Internet & AM Radio?
Topic: Internet & AM Radio?
Displaying all 7 posts by 4 people.
Post #1
Brett wroteon December 10, 2008 at 9:56pm
I am hopeful that it won't come down to this...but If resurrecting the legendary 88.1 is unsuccessful,
could it be possible to move to Internet Radio via Shoutcast or Live 365, or even an open frequency on the AM dial?
could it be possible to move to Internet Radio via Shoutcast or Live 365, or even an open frequency on the AM dial?
Post #2
Rocky wroteon December 10, 2008 at 10:32pm
The fundamental question is what is the value of terrestrial radio today?
In my mind the importance of terrestrial radio to KTXT was the ability to reach the masses in the City of Lubbock. The 'idea', was that the more people we could get to hear our music -- the more people we could get to come to our shows -- the more minds that could be opened. The better the world is to live in. Rock n' roll saves the world.
Can KTXT accomplish this via internet? Possibly. My worry, however, is that once KTXT is on the internet it is effectively out of sight and out of mind to the City of Lubbock as a whole. WOXY.com, Pitchforkmedia.com, eMusic.com, elbo.ws, stereogum.com -- these have all been available, 24 hours a day.
The difference is that when someone scans a radio dial there are really only about 15 choices to choose from. You've been living in lubbock, you constantly hear about this ktxt station, you're in a traffic -- hey, why not check it out?
Even with non-stop student advertisement -- how many of those people would tune in online? How many of us listen to radio online? I'm not saying that KTXT shouldn't be online. In fact I think it has to be and undoubtably will.
What I'm saying is that I believe in terrestrial radio. I believe we should fight for terrestrial radio. I believe that there are kids growing up in lubbock who have been listening to KTXT who are inspired by the station. We can't lose sight of what has been taken away.
In my mind the importance of terrestrial radio to KTXT was the ability to reach the masses in the City of Lubbock. The 'idea', was that the more people we could get to hear our music -- the more people we could get to come to our shows -- the more minds that could be opened. The better the world is to live in. Rock n' roll saves the world.
Can KTXT accomplish this via internet? Possibly. My worry, however, is that once KTXT is on the internet it is effectively out of sight and out of mind to the City of Lubbock as a whole. WOXY.com, Pitchforkmedia.com, eMusic.com, elbo.ws, stereogum.com -- these have all been available, 24 hours a day.
The difference is that when someone scans a radio dial there are really only about 15 choices to choose from. You've been living in lubbock, you constantly hear about this ktxt station, you're in a traffic -- hey, why not check it out?
Even with non-stop student advertisement -- how many of those people would tune in online? How many of us listen to radio online? I'm not saying that KTXT shouldn't be online. In fact I think it has to be and undoubtably will.
What I'm saying is that I believe in terrestrial radio. I believe we should fight for terrestrial radio. I believe that there are kids growing up in lubbock who have been listening to KTXT who are inspired by the station. We can't lose sight of what has been taken away.
Post #3
Brett wroteon December 10, 2008 at 10:47pm
Well said. Do you think downgrading to a lower power would be significant enough to convince them to let us continue broadcasting?
35,000 watts is a lot of power for a college station. Hell, KTXT's signal, if you look at the coverage map, almost reached Eastern New Mexico.
If they were to downgrade the power, could that reduce the cost enough to keep KTXT on the air? Perhaps they should consider reducing the power just enough to serve Lubbock county.
35,000 watts is a lot of power for a college station. Hell, KTXT's signal, if you look at the coverage map, almost reached Eastern New Mexico.
If they were to downgrade the power, could that reduce the cost enough to keep KTXT on the air? Perhaps they should consider reducing the power just enough to serve Lubbock county.
Post #4
Joe wroteon December 11, 2008 at 6:24am
As small as Lubbock is, let's just broadcast 1,000 watts out of someone's garage!!!
I've been investigating the argument of terrestrial radio since buying stock in SIRI, for which I’ve been a member since '06. Terrestrial radio is dead, and has been for quite some time. That is, the voices are paid for and there's no profit margin for free inspiration! Even though EVERY vehicle comes with a terrestrial radio tuner, the masses are now plugging in their Ipods or listening to burned CDs.
The next 5 years will prove my point. Every new vehicle is now being outfitted with satellite radio; some as an option. Satellite radio is the future of profitable broadcasts...until WiFi is available EVERYWHERE!!!
Commercial radio is all that is left. That is, 80% commercials over the air, 10% tacky DJs, %9.9 boom shaka laka...and 0.1% Jesus.
XM/Sirius provided me with an affordable alternative, for which I am now addicted to. I'm not saying KTXT needs to broadcast over satellite, but it CAN be plugged in. Blog radio is now a large force in the independent music business, and rapidly becoming popular on the new music station SIRIUS XMU.
KTXT online is a must! Although Lubbock will be starved for ‘good’ over the air broadcasts, the idea will prevail. I have seen very few places (such as the dreadful LBK), with enough inspiration to provide a dominant alternative. New students will continue to enroll at TTU that are looking for that inspiration. All that is needed to keep KTXT alive is a PC, a mic and an internet connection.
If anyone has the motivation to make this happen, I’d be willing to share my time and resources to get KTXT streaming again. I can be contacted through Facebook or email, joseph.g.penland@hotmail.c
On a side note and this will take some investigating, I believe the KTXT signal is being bounced to a remote location, where it is then being retransmitted. I think the broadcast origin is in the Student Media building and then jumps to the large tower across TTU campus (near KTXT-TV?). Student Media pays to have this signal broadcasted at 35,000 watts, but the original signal is strong enough to carry across most parts of Lubbock. Just a thought.
I've been investigating the argument of terrestrial radio since buying stock in SIRI, for which I’ve been a member since '06. Terrestrial radio is dead, and has been for quite some time. That is, the voices are paid for and there's no profit margin for free inspiration! Even though EVERY vehicle comes with a terrestrial radio tuner, the masses are now plugging in their Ipods or listening to burned CDs.
The next 5 years will prove my point. Every new vehicle is now being outfitted with satellite radio; some as an option. Satellite radio is the future of profitable broadcasts...until WiFi is available EVERYWHERE!!!
Commercial radio is all that is left. That is, 80% commercials over the air, 10% tacky DJs, %9.9 boom shaka laka...and 0.1% Jesus.
XM/Sirius provided me with an affordable alternative, for which I am now addicted to. I'm not saying KTXT needs to broadcast over satellite, but it CAN be plugged in. Blog radio is now a large force in the independent music business, and rapidly becoming popular on the new music station SIRIUS XMU.
KTXT online is a must! Although Lubbock will be starved for ‘good’ over the air broadcasts, the idea will prevail. I have seen very few places (such as the dreadful LBK), with enough inspiration to provide a dominant alternative. New students will continue to enroll at TTU that are looking for that inspiration. All that is needed to keep KTXT alive is a PC, a mic and an internet connection.
If anyone has the motivation to make this happen, I’d be willing to share my time and resources to get KTXT streaming again. I can be contacted through Facebook or email, joseph.g.penland@hotmail.c
On a side note and this will take some investigating, I believe the KTXT signal is being bounced to a remote location, where it is then being retransmitted. I think the broadcast origin is in the Student Media building and then jumps to the large tower across TTU campus (near KTXT-TV?). Student Media pays to have this signal broadcasted at 35,000 watts, but the original signal is strong enough to carry across most parts of Lubbock. Just a thought.
Post #5
Mike wroteon December 11, 2008 at 12:28pm
Joe is partially correct. The studio signal heads to the basement of Mass Comm, gets sent via microwave to the tower site (KTXT-TV Tower) west of the Arena, then gets broadcast from the KTXT-FM transmitter there. KTXT's antenna is on that tower.
Lowering the broadcast power does nothing.
Demand to know what the costs for operating KTXT were because it wasn't to pay the electric bill- TTU pays that with no questions asked.
Lowering the broadcast power does nothing.
Demand to know what the costs for operating KTXT were because it wasn't to pay the electric bill- TTU pays that with no questions asked.
Post #6
Mike wroteon December 11, 2008 at 5:54pm
"I am hopeful that it won't come down to this...but If resurrecting the legendary 88.1 is unsuccessful, could it be possible to move to Internet Radio via Shoutcast or Live 365, or even an open frequency on the AM dial?"
No. The RIAA and Internet Copyright Act charge exhorbitant fees for online streaming. Web streaming is not the immediate answer.
Even if there were an avialble AM frequency, the FCC is not accepting applications for new stations right now- not an option either.
No. The RIAA and Internet Copyright Act charge exhorbitant fees for online streaming. Web streaming is not the immediate answer.
Even if there were an avialble AM frequency, the FCC is not accepting applications for new stations right now- not an option either.
Post #7
Joe wroteon December 15, 2008 at 1:54pm
I may be wrong, but since the radio is non-profit, KTXT can pretty much do whatever they want. The only factor that I had considered in the past (to keep things legal) was to log and archive everything in the broadcast; hence I set up and published a playlist, which ended up foo_ because the Production Server was used as a desktop and to look up crap on the internet!
Sadly even, when the non redundant storage for the digital music library crashed, there was nothing done for preventive measures after I recovered the data....
Again, I offer tech support, but cannot assist in legal matters...
Sadly even, when the non redundant storage for the digital music library crashed, there was nothing done for preventive measures after I recovered the data....
Again, I offer tech support, but cannot assist in legal matters...