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NEW FM PROCESSOR

If I brickwall the lower limit and the upper limit, I might sound louder, but I won't be full-blown fidelity anymore.
It is magical to be at the limit of my signal, (not far at all) and listen on a car radio that will reproduce the whole
thing. I sound better than any other AM on the dial, even if I'm the weakest.
One day I will make up a pad so I can record off the car radio to the computer, and record an aircheck that way.

If I understand your question regarding a hardware solution for 192khz to 1920 khz, all you'd need to do get a signal at 1920khz is to mix the 192khz audio with 2.112 Mhz or 1.728 Mhz then pick off the sum or or difference depending on what you mixed.
It may be a bit of a trick to find 1.92 mhz IF transformers off the shelf, but they could be easily hand-wound.
Then you're getting to a hardware box function instead of a software feature.


I thought the reason asymmetric AM waveform occurs is because the mixing in AM modulation can be additive (RF plus AF),
where the DC to the output is "in" line with the audio. This would be like capacitive coupling which would be flat to DC ( or beyond !).
If we had true DC amplifiers, radios would fly off the tables they're sitting on and hit things.
It would be real hard on the speakers and wiring, too. ;)

In the case of an audio-only product, I don't think you need to attempt to create an asymmetric audio output.
I think you just need to have a little less limiting or compression, so the peaks can rise above the "normalized" maximum limit,
and then it's up the user to HAVE a transmitter, the design of which can create + 125% when fed something with appropriate peaks.

I thought my grid-mixing tube transmitter wouldn't do it, until I hooked up an o-scope to make a Lissajous pattern.

I tried the personal version of Breakaway and went right back to the FM version.
 
I haven't had time the past couple of days to really give the system a once-over, but before the weekend hits:

* The latest beta ROCKS.

* Mono / stereo switch & bandwidth limiting is ultra-cool. I vote for these features on the webcaster version, too, for those doing dial-up streams.

* Page 6 of http://www.nrscstandards.org/StandardsArchive/NRSC-1%201988.pdf has the curve on a graph & the measurement points for the NRSC standard, if you're still wanting to try to implement that.

* I don't know if this happened with the latest upgrade or if I haven't been paying attention or if my computer (Vista) is wierding out, but, I've lost the limiter drive control. ??? Did I miss something? (It still sounds good, so no real complaints, I just can't figure out what the heck happened unless you removed the control.)

More next week! Thanks for an AWESOME product.
 
Hi Leif,

I've been following this thread with great interest. Could I get a couple of quick answers?

1) How many different versions are there and what are the links to each?

2) I read that there was a "commercial" that interrupts the audio in the beta version every so often. If that is so, how do I get around that for at least a week or two of testing? I tried installing it once and lost my audio (I've since read the Pipeline 1 instruction). At that point, I uninstalled it, rebooted & everything returned to normal. Before I install it again, I'll need to know I can let it run on-air for a least a couple of weeks of normal operation to evaluate it.

Bob
 
Hi Tom!

I know what you mean about brickwalling, but AM is not full fidelity - there are several filters in the signals way. Isn't the IF filter in AM tuners narrower than 10 KHz already? And isn't each AM channel only 10 KHz wide?

Going to 7.5 KHz or 5.0 KHz will certainly audibly decrease fidelity, but if you low-pass at 10.0 KHz, do you actually hear the difference in your receiver?
I'd be very interested to hear a couple of off-air recordings with 16k vs 10k low-pass filtering.


NightAire, THANK YOU! :)

Mono/Stereo switch and Bandwidth Limiting is indeed useful for webcasting. Consider it done!

Thanks for the NRSC info, I'll look into implementing it.

I definitely haven't removed any controls :). It should still be there. Can you take a screenshot and show me?


BobOnTheJob:

There are two versions. Breakaway Personal is a personal audio processor for "playing stuff" on your computer - not for broadcasting. Released version is 1.01 (4 months old), and version 1.2 is in release-candidate stage.

Breakaway FM is a real FM broadcast audio processor, with newly added features to also make it suitable for AM. Breakaway FM is the beta stage - this means I'm still actively developing it, adding features, addressing issues as they're found, and releasing new versions very frequency (almost every day).

Breakaway Personal RC and Breakaway FM Beta can both be downloaded here:

http://bredband.leif.cx/browse/bafm

Regarding commercial, check your private messages, Bob!

///Leif
 
Good morning, Leif. Whether or not AM is full fidelity depends on the particular radio, whether it can be analog tuned, and who's tuning it.
I have mostly collected radios which are analog tuned, and DO NOT have much rolloff of high frequencies.
Part is the IF design, how many stages of IF amplification, the shape of the "skirts" on the bandpass, and how many
capacitors are in a place to "filter" or bleed off high frequency info.
Even if the IF bandpass is only 10khz when center tuned, slight side tuning will allow it to pass much higher info,
IF the "other end" of the bandpass still is on the "other side" of the carrier.
If you get a sharing site set up, I can send shorter demos where it will be clearly audible with any other than 16khz selected.
Of course it also depends on the source material.

Modern step-"tuned" radio "emulators" cannot be tuned, so with those, you're stuck with whatever the mfr gives you.
I avoid these entirely.
AM channels are 10 khz wide, but if there is no adjacent user of the frequency within a meaningful distance,
you can enjoy full fidelity IF the station has provided for it, and your radio allows for it.

Gotta dash off to work.

I Look forward to a file-hosting site.
 
Hi Tom!

I honestly didn't realize AM could have frequency response wide. Sure, I know it's theoretically possible, but I didn't think any equipment could do it in practice!

I do have a place to host files! Connect by FTP to ftp.powweb.com - user "audioclips", password "audioclips", and upload.

Looking forward to hearing it in full fidelity! I think it might have been that transcoded 96kbps MP3 that threw me off before.

///Leif
 
It's been 7-8 years since I hadda FTP anything. I'll figure out again.

And I guess this is the time to open up that 1962 Plymouth AM car radio I use as my air monitor and begin
using it for my airchecks. The Sony is wonderful but subject to AC line/RF intercoupling and "hears" hum that's not on DC
sets. And I swear (by ear) it must be capable of 19kc, so I'll prepare a few pure tones for upload, and maybe even re-run
the earlier upload and save in whatever's the highest res I can get in my editor.

I've been slowly changing the settings on my processor to a lower ratio on the second pass, and was trying four at the time,
but don't like what happens to the punch, so I'm back to three to one ratio.

I've tried different settings on the laptop while traveling. Tonight I will try it on air and see which settings sound best,
then do an aircheck from the '62 Plymouth, which has all-12volt tubes, no high voltages, and a transistor output..
Shouldn't take long to bring a wire from the hot side of the volume pot.

Just now I'm hearing one of the songs of a very few I ever received as a download from an FTP site reputed to be
from a radio music service . It sounds pretty bad compared to anything
I dubbed from my sources. I was using 128 but now use 192 mp3. Particulary the dynamics.
 
New Breakaway FM torture test clip uploaded to MpxTool.com

New Breakaway FM torture test clip uploaded to MpxTool.com

In response to Scott's concern that it is unfair to hardware audio processors that the Breakaway FM example was recorded digitally, I have re-recorded it, deliberately using low grade equipment.

Two computers with Asrock Dual-VSTA motherboards ($30 per board new!) and $50 Celeron E1200 dual core CPUs.

On-board Realtek HD audio -- No sound cards!

Line Out from the computer running Breakaway FM, to Line In on the computer running MpxTool, through cheap radioshack cables and adapters (1/8 inch to RCA male, RCA female-to-female couplers, RCA male to 1/8 inch again).

The result was good enough that I simply replaced the digital recording on mpxtool.com -- the analog is, for all broadcasting purposes, equivalent.

Download the new recording here:

http://mpxtool.com/site/torture-test.html

And make sure to get the new DMPX files too.

This should put that issue to rest, if you have any more concerns, Scott, please do let me know. :)

///Leif
 
After playing many hours Sat night and Sunday, switching back and forth, I have some observations.

I appreciate the ability of the multiband eq, and have found settings which give acceptable punch.
Im using the dance setting 75us, drive +2.4, power 50, and range 62, speeed 39, and bass
adjust at -12, bass shape -27. I also selected the CPU optimize mode figuring I can use some overshoot.

It really makes the differences between racks minimal, and makes the biggest difference in the lowest quality recordings,particularly recordings iwth low levels. The downside seems to be that best sounding files with the best, "loudest sounding dynamics
without processing now sound rather flattened and over-squarshed. The fairly dead sounding files now sounded as good
as the best did before, but the best recordings seemed dropped back in quality one notch.

I'd like to figure out how to use the multiband eq without the compresion features. Is that posssible?

Here's why: all day listening proved how clean and good Breakaway sounds.
Something differerent I struggled to characterize all day finally clicked about 7 PM.
It's not AM in character somehow.
I must characterize the sound as "dry" and it makes my AM sound like FM.
The processing by the ART Pro VLA is very "wet" like a guitar amp sound.

I'm thinking about using Breakaway without compression, then letting the ART take care of the limiting and compression.

1 quirk I encountered, Breakaway will not let Zara automation use it's "internal fader" for track to track crossfading, so files bump
and grind on switchover.

Haven't made the line out on the car radio yet.

I'm also interested in an auditon without the advert.

Playing with the upper limit, now I can say exactly what upper limit WLS used to achieve on AM , they went out to 13 khz.
 
Tom,

I have an idea regarding the non-functioning fader:

Open your Start Menu, Programs, Breakaway FM, Breakaway Pipeline Configuration.

Select the first cable, and Check the "Volume Control" box, then press Set.
Repeat for the other two cables.

Now volume control should work in all programs.


I know what you mean about "Dry" compared to the ART Pro.. It's the lack of distortion in Breakaway FM you're hearing, and it's indeed not everyone's cup of tea. Personally, I take my audio Big, Open, Clean, and with a dash of sugar. ;)

Multiband EQ without compression.. It's possible -- I wrote an algorithm like that once, but it wouldn't work so well for Breakaway FM since it just wouldn't be loud enough.

But, have you tried to decrease Power?

Doing this will lower the ratio, and ease up on the compression. You could also try increasing speed while decreasing power - it should give you some wetness back but without the distortion. Another wet-but-clean sounding preset is Helix -- may be worth a shot.

Email me at bafm at leif dot cx for your own personal demo key.

///Leif
 
Is there an actual web page that compares the features of the personal version vs the FM version? If not, could the differences be outlined here? For example, does the personal version have the same structure (AGC, then Multiband) as the FM version...just minus the pre-empahsis & hard peak limiting/clipping?
 
Hi Bob!

There is no such page yet, but I'll definitely make one before release :).

For now, here are the key points:

BAP and BAFM have the same front-end structure! Agc, multiband agc, multiband limiters.
BAP has dual-band look-ahead final limiters, BAFM has advanced distortion cancelling clipper back-end.
BAP has consumer oriented presets - BAFM has broadcast oriented presets
BAP is low latency (not phase linear) to support watching movies, BAFM is high latency (phase linear + clipper + robust buffering)
BAP has a volume control (post-limiter), BAFM has a drive control (pre-clipper)
BAP is locked to Breakaway Pipeline input and sound card output, to limit feasibility for web streaming (reason: $29.95 price tag)
BAP is for listening to music on your computer, BAFM is for squeezing maximum sound quality and loudness into your FM carrier OR web stream, thus
BAP has consumer oriented installation -- it takes over your audio when you install it by default, so Auntie can install and use it. BAFM does not -- it leaves you the control.
BAFM oscilloscopes are 4x oversampled, BAP oscilloscopes are not.
BAFM has pre-emphasis, mpx output, rds input. BAP does not.
BAFM supports DSP plugins for both effects (stereo enhancer for example) and encoding (shoutcast). BAP does not.
BAFM has 30hz phase linear high pass filter and phase scrambler. BAP does not.
BAP is very CPU efficient, runs comfortably in the background on most any machine made in this century. BAFM needs a dual core cpu.

Those are a lot of differences, but there also a lot of similarities. Disregarding output peak levels, they sound remarkably similar when set to the same preset. This just goes to show where all that cpu power goes, because it takes a lot of processing to squeeze 2 liters of coke into a 1 liter bottle ;).

///Leif
 
Thanks Leif...

I'm starting to play with the personal version on an alternate computer first. First question...how do I deviate from the presets (aside from the "1 slider adjusts all" adjustments)? For example, how do I set the gate, drive, attack, release & compression ratios on the individual multi-bands? My best success often comes from using very little fast release multi-band compression with each band driven to an equal level of gain reduction on an "average" song. That's where I usually start & I can't figure out how to get there!
 
The most recent version from this morning did work correctly for the pipeline configuration and the fader works now in Zara.
However, the low-pass, high pass, and mono/stereo options are no longer shown on the settings page.

I have tried lowering power and playing with the speed. I see the AGC bar shortnening....I will see what this is like at home tonight.
It sounds like the multiband AGC is still helping but there's less compression.

Yes, I know wetness is almost always distortion. As long as the distortion sounds good, I don't worry about numbers or which
harmonic we're hearing. I feel the balance of odd/even harmonic distortion is more critical than absolute numbers.
Listening environments almost always add harmonics so to some extent our perception expects some to be present
in almost any audio and as long as it stays at that level the result can sound quite natural.

Is there any way to turn off the oscope display to save CPU?
 
Bob,

I may release a more advanced version in the future, with full fine tuning of every parameter.

In the current versions (BAP $29.95 and BAFM $199) I refused to compromise on the algorithms (as is normally done on products this price range). I wanted the algorithms to be world class, so instead I simplified the controls -- and made it easy to use to boot. :)


Tom, which version are you running? In 0.90.38 beta (the latest one) all the controls are there. hpf, bandwidth, and mono/stereo.

The oscilloscope uses *very* little cpu compared to the audio algorithms, but you can turn it off if you like. Just size down the window until it goes away - that actually turns it off completely. :)

///Leif
 
Spent several hours last night playing with settings to see if any made me happy.
I was going to do more A/B testing, with 2 computers, same audio, switching on the fly.

I couldn't find any settings which didn't pump audio excessively unless the high pass filter was set to 30 or 60 hz.
That's a function of the recordings themselves. If there were any heavy hits, your could hear the gain sucking back.
Things sounded good with the filters on, but the punch and +125% mod is right there in those peaks.
Since that's the punch I want to keep, I gave up trying to use the Breakaway for compression, and tried using it for the multiband
AGC, letting the ART Pro VLA do the limiting/compression, since it never seems to pump.

By the time I was done I was grinning.

I ended up with Dance setting, -1.6 db drive, range 15, power 15, speeed 0, bass cut -9, bass shape -50.
Not the settings I would expect anyone to use for FM.
This gave wonderful spectral balance, expecially from track to track, let the ART do the wet compression, and every song
sounds great. I did turn down the limiting compression pass on the ART by 10 db, but it still has plenty of work to do.
Switching the bypass on ART now makes the wet/dry comparison clear as a bell.

It's not really any "louder" than the ART alone, but the precision, clarity and control in upper frequencies is astounding.
The two working together sound better to me than either one alone.

The A/B testing I did do however, showed that the the bypass switch in the settings page is not quite "bypass"'
There is still some kind of rolloff happening at the upper/lower ends when in bypass.
I hope this is not theatrics because this product is too good to need any artificial influence.

In addition, I think the distortion cancelling algorithm is actually doing restorative work, anti-aliasing or what have you.
Sounds coming out have better definition than the sounds going in. Files I recorded from vinyl, and heard the resolution drop
when going to CD and/or mp3, are "one step clearer" than they seemed to be when listened to from the CD.
I actually had to look and see that I was not playing a record.
Anyone who knows my preference for hardware would be shocked at my endorsement of a software solution, but
I calls 'em as I sees 'em.

Tonight I will see how badly the software crashes the musicserver which probably doesn't have nearly enough horsepower.
Maybe the personal version can do what I need, but I doubt it. We'll see tonight.

On install of new versions, sometimes the I/O page does not have the pipelines available to select as devices.
I fiddle for a while and then they show up as choices. I have also seen "driver not installed" once or twice when going to the pipeline configuration page.

Oh, and one time last night, Zara and Breakaway were running, I had a web page open to Radio info, and a slight power glitch made the
CPU run right off the page... and it got lost...into the black screen of death. Rebooted fine, but unusual.
 
Tom,

Thank you very much for your excellent comments!

I can't wait to hear a new recording!

The bypass switch is not quite bypass, but I can assure you it is not theatrics :).

Bypass will completely bypass the multiband core. However, even in bypass, it must still do pre-emphasis (omitting that WOULD be theatrics, since it would sound extremely dull). And, where there's pre-emphasis, you need a clipper. Where there's a clipper, you also need the high and low pass filters, and phase scrambling doesn't hurt either.

So, the only thing it bypasses is really the Multiband Core. It becomes an distortion-cancelled pre-emphasis clipper. Thus, you could use Bypass if you wanted to use Breakaway's Clipper with a different front-end. The Protection Clip preset does essentially the same thing, except it also gives you the Final Drive as a gain control! :)

Regarding the new versions and pipeline issues, I think I know what's going on:

Tom, you don't have to uninstall the old one to upgrade! :)

When you uninstall, it also uninstalls the pipeline. The pipeline is a driver, and if it happens to be in use, uninstall will instead happen at the next reboot. If you then install a new version without rebooting, things get very confusing.

When there's a new version, don't uninstall. Just install the new one on top! It will leave the pipeline alone and upgrade everything else, and if the day comes when you want to uninstall, a single uninstall will clean everything just as if you had uninstalled every time.

I really should write a manual. I guess not all programs are quite this easy to deal with regarding install / uninstall ;).

Strange regarding the power glitch. Could have been anything. How about a UPS? :)

///Leif
 
Oh, I didn't uninstall for new versions, I uninstalled when I began getting errors upon trying to open the window for
the main screen.. I'd get the "Breakaway FM has encountered and error and need to close" ..."would you like to send a report, etc".
Even as the error message is displaying, Breakaway IS carrying audio OK. I let it close, reopen, still get the same error.
I reboot the computer, and still had the same error. THEN I do an uninstall/reinstall and it works OK.
Well, I may have the pipeline driver issue then, but it's only a bump in the road.
I think it's simply a matter of core running out of room and microsoft not letting go of memory previously allocated to a process.The power glitch was me, simply moving the power supply AC plug to a different outlet. The laptop should have seen no glitch,
being primarily fed by the battery which was 100% at that time.

I'll get to play with it some more tonight unless I get sent to Fargo or some other remote outpost...
and I will make some recordings.
 
As predicted, the musicserver is not up to the task of playing music and running Breakaway FM.
It gave me the warning, I loaded anyway. It opened and ran, but I went to open Zara, and as it went out
to open the playlist, it locked up tight. Had to hard-power down. Then I tried the personal version, but it glitched.
It sounded pretty good, but any looking at the main screen and music would stutter badly.
I missed the dance preset, and noted I had to run speed, power and range all higher to get meaningful action in multiband.
Of course it did not support the internal fader.
I guess I'm stuck where I am until I can replace the musicserver or run Breakaway FM on another computer entirely.
I have to use this laptop for work..... :-\ It's the one that Breakaway FM will run on....

I will still make some recordings with the setup I had last night.
 
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