So you are a new DJ on CCC Radio -- super! To make your show happen and be a good Radio-Citizen, you need to know a few things about how the station works and how to keep your show sounding great.
Cedar Crest College radio broadcasts to the world via Spacial Audio's SAM Broadcaster platform. This means that anyone, anywhere, can listen over the Internet at any time. Anyone who navigates to https://radio.cedarcrest.edu will be directed to the station on any device (computer, phone, tablet, etc). The SAM platform allows CCC Radio to designate DJs, create a broadcast schedule, have remote broadcasts and so much more.
This article will be discussing what you will see when things are operating as designed and how you correct them if they are not and you need to broadcast from the studio.
The SAM platform is designed for 0% dead air. This means that if there is no sound coming from the selected source for a relatively short period of time, SAM will switch to one that has sound - no matter what it is. We at CCC Radio have decided that we want our primary source to be the studio console, with the SAM Broadcaster Cloud as the source for preprogrammed shows or a backup. If sound stops in the studio for any reason, the SAM Dashboard may automatically switch to SAM Broadcaster Cloud as its source.
Show PreCheck
Here are the settings when you arrive in the studio to do a live broadcast. If the SAM Dashboard on the laptop looks like this -- you are all set to work the audio console.
Note:
Broadcast Control is set to broadcast from ME which shows the green On Air microphone.
Queue shows Live Recording (this is the console source).
Encoder shows that the SAM Broadcaster Cloud is encoding.
These are the necessary settings to broadcast live from the console.
Changing the Broadcast Source Control:
Most of the time, when you come into the studio to do your show, everything will be functioning as it is supposed to. If there was an event that caused the SAM Dashboard to move the broadcast to the cloud, your pre-check will fail. If your pre-check has failed any of the checklist items above, here's how you can fix it.
Notice that the Broadcast Control is green on the SAM Broadcast Cloud, and the Queue does not have anything in it.
- First, click on the + icon in Queue, and select Add Mic/Linein.
- Next, in the Soundcard recording configuration dialog box, click the drop-down for Record soundcard device.
- Select Line (AudioBox USB iTwo) and then click OK
- Once you have done this, navigate back to the Broadcast Control dialog and click Switch Now in the ME (cccradio@cedarcrest.edu) box. The switch can take 5-20 seconds to occur, but then you will see the screen like this. Now you are on the air!
Troubleshooting:
Problem: The screen does not look like the screenshots here...
Solution: Click here for instructions on how to add/remove window modules (click Window, then select the ones you need)
Problem: No one can hear me, they only hear music.
Solution: Check the Broadcast Control Source, is it on "ME (cccradio.." -- if not, click Disconnect on SAM Broadcaster Cloud and then Switch Now on ME (cccradio...).
Problem: I did that, they still hear music - or - that looks fine.
Solution: Make sure you have adjusted the volume on the soundboard to reduce the volume coming from the computer, and raised the volume on your microphone or music source.
Problem: The laptop screen is locked and says "Press CTRL-ALT-Del to login"
Solution: Press CTRL-Alt-Del to login, username is cccradio. Contact the Station Manager for the password. Once logged in, run through the check as above.
Problem: The laptop is just showing the desktop, but nothing else is happening, and the station is not broadcasting from the studio.
Solution: Double-click on the SAM Broadcaster icon on the desktop; it should load and take control of the broadcast. If it does not, follow the instructions under "Broadcast Source Control" to bring the station back online.
Problem: The online station does not show the names of the songs I am playing.
Solution: This is based on the source. Playing songs through the soundboard does not allow for song names to be displayed on the station web page, only playing via the SAM Cloud allows for that.