Remote Broadcasting for FM Radio

[LoadStar]

Ok, bear with a complete neophyte here... I'm a computer geek, not a radio nut. I've never stepped one foot in a radio station, and the closest relationship I have to the broadcast field is a long-time passing interest to be a DJ.

That disclaimer aside, I'm a computer technician for a small private college located in Waukesha, WI. We have a college radio station on campus, WCCX 104.5 FM, of which I have no real relationship to. My main concern is for the athletic department here.

The connection between all that information is this: my athletic department has requested information of me how to broadcast live from courtside and fieldside, live over the air on WCCX, and simulcast the WCCX broadcast to the web. The simulcast is easy - we can go as low as a PC we have here already and Windows Media Encoder.

It's the getting the sound from courtside/fieldside to the radio station that's a trick. The distance between radio station and field is roughly 500 meters straight-line distance, give or take 50 meters. As I said, I know _nothing_ about FM broadcast - all I need to know is what products would be involved in getting sound from point A to point B, and what cost for said parts.

I have available to me at both location telephone, but standard telephone transmission of sound has been turned down as an option - they want it to sound as good as possible. The fieldhouse also has ethernet tied into the campus LAN, but I'd prefer not to encode at the court, decode at the radio station, then re-encode for a webcast - not to mention finding 2 computers (one for court to radio station, the other for radio station to web) would be difficult.

Any help?

[jay]

Hmm, it seems as thought the cheapest options are the ones being rejected. There are products available that would allow you to squeeze about 10kHz duplex audio from standard phonelines, but they're rather pricey--about 2,000-3,000 a piece and you will need two of them.

There are also VHF transmitters on the market for just this purpose, but it will require the radio station to apply for an FCC license to use them, not to mention again the cost.

You could install a direct line from the field to the studio either using the telephone network, or literally from the mixer to the studio, though both have their drawbacks. The phone company charges a hefty premium for their direct lines, and setting up a direct audio link from the field's pressbox to the studio would require a distribution system employing some booster amps along the way.

I'd hate to say it, but for a university radio station, a simple telephone link is probably the easiest, and most cost effective way to go. You may want to consider investing a some money in a decent hybrid device for in studio use. The commercial station I work for uses one to bring our traffic reports in on. While the device can EQ out the phone and make it sound like a direct connection, it does help make the audio a lot clearer and minimizes line noise through digital processing.

Oh, just in case you were wondering. I don't think it would be legal to use one of the Ramsey transmitters to broadcast audio for another station. At least that's what I get from interpreting part 15.

Keep us posted

[jay]

"While the device can EQ out the phone and make it sound like a direct connection,"

Sorry, this sentence should read "While the device cannot EQ out the phone and make it sould like a direct connection,"

All this talk of remote linking has just got me so excited, I can't type straight.

Have you talked with the station's chief engineer. Perhaps they already have the means available to them to do just what you're asking?

[tremendo]

Insider - I was just about to ask you where do I get that EQ device!

Are you sure you can't use a low power Ramsey with a nice antenna (mounted even closer to the radio station) just to get the signal back there? I don't know the FCC code as well as you, but that would be an easy cheap way out of this.

The other idea is a 500 meter string with 1 paper cup at each end....

[jay]

Sorry for any confusion. If you're looking for the hybrid device, they are available throught broadcast supply houses. Just use your favorite search engine and search for telephone hybrid, and the like.

As for using the Ramsey units, I'm not 100% certain that you cannot use them for remote linking. The concern I would have is in the talent on the remote end mentioning the college station's frequency/call sign on a channel not allocated to them. That is illegal. As for using one frequency on the FM band to broadcast on another in general I can't quote anything specific that prohibits it, it's just a general impression I got from reading through part 15. Perhaps consulting with the station's chief engineer will provide more answers, with better accuracy. I recommend that as a good starting point before spending needless time and money on a plan that either won't work, or can't be used due to legal reasons. Of course, I would recommend anyone with any interest in radio to get and build a Ramsey kit.