that V 1.1 IS still there, only the dowwnload menu is goofy and it's easy to miss.
I wonder why the guy gave up working on it in 2016?
Sorting It Out
As of this morning here is what we have found... streaming in MP3 format with an Icecast server can be smoothly done using all available free encoders, of which there appear to be three: B.U.T.T. v 1.1.6; Altacast V 1.1; Edcast V 3.37.2011.1214 which was originally Oddcast V3.
However, even though all of them have settings for the ogg-vorbis audio format, there are certain bugs.
The significance of the ogg-vorbis format is that it comes from the same open source as Icecast itself, and when listed in the Icecast Directory (dir.xiph.org) generates a nice little player that makes it very easy for a curious listener to hear the stream.
The ONLY encoder that works correctly between ogg-vorbis and Icecast is Altacast V 1.1.
B.U.T.T. V 1.1.6 does not provide all the ogg settings that should be available, and does not place the Ogg Player in the Directory Listing.
Edcast refuses to stream even though it has Ogg settings.
So far as we know KDX is the only station fiddling with Icecast streaming, even though there are over 32,000 stations listed on the directory.