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Projects: Metropolitan Washington Ear
MiniDisc Replacement |
Digital Automation |
Live Audio Stream |
Archive Audio Stream
The Metropolitan Washington Ear's radio reading service was automated using an antiquated analog device. In a nutshell, it counted seconds. Ten relay outputs were turned on or off at programmable times, with each relay connected to a dedicated playback device - DAT machines, MiniDisc players, live mixer, etc. It had to be reprogrammed each day in order to accomodate different schedules for different days. In addition to requiring constant attention, as the device got older, it started to become unreliable. It would hang, or skip a programmed time to flip a relay. Invariably, this would happen in the middle of the night. Something had to be done. Since the MiniDisc and DAT machines were being replaced with computers, the need to control external devices was minimal. All audio was also now available in a digital file format, so billfrog.com created a custom PC running Microsoft Windows NT WorkStation and BSI WaveStation to replace the analog device. A commercial software package, WaveStation was desigend for low-budget radio automation applications. A relay card was installed in the machine to interface it with the few external devices required, such as an audio switcher to automate which signal goes out over the airwaves. In addition to the off-the-shelf automation software, custom programs were written in Wilson WindowWare WinBatch to increase the usefulness of the automation software. One program was created to automate the rotation and importation of program logs (one for each day of a week, plus special ones for holidays). A second program was created to eliminate the need for engineers to modify the logs when an audio file is replaced (they simply copy the audio file to a dedicated directory). And a final program was created to sequentially play all the files in a certain directory. Since an exact time reference is critical in radio, a GPS unit was connected to the machine, and Apollocom's NMEATime software was used to keep the clock set to GMT. Typically, time can be set quite accurately through the Internet using a variety of programs, but since the Ear lacked a high-speed connection to the rest of the world, this approach proved best. The finished product is a tight-knit network of five studio PCs, one Master Control PC, and one Automation PC. There is less equipment to maintain, and fewer hours are required to run the reading service. Products used in this project can be found at the following locations:
