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remote broacast from a train / cell phone deadspots

O

Ozman

got a good one for you guys,
Is there anything against doing a live broadcast for my radio from the train In CT (amtrak) and then further down Metro north. Is there any rules against doing this?
I have to miss my show on friday in order to go home for work stay on good standing with my job for the summer But at the same time not want to miss my show at all. I would call in from the train. A big issue our college station has is that there is no delay, but I don't see that as a big problem if I found a quiet spot on the train ( ie hiding in the bathroom if all else fails!)

futhermore, if I were to do this do you guys know where strong cell spots are and where dead spots are on the Springfield train line? it would realy suck to hit a dead spot If I was doing an airbreak and I was live on air.
thanks for the help

-OZ
 
Your enthusiasm is great and everything, but this is probably the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Even if it's a college station; surely they can find something better to fill your time than you on a train.
 
well the train is where i land during my show. Because their is only 1 train from VT I have no other choice. tring to work around a school scedule is hard enough. I took a personal day once to go skiing and that proved disasterous. I don't liketo miss a show because people rely on you to be there.
this is one reason I was looking for feedback as well to see if its worthwile.

radiodizzy said:
Your enthusiasm is great and everything, but this is probably the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Even if it's a college station; surely they can find something better to fill your time than you on a train.
Click to expand...
 
Hi Jamie,
Sounds like a neat idea and perhaps one that will get the station some publicity since it is so unique. There was a CT DJ who did this a few years ago, I think for charity, and he got some good ink.
The rail line runs close to a number of metropolitian areas and more or less parallels I-91 and I-95 for a lot of the time so coverage will probably be OK most of the time but you'll want to be prepared for drop outs so have your board op be ready with some fill material.
Train security is serious business these days so before you go hinding in the corner talking on your phone you may want to let the conductor know what you are going to do. He/she will probably get a kick out of it and may even consent to an interview!
This kind of thing is what college stations are for. Have fun and let us know how you do (or perhaps we can listen on the web?)

John
 
This is definately an interesting idea.

A plain old cell phone will sound like junk... usually, when stations do extended remotes via a cell phone, they have a Comrex, a Tieline, etc....
 
We actually did this 20 years ago in what was then called an amazing bit of technology. We used thre analog phones (that ought to date it) and a Comrex (?) ...the gizmo that splits the audio into low, med and high frequencies. We then recombined them back at the station. My recollection is that it sounded pretty good. Our chief did all the design and planning.
 
If you're taking the Vermonter, you will have problems with the cell phone signal for most of the way north of Springfield. It will fade in and out, making this an impossible task for you. Even to the south of Hartford, the cell phone is subject to drop outs. The metal railcars and the overhead electrical wires tend to degrade the signal a bit, so you still get drop outs. Not to mention that the background noise of the train and the din of people's voices will further degrade your (already flat) cell phone audio. At best, you'll sound pretty crappy via the cell phone.

I wish you luck, but perhaps you'd better rethink this idea. It might be better to just take the day off.
 
thanks for all the feedback,
I will probably be doing It. If so, It will be a fun experience so I hope it works. If not I got a board op/ another college dj doing my show for me if all goes well.
-OZ

BRNout said:
If you're taking the Vermonter, you will have problems with the cell phone signal for most of the way north of Springfield. It will fade in and out, making this an impossible task for you. Even to the south of Hartford, the cell phone is subject to drop outs. The metal railcars and the overhead electrical wires tend to degrade the signal a bit, so you still get drop outs. Not to mention that the background noise of the train and the din of people's voices will further degrade your (already flat) cell phone audio. At best, you'll sound pretty crappy via the cell phone.

I wish you luck, but perhaps you'd better rethink this idea. It might be better to just take the day off.
Click to expand...
 
I am glad to report the remote broadcast went just as planned I was just south of Windsor locks on the train when I did a live DJ break at around 3:50 on friday 3/23. I was hoping to do one at 5pm and 5:50 but I was just at New haven train station and stamford station. In scoping out the area I was a little worried about too much backround noise as well as someone interfearing with me broacasting.
did anyone get a recording from listening online or were listening? (very doubtful)
the college goonballs at WWLR did not record it oh well I am sure I will do it again sometime...
 
Hey Jamie,

Sorry I was so negative about the idea; must've been a bad day. I'm glad everything went well, and I applaud your dedication.

Congrats!
 
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