Digitizing vinyl *shudder*

[Mallette]

My TS is a gen 1 and I've not had any experience with the newer ones. Certainly LinkTheater/Terastation looks like a great idea in theory since your storage and distribution device are from the same company, but I've not gotten around to trying it. There are quite a few users out there...you might check out the Buffalo User Commnuity to see what the skinny is.

I hope to decide on and implement a house-wide server system by this time next year. One thing I am going to do FIRST is get one of those "paralegal" 1 watt FM transmitters to install on my main system. It appears to be by far and away the best and most WAF acceptable means of getting music all over the house (and neighborhood!). At around 200.00, looks like a no brainer...at least as long as the FCC doesn't come sniffing.

Dave

[InnerTuber]

Dave, I never even considered that. What a great idea, simple whole house music, and the car, and the neighbors car, and their neighbors. Here's one I stared at - http://www.hobbytron.com/1-watt-fm-transmitter.html. This one's a little closer to $400.

[Champagne taste beer budget]

We must have done the same search... I came up with the same one, but same page also showed a few other lower priced/lowered options. Not enough price difference to matter really. I can see where that would be pretty trick, what are the FCC implications one would need to be aware of before doing something like this for personal use?

[InnerTuber]

I'm not positive, but I think the basic problem is that if you tune to a broadcast frequency already in use, and say your neighbors can't hear their favorite college game on the radio ... somebodies unhappy. I'm not sure if you tune to say 89.3 if that messes with 89.1, or 89.5. I think you just have to be careful what you select.

There might be another set of issues about the technical legality of broadcasting that I have no clue about, but if the men in black are never called, because nobody complains ...

There must be some power limit that is not a problem at all, because you can buy small transmitters for iPods, etc.

Who knows the real scoop?

[Mallette]

The main issue is DO NOT STEP ON legitimate stations. If you use unused airspace it is extremely unlikely you will hear from the FCC. They have other fish to fry and won't come looking unless someone complains...and why complain about occasional first class commercial free music? Just keep your kids away from it - FAR away.

A friend of mine and I ran a pirate 5 watt AM station our senior year in high school and junior year in college. Got about 2 miles out of it and had a lot of fun. "KRAP" radio, of course. Never caught the attention of the feds...

I think the most appropriate model is the R-FM30B which Hobbytron has at 199.00. The bigger ones have a few nice enhancements, but I think that one is the price/performance point for household music distribution. You have to fax them a doc saying you are purchasing it for export to keep their butts covered. They know better...

Regards,

Dave

[Oblio]

AM/FM Transmitters and amplifiers

[jtnfoley]

Another FM stereo transmitter: http://www.electronickits.com/kit/complete/radi/ck301.htm

[InnerTuber]

HobbyTron Owner Ordered to Provide Info on Transmitter Exports
1.18.2008
The FCC has issued a citation to Absolute Toy Marketing, owner of Hobbytron, for apparently marketing unauthorized FM transmitters and ignoring the Enforcement Bureau’s request for information. The commission ordered Hobbytron to provide the information and states that failing to do so could result in an $11,000 fine per violation or per day. The commission gave the company 20 days to respond. The affected transmitters advertised on the HobbyTron.com Web site include models R-FM30B-WT, R-FM100B-WT and UX-150 manufactured by Ramsey Electronics in the U.S. and CanaKit in Canada, according to the agency. The commission said it issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture against the previous owner of HobbyTron, Gibson Tech Ed, for violating the same marketing rule. In its November response, HobbyTron argued that some kits sold on its site have been assembled for export and the company believes it is allowed to market those because customers are required to fill out a form stating they will export the FM transmitter. It’s not okay, according to the commission, to market non-FCC authorized transmitters in the United States. Several questions related to the investigation have gone unanswered, the agency stated, and it ordered HobbyTron to provide the information.

Looks like they have been nailed twice for selling inside USA. 2004 fine was $25,000 I think. Not sure how long they will be around. They have an interesting article on how to modify your transmitter to be similar to what they cannot sell in USA. Can't sell the kit here either, but they go into great detail - wink wink.

[Islander]

Just this morning, I spotted this device, a USB phono preamp that lets you connect your turntable to your computer. It's only $69.95 and claims to have an 89dB s/n ratio.

http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-Phono-Turntable-Preamplifier-Pre-Amp-Amplifier-NEW_W0QQitemZ150207600917QQihZ005QQcategoryZ48648QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262

[Marvel]

ART pro audio has a similar device, but they don't list the complete specs on their site. The ART product has a few other features, like optical I/O from the usb bus. The version 2 can be had for around $100 or less.

http://www.zzounds.com/item--ARTUSBPHONOPLUSV2

They also make the CLEANBOX that some of the guys on here are using.

[Champagne taste beer budget]

I've been doing some research on how I want to progress on making an inexpensive music server. I ran across these deals today, looking for someone that knows more than I to take a peek and see if there are any jewels in the bunch or nothing worth getting excited about. Thanks for looking, maybe someone else will get a good deal also.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/navigation/computer-hardware-recording-cards-audio-interfaces?N=100001+304891+500111

[InnerTuber]

take a peek and see if there are any jewels in the bunch

If you are after an internal card the http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/MAudio-Audiophile-192-PCI-Interface?sku=703610V is well rated for it's price range. This one is a refurb.

I like this better http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/272070-REG/M_Audio_9900_50727_00_Audiophile_USB_Audio_Interface.html and it's well rated, external. Sometimes hard to find one of these and if your running Leopard 10.5 you will be waiting on a driver like me!

Might try to get 24 bit 96 khz w/USB inputs if possible.

Also depends somewhat on Win vs Mac vs iTunes vs everything else!

[JJkizak]

Mallette:

That low wattage AM transmitter can go a very long way depending on atmosperhic probagation. Same with FM. Had a similar problem overseas with a 4 watt HP FM signal generator hooked up to broadcast music (small building) interferring with other stations 500 miles away. Very many upset (nice words) people.

JJK

[Mallette]

Mallette:

That low wattage AM transmitter can go a very long way depending on atmosperhic probagation. Same with FM. Had a similar problem overseas with a 4 watt HP FM signal generator hooked up to broadcast music (small building) interferring with other stations 500 miles away. Very many upset (nice words) people.

JJK

That's why I said keep your mouth shut and off the air. If you find a nice spot down on the FM dial where no one else is in your area, you are extremely unlikely to get the attention of the FCC, perhaps on the order of dieing in an airliner accident. Interference to stations a great distance away is possible, like you said, but ID'ing the source of that interference is very unlikely unless you tell them who you are and where you are and the interference will not last long.

This is an iffy business. Done by only a handful of us and carefully, it hurts no one or only for a short period under rare conditions. If everybody starts doing it, it's a problem and there will be ramifications.

Dave

[oldtimer]

I still want to hear the shudder in digital form. Pirate radio is cool, the airwaves are free right? Your phone calls can be listened to by anyone over the air, your walkie talkies the same, cb, but then the regulators step in.

[synthfreek]

I just read a FANTASTIC book on pirate radio titled 40 Watts From Nowhere. I couldn't put it down and read the entire thing in two sittings.

[tigerwoodKhorns]

Time to revive this thread.

I am finally getting my server to the point where I cna use it regularly. I also have the TT in use and have been buying vinyl. So the question of resolution comes up.

I have an upsampling cd player 24 bit / 96 and an upsampling DAC for my server 24 / 196.

What resolution do I need. It seems that 24/196 will be huge files. Do I need to go that far? I am using a Denon DL160 cart on a Technics table.

[Mallette]

24/88.2 is a sweet spot for PCM. It can be transparently downsampled to Redbook and the file sizes are not too big. If you don't care about file size, then 24/176.4 is the place to be for the same transcoding reasons.

I am now using 1 bit, 2,8 mhz as this provides the very best resolution and can be transcoded transparently to any PCM resolution. I use a Korg which costs around 600.00. I love my servers, but this thing is one button simple and well worth the bucks.

Dave

[InnerTuber]

You could also try starting low and going higher. See what sounds good to you.

[Don Richard]

I am now using 1 bit, 2,8 mhz as this provides the very best resolution and can be transcoded transparently to any PCM resolution. I use a Korg which costs around 600.00. I love my servers, but this thing is one button simple and well worth the bucks.

Is that the Korg MR-1? Can I record my vinyl into and play from the Korg into my system? How much storage capacity, in terms of minutes of playback time, does it have?