Sort of.
I received the new/used dell optiplex gx260 on Wednesday, been trying to get it ready for use as the on-air computer.
Sort of.
I received the new/used dell optiplex gx260 on Wednesday, been trying to get it ready for use as the on-air computer.
I finally realized the problem i was having with the networking.
Hubs aren’t made to provide internet and networking on more than one or two computers… at least that is what alot of forums are saying.
So the on-air at this point doesnt have internet or networking…YET.
We put in another order on Ebay after finding some wireless nic’s cheap and in bulk. The on-air computer can share a connection with the kids router, while me and my wife share our own network/internet on the hub. The nic’s are on their way, they are wireless so i will enable wireless on the kids computers as well as the on-air computer using the wireless nics we bought on ebay. Im putting the kids computers in their rooms, much better on our sanity that way lol.
As far as performance goes, the new dell seems to be pretty fast and hardly broke a sweat when i ran several things at one time.
Later today i will install Zararadio and load all the audio files i saved from the dead computer and run it like it was on the air only using speakers instead of a transmitter. That way if it messed up i wont be on the air , i can fix the trouble and see if i can prevent that error from happening again.
Sound quality of the new optiplex seems pretty good listening with headphones, no hash or trash to speak of.
I also snapped some pictures of the neighborhood, originally i took the pictures because of the bad weather we had , but after looking at them i realized they would help illustrate our potential coverage area.
Ill let everyone know when i post them and place a link to the pics on this blog. Until then.. keep on rockin’
Welcome The Axe
When I read your farewell I could tell that broadcasting meant a lot to you and thought you might recover. The new station name has an assertive sound to it, probably the feeling that went into detecting the cause of your problem. It’s all familiar because some of us have gone through the same thing. Thank you for sharing your return and I look forward to your photos.
Pictures!
A couple of pictures of our coverage area.
http://www.radiodizzy.com/theaxe.html
I might post another one if i can find a better vantage point.
Sitting Ducks
How great to have such a built in audience just sitting there waiting for you. The pictures are great. But don’t you hate all that metal that blocks signals? Ouch. There’s a big challenge for even higher power stations. It’s bad enough here getting into brick houses.
Not just metal..
The apartments across the road are brick also, but if your standing in front of my home you can see that at least the top floors of the apartment buildings have a better chance to receive our signal.
Line of sight. But the buildings across from us are probably blocking the ones farthest away from us. I really don’t know for sure, but I may just go around and talk to a few people and see if they have noticed a new signal on the radio.
A quick drive around the village and apartments show a good signal despite the metal and bricks, the interference i have heard was almost a picket fence effect. As my van passed by the trailers the signal would pop in and out each time it passed a space between the homes.
It sounded like someone unplugging and then plugging in the car antenna.
Thats the best way i can describe the picket fence effect.
And that is with the telescopic antenna provided by ramsey.
The apartment complex: I drove around there but didnt bother asking anyone about my station, the signal was solid in some places and static in places where the buildings would block line of sight.
The retail area in the pictures gets a decent signal there as well, static if your moving away from the station and almost full quieting if your heading towards the station. One section of the main highway (retail area) is completely blocked by a hill and the cinemas so if i heard my station there it would be a miracle. Overall i get out just under 1/4 mile from the house.
Not too shabby for an indoor antenna.
sorry dont know why it posted twice
computer hiccup? 🙂
Picket fencing on FM
Rock,
I admire your dedication and am pleased that you didn’t give up on your hobby.
Referencing the picket fencing that you mentioned, many moons ago (early 60s) I worked for GM and read an internal report about proposed FM receivers in cars. They had a three dimensional graph, reduced to two dimensions for our convenience, where they had modeled the field near a single metal light pole as modified by reflections from the pole. It looked like the ocean in a gale with all the peaks and valleys and from first appearance the impression was that this was not going to work. I don’t recall the the conclusion of the report, but obviously it does work. Maybe it is due to the other pole reflections filling in the valleys from each other.
Anyone with a cordless phone has probably experienced this effect where moving just a few inches makes the difference between garbage and full quieting signals. Considering what is involved with free space fields and reflections it is a wonder that it works at all.
Neil