I was very pleased to send SolderSmoke 126 out yesterday. There are some bugs to be worked out. The audio -- as always -- could use some improvement. (Any comments on how the audio in 126 compares with the 120-125?)
I tried to update the RSS feed this morning -- please let me know if it works properly.
Several listeners have already identified the time Spanish language time signal I've been hearing on 75 meters: HD2IOA in Guayaquil, Ecuador.
Great to see the Chilean miners coming up out of the mine this morning!
Thanks Bill - 126 has now turned up on iTunes.
ReplyDeleteI thought your audio in 126 was a little better than in past episodes. The "S" problem was still there but it seemed more subdued than usual, to me at least.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks Bill for the Soldersmoke 126. The audio is fine now!
ReplyDeleteAlso appreciate the Soldersmoke book. the book arrived here in only 7 days! My
obligatory reading before bedtime
:-)
73,
PY3FF
I thought the recording quality was perhaps the best we've heard, as the sampling rate increased from 32K to 44.1K and the bitrate leaped from 48K to 128K, producing a record-high file size. You're moving into the realm of hi-fi! But I did notice some mic-ing artifacts and a couple of instances of "digital stuttering" where a block of samples was repeated several times. The RSS feed showed up this morning with no problems.
ReplyDeleteI just noticed -- the timestamps on the blog entries are in Rome time!
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned the Farhan CNN interview had moved/is gone. I cannot test it from work but these seem to be a copy:
ReplyDeleteMPG version, 5.1MBytes -
http://msr.zapto.org/descarga/farhan.mpg
WMV version, 1.9MBytes -
http://msr.zapto.org/descarga/farhan.wmv
Joop
Chi Chi Chi le le le! It is very moving and impressive to watch this. REminds me of the Apollo era, in a way. A sort of communion. Also nice to see the natural, humane reactions without a bunch of Hollywood-style hype. It takes guevos to be a miner, no doubt.
ReplyDeleteThe audio -in my opinion- sounds more natural and better than in any previous SS. Audacity and the EQ work FB.
It'd be interesting to see the Farhan interview; cannot seem to get links to work.
73
rbb
I spent the 1st half for 126 wondering who was reading the script. (yeah, for a moment i thought there was one...). The voice was a little higher pitched than i was used to, and the bass tones were missing. After the "gong", your familier voice came through. Perhaps Audacity did a subtle pitch-shift, or someone invented a "10 years younger" filter? Who knows. But the content was fine, as usual. Welcome Back :-)
ReplyDeleteOverall, apart from the digital artifacts or stuttering of digital signal in one place, the overall sound quality was far better than previous. there was a point where there was rapid fire mouth movements for S's followed by P's pronoucement and it sounded way much better. Serious attenuation but not noticeably squeezed on the s sylabls. For me the bass was all there.
ReplyDeleteI like to listen not just normally but also on a very low volume background level where the S's and the Gong have given rise to startled moments when falling asleep :o
Its not all bad, because on several occasions bill has passed into the dreams i've had. This has been fraught with problems because I have asked him stuff, in the dream, and all he will do is answer as if he's continuing his podcast. Which he is. But its been hellishly frustrating in the dream!
it makes me smile, so i wouldn't worry about it :))))
Welcome back Bill, the audio on 126 sounds fine to me, even thought I could hear a cricket during the last half :-)
ReplyDeleteConsider a helically-wound shortened vertical for 40M, I just built one from ABS pipe and 12ga wire, only 21 ft tall with 8 radials in the grass, tied to a tree in the yard, worked over 200 contacts during the recent CQ WW RTTY weekend.
Just finished my first SDR kit, the Softrock Lite II for 40, fun project and works well. I'm also making the switch to Linux in the shack, if Linrad will drive the Softrock, I'll be done.
Looking forward to 127...
73 from Nova Scotia
Peter, VE1BZI
I always listen to SS on headphones.
ReplyDeleteThe audio was clear but it didn't 'sound like you'. I think it was the lack of bass. There was less 'richness' than in the earlier 'casts.
I still enjoyed it though. Good to have you back!
Bill N5AB
Great to have you back on the computer again Bill, I suddenly feel the desire to melt solder again. Aside from the handful of stuttering artifacts I thought the audio was the better than your past podcasts. The sound was full and pleasant to listen to. No problem with bass or sibilant esse's and popping pee's. Whatever you did it is working well. I have started reading I have started reading SSGAWE again. Whenever I have a question about a project I can usually find help in your book, its becoming more of a cherished reference guide that has produced more Ah-ha! moments than any other book I own. Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteBill, it's such a joy to hear you again! I thoroughly enjoyed episode 126. Welcome back!
ReplyDeleteTim ki6bge