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Software / optimizing audio to send to WBCQ
« on: June 23, 2018, 0402 UTC »
I have a general idea how to optimize audio in order to place it on, oh, say, an AM HF transmitter without fancy, real-time filtering or conditioning hardware between the audio player and the mic input, yet occupy the right bandwidth and sound decent . But now I am sending something for the first time to a licensed SW broadcaster, to play at WBCQ on their 50kW 7490 kHz transmitter.
They're very busy it seems (Allan Weiner has been gracious and swell, but I don't want to keep trying to bother him directly about any noob questions, aside from they will have to answer, "May I email you a download link, and is .WAV ok, if not how do you want it delivered and in what format?"
I'll call and find out because I haven't gotten an answer after asking a couple of times even in the PayPal notes, and it's always nice not to look too exceedingly stupid to people you saw as minor personal heroes for years, as I have him and his buds seeing them swashbuckling spectacularly on a converted, commercial fishing vessel. After watching a documentary on the unexpected tech nightmares filming Jaws was at sea for directors, I can only imagine being new pirating on the actual sea and watching your nest egg get shorted, salted, eaten up, beaten up, or confiscated.
Treating audio for WBCQ:
Since commercial SW seems to go with 10kHz bandwidth I guess I might as well:
Low Pass at 5kHz ?
Even if they do this automatically, I might as well do it ahead of time and work within it so I can listen and adjust other EQ bands accordingly, more accurately knowing what to maybe boost to brighten up a dulcimer etc.
High Pass at, what... 60Hz? or maybe higher to ease up on bass energy? I do want to have some male DJ/MC umph but not be inefficient.
Maybe 90Hz?
And is it like Voiceover standards and limit peaks to -3dB or -3.2dB max(?)., or should I go a bit higher/louder/farther?
I have been doing voice track compression at like 2.5:1 or maybe 3:1
And music just whatever the least amount of compression brings every desired note up in RMS not too far from peaks nicely, but not overdone a.k.a. without the waveform looking overly chockablock (I heard they have good modulation on 7490, but I know, like, a ham Hallicrafters or something will start to saturate or not recover or something and actually not sound as good with too much crowded compression and not enough "valleys" or room...had this seemingly happen in the field, er, at sea 3.5 miles out).
And maybe boost mids, not as to sound aweful, but to get the most punch (seemed to increase my clarity and extend my discernible range in amateur free radio tests elsewhere).
But am I on the right track?
I know these are not the things to do for an FM commercial station, not only because they just run everything already thru their crunch compression, but of course the different mode is subject to different phenomenon.
Any help with these settings, or maybe "NO - they have equipment meant for that which will oversaturate pre-conditioned stuff with the same effects too much" would be of help. I can't get a phenomenal copy on that transmitter in the Gulf of Mexico, but on a good spurt of quality signal it doesn't sound like they're pumping a lot of EQ or compression or anything... sounds like really varied, occasionally very raw, optimized or muddy-sounding or distorted or under-normalized or under-compressed tapes some people send in for some shows, kinda, sometimes, in between other more beefy-sounding regular shows. But ultimately I don't know and that's why I'm here. Could just be my reception. I just want to send the best post-produced audio.
Thanks in advance.
PD
They're very busy it seems (Allan Weiner has been gracious and swell, but I don't want to keep trying to bother him directly about any noob questions, aside from they will have to answer, "May I email you a download link, and is .WAV ok, if not how do you want it delivered and in what format?"
I'll call and find out because I haven't gotten an answer after asking a couple of times even in the PayPal notes, and it's always nice not to look too exceedingly stupid to people you saw as minor personal heroes for years, as I have him and his buds seeing them swashbuckling spectacularly on a converted, commercial fishing vessel. After watching a documentary on the unexpected tech nightmares filming Jaws was at sea for directors, I can only imagine being new pirating on the actual sea and watching your nest egg get shorted, salted, eaten up, beaten up, or confiscated.
Treating audio for WBCQ:
Since commercial SW seems to go with 10kHz bandwidth I guess I might as well:
Low Pass at 5kHz ?
Even if they do this automatically, I might as well do it ahead of time and work within it so I can listen and adjust other EQ bands accordingly, more accurately knowing what to maybe boost to brighten up a dulcimer etc.
High Pass at, what... 60Hz? or maybe higher to ease up on bass energy? I do want to have some male DJ/MC umph but not be inefficient.
Maybe 90Hz?
And is it like Voiceover standards and limit peaks to -3dB or -3.2dB max(?)., or should I go a bit higher/louder/farther?
I have been doing voice track compression at like 2.5:1 or maybe 3:1
And music just whatever the least amount of compression brings every desired note up in RMS not too far from peaks nicely, but not overdone a.k.a. without the waveform looking overly chockablock (I heard they have good modulation on 7490, but I know, like, a ham Hallicrafters or something will start to saturate or not recover or something and actually not sound as good with too much crowded compression and not enough "valleys" or room...had this seemingly happen in the field, er, at sea 3.5 miles out).
And maybe boost mids, not as to sound aweful, but to get the most punch (seemed to increase my clarity and extend my discernible range in amateur free radio tests elsewhere).
But am I on the right track?
I know these are not the things to do for an FM commercial station, not only because they just run everything already thru their crunch compression, but of course the different mode is subject to different phenomenon.
Any help with these settings, or maybe "NO - they have equipment meant for that which will oversaturate pre-conditioned stuff with the same effects too much" would be of help. I can't get a phenomenal copy on that transmitter in the Gulf of Mexico, but on a good spurt of quality signal it doesn't sound like they're pumping a lot of EQ or compression or anything... sounds like really varied, occasionally very raw, optimized or muddy-sounding or distorted or under-normalized or under-compressed tapes some people send in for some shows, kinda, sometimes, in between other more beefy-sounding regular shows. But ultimately I don't know and that's why I'm here. Could just be my reception. I just want to send the best post-produced audio.
Thanks in advance.
PD