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The Problem with HD Radio is...

A

amfmhd

Guest
Harris Exciters lock up
Nautel Exciters lock up
BE Exciters lock up

If I did not know better I'd swear that an HD Exciter is nothing more than a PC running on a single hard drive.

Surely no one would base a critical element such as an exciter on a PC platform...
 
amfmhd said:
Harris Exciters lock up
Nautel Exciters lock up
BE Exciters lock up

If I did not know better I'd swear that an HD Exciter is nothing more than a PC running on a single hard drive.

Surely no one would base a critical element such as an exciter on a PC platform...
Click to expand...

Harris exciters USED to lock up. The first gen unit (DexStar) got the nickname "DeathStar" and it definitely fits. What a piece of crap. I haven't had any problems with their 2nd generation units.

I have a BE on one of my stations and it's been totally trouble free.

That said, HD importers are computers and they contain hard drives. Hard drives can and do crash. Would it be smart to RAID them? Yeah, probably, but solid state drives would probably be smarter.
 
And this is likely a "solution in search of a problem" as solid-state drives are becoming more available, and affordable. There's no damn reason why future exciters can't have solid-state drives.
 
Radioman100 said:
amfmhd said:
...
If I did not know better I'd swear that an HD Exciter is nothing more than a PC running on a single hard drive.
...
Click to expand...
...
That said, HD importers are computers and they contain hard drives. Hard drives can and do crash. Would it be smart to RAID them? Yeah, probably, but solid state drives would probably be smarter.
Click to expand...

- In my general experience, hard drive failures are a rather minor source of computer lockups. They do happen, but a software crash is a far more common problem. Often, a crash of the Windows operating system itself (which is of course beyond the control of Harris/Nautel/BE/whoever) or of drivers. And yes, of the HD encoding/control software itself. (even the best-written software will occasionally crash. They can't predict everything that will happen.)

- Seems to me permanent storage of data is not that important in this application. Except for a few configuration files (which are easily backed up on a CD or USB memory stick) once the audio is broadcast you don't care if it's lost forever, and if it's lost before it's broadcast, you really don't care if you can recover it later! I don't think RAID would provide much return on investment - the idea of a solid state drive is probably a lot better.

I suppose the right answer is a RAIC - Redundant Array of Inexpensive Computers - OK, I just coined that :) Really, a second encoder computer, some switches, and a silence sensor. But with no revenue riding on HD yet, I can't see anyone spending the $$ at this point.
 
Mike Walker said:
And this is likely a "solution in search of a problem" as solid-state drives are becoming more available, and affordable. There's no damn reason why future exciters can't have solid-state drives.
Click to expand...

They're not quite as cheap as regular hard drives, nor are they yet as reliable. I speak from experience using them in my company's voicemail products. About 1 million writes is about all they're good for. That sounds like a lot, but if a drive is being accessed 24/7, one can hit that number in just a few months. Does this happen in an HD exciter?

I'd still confine them to low-usage devices such as digital cameras and thumb drives for the time being. They're getting better all the time, but I wouldn't bet my business on them just yet.
 
amfmhd said:
Harris Exciters lock up
Nautel Exciters lock up
BE Exciters lock up

If I did not know better I'd swear that an HD Exciter is nothing more than a PC running on a single hard drive.

Surely no one would base a critical element such as an exciter on a PC platform...
Click to expand...

Not having this problem with several BE FSI-10 boxes. They run for months on end with the current software release....the earlier versions were a different story. Ditto with the current IDI-20 software, runs fine for months on end. Check your versions. Check your cooling.
 
JohnnyElectron said:
The smartest thing that iBiquity's manufacturers did was use a NON-Windows OS for the DeathStars.
Click to expand...

Some importers are Windows based, some aren't.

The DexStar (early Harris nicknamed DeathStar) wasn't.
 
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