Many part 15 broadcasters run their radio station audio from a computer. Everything is fine until the computer fails. But the part 15 transmitter will continue working just fine. Radio is a stable technology, the computer is not.
Things become even shakier when streaming on the web. All kinds of failures are possible, and they always seem to happen, sooner or later.
Back when there was a chance that I might provide streaming services for a former client of my audio video business, I was just learning about streaming and the internet, and I soon realized that I could not guarantee a reliable service, that I was at the disposal of unknown break-downs of many kinds, beginning with the inconsistent DSL service I was getting at the time. I was actually relieved when that client decided to part company, leaving me off the hook.
This week is trouble week with our stream and our e-mail. The stream loses touch with Shoutcast every 15-minutes and then reconnects.
The e-mail will not allow sending messages, but does receive them.
But it’s all a hobby pastime, so I am not driven to stay up all night trying to fix something. It may get fixed this week, maybe next week, let’s go to lunch.
Trouble Ticket
Sounds like you need to contact your ISP and have them check their systems. Either your bandwidth is being hogged up or something is wrong with the tier. I bet others in and around your block are also having the same problem. DSL does that a lot, especially shared tiers where everyone get’s a “piece” of the pie, cept that piece can change size (bandwidth window) when a lot of people are online at the same time.
RFB
for the computer run linux.
for the computer run linux. set everything to auto start up on boot. set computer to reboot say every sunday morning when no one is likely listening.
the computers will be stable. this is how many of the big stations do it.
Cable Now
The DSL never did get fixed, so a few years back I switched to cable and most of the time it has been excellent.
I will start contacting them and other consultants, but I am not going to feel pressured about it; not going to imagine there is a great audience somewhere being deprived of a vital service.
I am still on AM radio with audio playing from the computer, and people who contact my website directly can get a steady stream, it’s only the listing on the directory at Shoutcast that’s messed up, and they have had trouble episodes in the past, with tens-of-thousands of listed streaming stations.
I can’t send e-mail, but that’s creating a good back up drill while I wonder if I have phone numbers or snail-mail addresses for people.
I may not have to kick anything, this trouble is going well.
Email
Odd. It can receive but not send. Could be your email’s outgoing server goofing up. It happens.
RFB
Cable TV, Cable Internet & Cable Phone
i have cable TV, cable internet, and cable phone, with my plan, all for around approx. $120 bucks Monthly, my cable modem is in the interior hallway in the centre of my house, i use 3 universal internet adapters from netgear (model XETB10GM) one is hooked up to the cable modem, then its hooked up to the power and it sends the connection through the ac lines in your house, and the 2nd adapter is hooked into my younger brothers room from the plugin then to his Xbox, and the 3rd is hooked up to my network switch from the plugin for the studio computers in my room.
you hook up your modem to the adapter and plug the adapter to the plugin on the wall and it will send the network signal via the power lines in your walls to the other adapters hooked up. its kind of like hard-wiring but different.
Internet in the Wall Plug
I think that sending of internet signals through the AC power wiring is a form of part 15 carrier current. It’s amazing.
We Never Know
This morning the Shoutcast connection dumped every 15 minutes for several hours, then after 1:01 PM CDT it became steady and has been fine all day into evening.
Somebody somewhere fixed something, but I will never know who, where or what.
The one thing I do know is why.
BPL
“I think that sending of internet signals through the AC power wiring is a form of part 15 carrier current. It’s amazing.”
Yeah, its called Broadband over Power Lines. It is the same technique used in homes using the house wiring. Yep, a form of Carrier Current and does fall under Part 15 rules.
RFB