This question might deserve its own thread. Has anyone looked into or been using MaxxKonnect as an STL? It looks promising. Apparently, the service utilizes a part of the 4G carrier that is partitioned off from public use. It will work with any LTE modem or you can purchase one of theirs. A 10 GB plan can cost anywhere from 109.00 to 129.00 per month, depending on which cellular service is available (AT&T, Verizon or T-Mobile).
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MaxxKonnect for STL
- Thread starter ZebraRadio
- Start date
Yes. This is well known to broadcasters.
Thoughts-
1. Distinguishing between brand names and underlying technology and regulatory aspects.
2. Recognizing and attribution of trademarks and copyrights. For example Trademark - HD Radio
3. People who develop products and services work hard to create something. I don't think it is disrespectful to speak of the underlying process or technology, while referencing a product name.
Thoughts-
1. Distinguishing between brand names and underlying technology and regulatory aspects.
2. Recognizing and attribution of trademarks and copyrights. For example Trademark - HD Radio
3. People who develop products and services work hard to create something. I don't think it is disrespectful to speak of the underlying process or technology, while referencing a product name.
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If it were me, I'd avoid using any Cell/PCS carriers for a permanent STL due to reliability and potential cost. Not that you would lose the connection entirely, but as Greg says there are other issues, like they can easily jack up your rates, or you could see balloon cost should the data usage jump. Also depending on the cell traffic in the area, calls over the network could suddenly reduce your available bandwidth, causing buffering or blocking of audio.
A better alternative would be to purchase a Starlink Internet terminal and the audio codecs of your choice. Consistently higher bandwidth and you can monitor how well things are working right from the Starlink app on your phone.
A better alternative would be to purchase a Starlink Internet terminal and the audio codecs of your choice. Consistently higher bandwidth and you can monitor how well things are working right from the Starlink app on your phone.
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My thread on Starlink as an sTL is what caused this thread to be started when the OP asked about MK there.
I dont think he or anyone is necessarily implying MK would be a main STL, I sure hope not... a great back up when all else fails, sure.
I read it exactly that way: "Has anyone looked into or been using MaxxKonnect as an STL? It looks promising."
Heres the thing, a 10gb plan feeding a 128K stereo mp3 stream as a back up or even a 64K AAC plus stream would run out of data about halfway through the month, so logic and math would dictate it cant be a main STL
I live in a rural area where internet access is hit & miss. I simply asked about MaxxConnect and the use of 4G for STL as an exploratory question. Didn't mean to cause a controversy here. I've looked into Starlink but have reservations as to the reliability of satellite use, especially during inclement weather.
Paul could speak to that. He lives/works in Moose Testicle, AK. Can't get more inclement weather than that.
LOL thanks Kelly.....
I have two sites that use MK as backup for the sites regular ISP, one of which is AT&T fiber. STLs are Intraplex, but there's more than just STL going on too. The fail-over is handled by the firewall. They work fine, and have been used. They're in the backup position chosen because of monthly data cost. Neither site STL is set up for uncompressed PCM, and one, an AM site, is below 128Kbps.
I don't think one even needs an expensive GatesAir/Harris or Intraplex frame system. A simple Comrex Briclink III is less than half the price and gives you bidirectional audio, 4 contact closures, and serial all in one neat little package. It also will auto-reconnect if your Internet connection drops at either end:
BRIC-Link III
www.comrex.com
I don't think one even needs an expensive GatesAir/Harris or Intraplex frame system. A simple Comrex Briclink III is less than half the price and gives you bidirectional audio, 4 contact closures, and serial all in one neat little package. It also will auto-reconnect if your Internet connection drops at either end:
BRIC-Link III
EXcept if you have crappy viasat, for whatever reason... the bric wouldnt reconnect with that.. but it does with starlink.
I would never, ever, ever use Viasat or DirecWay for Internet access, let alone an STL. You could count on hitting the FAP after about one day, and your connection would slow to dial-up speeds.
Nope and Nope.
And thats literally all we had via Starlink came along.. nothing else.
Never blown the FAP or data limit on viasat
We use hughesnet at two sites, one for KSKP and KSKC and hughesnet is even worse than viasat but weve been able to make it work
I have Comrex bricks and Gates air IP200 units. With the multiple LAN connections there is a lot more flexibility and more options with the IP200/100. If you can afford it the IP200/100 is a great unit. Of course there is a lot more set up with the Gates Air units. With the Multiple LAN connections its makes integrating dual ISP paths easier.
I have not played with the Brick link III yet. For audio transport does it offer anything thing Brick II does not do? Chris Crump from Comrex will be in Seattle 11/14 for the SBE lunch. I hope to attend that meeting and get more info.
Also use Tieline for some home studios and the Tieline app for field reporters. Got a Tieline Gateway that feeds into Wheatstone that will go online soon. Unfortunately Tieline does not offer an inexpensive codec like the Bridge-it any more.
At home I do have Viasat as a backup but really don't need it any more.
I have not played with the Brick link III yet. For audio transport does it offer anything thing Brick II does not do? Chris Crump from Comrex will be in Seattle 11/14 for the SBE lunch. I hope to attend that meeting and get more info.
Also use Tieline for some home studios and the Tieline app for field reporters. Got a Tieline Gateway that feeds into Wheatstone that will go online soon. Unfortunately Tieline does not offer an inexpensive codec like the Bridge-it any more.
At home I do have Viasat as a backup but really don't need it any more.
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New IPL100 and IPL200 units.
I have all of them in the system. I'd stack them up this way.
1. The GatesAir IPL200 and IPL100 units are solid and offer many options. I have many pairs of them, they are fine as long as you have good internet with good data integrity. RTP streams are fairly intolerant to any data wobbles.
2. Comrex Briclinc III is the most bullet proof. It'll work fine and stay connected when other codecs choke and die. However, Comrex made a goof. The input levels are to be 0dBu max, and the output the same. That doesn't match any common studio standard. Fortunately they're in a Wheatnet shop and we can turn down the source level and boost up the return level. Otherwise, they're great and the most stable of all.
3. TieLine...there are no advantages in performance with less than ideal internet data. Not tolerant of ragged RTP streams. I had bunch of their BridgeIT units that just got pulled and replaced with Briclinc. Major improvement. The tieline units with built-in mixers are nice units, but given their performance, I'll take a Bricklinc and a separate mixer. I don't have all the TieLine units out of othe system yet, but that's the goal.
4. Barix. These are at the "toy" level. They can work, but you'll have to toy with them a lot first. I haven't see good reliability yet on them.
5. Deva broadcast makes codec pairs. In expensive, nicer than the Barix in some ways, but in no way as stable as the Comrex. Just cheap. OK for a backup if you don't mind your backup not being up all the time.
My take- MaxxKonnect wireless is an excellent product. Unless I'm mistaken part of the benefit of it is the ability to use more than one wireless Internet provider with automatic selection of best path. I think your location would need reasonably good wireless Internet in order to get the best out of any wireless Internet product.
dc2bluelight is right on point making a distinction between primary STL and back-up STL. Many want top audio quality for the primary STL. Being on the air at reasonable quality is better than being off the air, so we use a back-up STL that ideally has a different path.
People have told me about using MaxxKonnect to quickly establish an STL for a new transmitter site to get on the air while waiting for frequency coordination and construction of MG service microwave STL. Then the MaxxKonnect is used as a back-up system, and the radio station has a fine STL system in place. No money is wasted.
People have also told me about connecting 16 bit 44.1 or similar "full data rate" AES to standard business class "wired" Internet, and it works amazingly well, compared to the old days of Internet. Same experience with MaxxKonnect in areas of good wireless signal.
Several years ago I remember connecting a Comrex Access codec to a CAT5 Internet cable provided by a venue, and for laughs tried connecting at linear "uncompressed" data rate. The joke was on me, it connected and worked fine for a multi hour remote.
Note though, this location was a major venue in a city with substantial Internet connectivity. Some radio station clusters may be fortunate to be located in the neighborhood of a major Internet hub. Despite this, apparently there are still areas of the US where 50 MB/S is not easily available, and broadcasters do whatever they can to convey audio.
We are in a golden age for audio. Because of digital audio and the Internet we can bring our audience better sound than ever before.
dc2bluelight is right on point making a distinction between primary STL and back-up STL. Many want top audio quality for the primary STL. Being on the air at reasonable quality is better than being off the air, so we use a back-up STL that ideally has a different path.
People have told me about using MaxxKonnect to quickly establish an STL for a new transmitter site to get on the air while waiting for frequency coordination and construction of MG service microwave STL. Then the MaxxKonnect is used as a back-up system, and the radio station has a fine STL system in place. No money is wasted.
People have also told me about connecting 16 bit 44.1 or similar "full data rate" AES to standard business class "wired" Internet, and it works amazingly well, compared to the old days of Internet. Same experience with MaxxKonnect in areas of good wireless signal.
Several years ago I remember connecting a Comrex Access codec to a CAT5 Internet cable provided by a venue, and for laughs tried connecting at linear "uncompressed" data rate. The joke was on me, it connected and worked fine for a multi hour remote.
Note though, this location was a major venue in a city with substantial Internet connectivity. Some radio station clusters may be fortunate to be located in the neighborhood of a major Internet hub. Despite this, apparently there are still areas of the US where 50 MB/S is not easily available, and broadcasters do whatever they can to convey audio.
We are in a golden age for audio. Because of digital audio and the Internet we can bring our audience better sound than ever before.
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Just one more comment on public Internet for STL/RPU. Speed is actually not the problem. Uncompressed mono 16/44.1 is just over 700Kbps, and 24 bit is a little higher. That mostly doesn't challenge an ISP anymore. But remember if the codec producing an RTP stream, there's no error correction, and no opportunity for dropped packets to resend. That makes raw speed unimportant, and data integrity very importan. Some codec settings can produce a double-bandwidth, redundant stream that can be used for dropped packet concealment, which helps. Most codecs have packet loss statistics available, which is very educational.
Oddly, in one TX STL, I found that lowering the bit rate by using a lossy codec like mp3 or AAC can make dropped packet issues audibly worse because each packet contains a higher ratio of data, so one dropped packet is harder to handle. Experimentally, I ran it up to lossless 24/48 PCM stereo, and that's what worked the best. But when we got to MK, the lower stream bandwidth was the winner. It dropped fewer packets than the AT&T fiber! And the lower bandwidth saves money.
Oddly, in one TX STL, I found that lowering the bit rate by using a lossy codec like mp3 or AAC can make dropped packet issues audibly worse because each packet contains a higher ratio of data, so one dropped packet is harder to handle. Experimentally, I ran it up to lossless 24/48 PCM stereo, and that's what worked the best. But when we got to MK, the lower stream bandwidth was the winner. It dropped fewer packets than the AT&T fiber! And the lower bandwidth saves money.
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