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• Archived Blog Post

  Date / Time: 3/14/2009 5:01 AM UTC

  Perfectly Harmless Radio’s Rock Solid Portable Wireless Blogtalk Set-up!
  

        Perfectly Harmless Radio is the Chicago on-line radio production company behind the Dave & Chris Show!, Chicago’s bipartisan political live call-in show, broadcast live every Friday night from 7pm until 9pm from various bars, dives, joints, cigar lounges, donut shops, hot dog stands, and other locations throughout Chicago.
        When we started PHR, we didn’t know squat about equipment. You’re probably in the same boat. We feel your pain. So to help out our BTR buddies, here’s the set-up for shows. Assuming you already have a laptop with wireless, the rest of this equipment can be picked up from music stores and eBay for under $500.
  
  The Right Mixing Board Matters
  
        Calling in from your phone might work but it makes you sound like an old man trapped in a garbage can. Rolling down stairs. In a storm. For real sound, do what a real radio show does: use a mixer.
        Perfectly Harmless Radio uses a Behringer Xenyx 802 board. It’s a small, 8 input, un-powered mixer with 2 mic preamps.  You can really adjust the pan and warmth of your voice to get a broadcast signal that’s very clear and rich.
        We’ve never had any trouble with bleed-over or interference of any kind and it makes our voices sound great–as good as they ever did on terrestrial radio.
  If you’re going to do location work, the 802 is nice because it’s very small, not much bigger than a thick book. You also do not need a power source. Here’s what Behringer bullets on their product description:
  
  

  • Premium ultra low-noise, high headroom analog mixer
  • 2 state-of-the-art XENYX Mic Preamps comparable to stand-alone boutique preamps
  • Neo-classic "British" 3-band EQs for warm and musical sound
  • 1 post fader FX send per channel for external FX devices
  • 1 stereo aux return for FX applications or as separate stereo input
  • Main mix outputs plus separate control room, phones and stereo CD/tape outputs
  • CD/tape inputs assignable to main mix or control room/phones outputs
  • High-quality components and exceptionally rugged construction ensure long life

  
        Finally, the 802 is only about $40.00 so it’s very affordable.
  
  The Best Microphones for the Money
  

  
  

        At Radio Shack. Look, you can dump as much money as you want into your mics. You can buy a Shure professional broadcast microphone for 300 bucks. Or you can go to Radio Shack and get their mics for about $15 each with a $6 windsock.
   
        You can get a table top mic stand or a goose neck at Radio Shack along with the mics.
  
  Transmitting Analog to Digital via RCA/USB Signal Converter
  
       
        You’ll need to step down the analog signal to send it into your laptop’s USB port. Perfectly Harmless Radio uses a Behringer U-Control that Dave got from a local music store for about $30.00.
  
  Your Laptop
  
        You’ll need a laptop if you want to broadcast from a location. Nearly every laptop now comes with wireless connection but just in case: you need a wireless card.
  Once you have your laptop set-up, you’ll need to set your sound preferences to accept the input from the USB port.
  
  Using Skype to Broadcast
  
  Finally, for $2.95 a month, you get unlimited Skype calls within the continental US. You can use Skype to call-in to BlogTalkRadio, log–in, and broadcast your show.
  
  
  
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