Hitchhiker’s guide

Anyone that grew up a geek in the late 70s to early 80s (ahem) will get the references in this video:

For those of you that are unfamiliar:

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a comedy science fiction series created by Douglas Adams. Originally a radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1978, it was later adapted to other formats, including stage shows, novels, comic book adaptations, a 1981 TV series, a 1984 computer game, and 2005 feature film.

I was most familiar with the video game, which came out about the same time I bought my first computer, the beloved Apple IIc. That might have been in 1986 or so.

Anyway… It is nice to see a new generation of enthusiasts among the current Engineering students.

So long, and thanks for all the fish.

Category 7 Cable

As data transfer technology progresses, so do cable types.  Category 6 UTP copper cable is commonly used today in ethernet installations where 1000BaseT (or gigabit ethernet) systems are required. Cat 6 cable has a certified bandwidth of 250 MHz (500 MHz for Cat6a). Category 6 cable is a newer version of Category 5 and 5e cable wherein the wire pairs are bonded together and there is a separator to keep each pair of wires the same distance apart and in the same relationship to each other.  The four twisted pairs in Cat 6 cable is also twisted within the overall cable jacket.

Category 7 cable is much different from its predecessors.  It has an overall shield and individual pairs are shielded:

Category 7, STP ethernet cable
Category 7, STP ethernet cable

Shields on individual pairs are required to reduce cross-talk (FEXT, NEXT). It also requires special shielded connectors called GG45 plugs and jacks.  Pinouts and color codes are the same as gigabit ethernet (Category 5e and 6) however, Category 7 (ISO 11801 Class F) jacks and plugs also have to contact the corners of the connector or jack.  This allows better shielding.  A small switch in the jack senses when a Category 7 type connector is inserted and switches to the corner contacts, thus keeping jacks and patch panels backward compatible with Category 5/6 cables.

Category 7 GG45 connectors, jack and plug
Category 7 GG45 connectors, jack and plug

Category 7 cable is rated for 600 MHz bandwidth (1000 MHz for 7a) which translates to 10 GB ethernet.  This was previously the domain of fiber cable.  Copper cable has some advantages over fiber; lower propagation delays require less complicated equipment, copper is less expensive than fiber and more durable.  It is nice to have the flexibility to use copper cable on 10 GB ethernet for runs of 100 meters or less.  Longer runs still require fiber.

Category 7 and 7a cable looks remarkably similar to the older Belden multipair “computer cable” pressed into service as audio trunk cable seen so often in older studio installations.

Radio Shack catalog archive

This is a trip down memory lane.  Someone has taken the time to preserve and document Radio Shack, its founding, history, and all of the catalogs printed from 1939 to 2005. The website archive is Radio Shack Catalogs.

I remember reading these very catalogs cover to cover when they came out in the mid-1970s.  At that time, this stuff looked expensive, and in relative dollar terms compared to today, it was.  We had one of these computers in our “Math Lab” in 9th grade:

Radio Shack catalog, TRS-80
Radio Shack catalog, TRS-80

In fact, when I found one of these computers stashed away in the corner of a transmitter site, I had a flashback of Mr. B scowling as yet another student made a mistake plotting x/y coordinates on the backboard.

Tandy TRS-80 Model 4D computer
Tandy TRS-80 Model 4D computer

Ahhh, memories.  Enjoy!

Sound Cards for Broadcast Use

Computer audio sound cards are the norm at nearly all radio stations. I often wonder, am I using the best audio quality sound card?  There are some trade-offs on the quality vs. cost curve.  At the expensive end of the curve, one can spend a lot of money on an excellent sound card.  The question is, is it worth it?  The laws of diminishing returns state: No.  High-quality reproduction audio can be obtained for a reasonable price.  The one possible exception to that rule would be production studios, especially where music mix-downs occur.

I would establish the basic requirement for a professional sound card is balanced audio in and out, either analog, digital, or preferably, both.  Almost all sound cards work on PCI bus architecture, some are available with PCMCIA (laptop) or USB.  For permanent installations, an internal PCI bus card is preferred.

Keeping an apples: apples comparison, this comparison it limited to PCI bus, stereo input/output, and analog and digital balanced audio units for general use.  Manufacturers of these cards often have other units with a higher number of input/output combinations if that is desired.   There are several cards to choose from:

The first and preferred general all-around sound card that I use is the Digigram VX222HR series.   This is a mid-price range PCI card, running about $525.00 per copy.

Digigram VX222HR professional sound card
Digigram VX222HR professional sound card

These are the cards preferred by BE Audiovault, ENCO, and others. I have found them to be easy to install with copious documentation and driver downloads available online.  The VX series cards are available in 2, 4, 8, or 12 input/output configurations.  The HR suffix stands for “High Resolution,” which indicates a 192 KHz sample rate.  This card is capable of generating baseband composite audio, including RDS and subcarriers, with a program like Breakaway Broadcast.

Quick Specs:

  • 2/2 balanced analog and digital AES/EBU I/Os
  • A comprehensive set of drivers: driver for the Digigram SDK, as well as low-latency WDM DirectSound, ASIO, and Wave drivers
  • 32-bit/66 MHz PCI Master mode, PCI and PCI-X compatible interface
  • 24-bit/192 kHz converters
  • LTC input and inter-board Sync
  • Windows 2003 server, 2008 server, Seven, Eight, Vista, XP (32 and 64 bit), ALSA (Linux)
  • Hardware SRC on AES input and separate AES sync input (available on special request)

Next is the Lynx L22-PCI.  This card comes with a rudimentary 16-channel mixer program.  I have found them to be durable and slightly more flexible than the Digigram cards.  They run about $670.00 each.  Again, capable of a 192 KHz sample rate on the analog input/outputs.  Like Digigram, Lynx has several other sound cards with multiple inputs/outputs which are appropriate for broadcast applications.

Lynx L22-PCI professional sound card
Lynx L22-PCI professional sound card

Specifications:

  • 200kHz sample rate / 100kHz analog bandwidth (Supported with all drivers)
  • Two 24-bit balanced analog inputs and outputs
  • +4dBu or -10dBV line levels selectable per channel pair
  • 24-bit AES3 or S/PDIF I/O with full status and subcode support
  • Sample rate conversion on digital input
  • Non-audio digital I/O support for Dolby Digital® and HDCD
  • 32-channel / 32-bit digital mixer with 16 sub outputs
  • Multiple dither algorithms per channel
  • Word, 256 Word, 13.5MHz or 27MHz clock sync
  • The extremely low-jitter tunable sample clock generator
  • Dedicated clock frequency diagnostic hardware
  • Multiple-board audio data routing and sync
  • Two LStream™ ports support 8 additional I/O channels each
  • Compatible with LStream modules for ADAT and AES/EBU standards
  • Zero-wait state, 16-channel, scatter-gather DMA engine
  • Windows 2000/XP/XPx64/Seven/Eight/Vista/Vistax64: MME, ASIO 2.0, WDM, DirectSound, Direct Kernel Streaming and GSIF
  • Macintosh OSX: CoreAudio (10.4)
  • Linux, FreeBSD: OSS
  • RoHS Compliant
  • Optional LStream Expansion Module LS-ADAT: provides sixteen-channel 24-bit ADAT optical I/O (Internal)
  • Optional LStream Expansion Module LS-AES: provides eight-channel 24-bit/96kHz AES/EBU or S/PDIF digital I/O (Internal)

Audio Science makes several different sound cards, which are used in BSI and others in automation systems.  These cards run about $675 each.

Audio Science ASI 5020 professional sound card
Audio Science ASI 5020 professional sound card

Specifications:

  • 6 stereo streams of playback into 2 stereo outputs
  • 4 stereo streams of record from 2 stereo inputs
  • PCM format with sample rates to 192kHz
  • Balanced stereo analog I/O with levels to +24dBu
  • 24bit ADC and DAC with 110dB DNR and 0.0015% THD+N
  • SoundGuard™ transient voltage suppression on all I/O
  • Short length PCI format (6.6 inches/168mm)
  • Up to 4 cards in one system
  • Windows 2000, XP and Linux software drivers available.

There are several other cards and card manufactures which do not use balanced audio.  These cards can be used with caution, but it is not recommended in high RF environments like transmitter sites or studios located at transmitter sites.  Appropriate measures for converting audio from balanced to unbalanced must be observed.

Further, there are many ethersound systems coming into the product pipeline which convert audio directly to TCP/IP for routing over an ethernet 802.x based network.  These systems are coming down in price and are being looked at more favorably by broadcast groups.  This is the future of broadcast audio.