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This
document describes how
to power on the Krisp
fm studio, setup the
mixer, start broadcasting,
end broadcasting, and
what to do in between.
It includes details
of how all the studio
machines work and how
to record you show,
as well as some hints
and tips, and some more
detailed notes about
how the studio works.
It
is very important that
you understand about
levels and cueing if
your show is to sound
intelligible to the
listeners. If you understand
how all the equipment
works and operating
it becomes second-nature
with a little practice,
then you show will sound
more professional and
you can concentrate
on the important bit:
the content!
Contents
- Commencing your Show
- Recording your programme
- Levels, Mixing and 'Ducking'
- Cueing and Fading sources
- Ending Your Broadcast
- Editing on MiniDisc
- Digital Copying
Commencing
your show
If
no-one presented a show
before you, follow the
instructions in Studio Startup. Then follow
the Mixing Desk Setup instructions.
If
there is a presenter
on before you, then
you need to swap places
with him/her during
the news. During the
news the SBN fader should
be all the way to the
top and all the other
red, white and green
faders down (N.B. not
the yellow or black
master faders!!!).
Follow the Mixing Desk Setup instructions.
In
either case, once you
have completed setting
up the mixer, you should
have SBN playing through
the desk. Now do the
following:
- The
news bulletin is usually
exactly 2 or 3 minutes
long. After the news,
adverts are broadcast.
you must play
the adverts.
The adverts finish
with a sequence of
three phone-tone beeps.
- As
soon as the adverts
finish, fade out SBN
and fade in your first
track or jingle.
- You
must either use a
jingle or speak to
identify the station
as Krisp FM - this
is a legal requirement.
Please mention this
within the first five
minutes of your broadcast.
If
there was someone in
the studio before you,
make sure they leave
the place tidy for you
to use. Your guests
must be members of Krisp
fm for insurance reasons
- if you wish to invite
someone onto your programme
who isn't a member,
e-mail the Studio Manager: topboy@krispfm.com.
Studio
Startup (after the studio
has been out of use)
If
no-one presented a show
before you, you need
to do the following:
- Check
that the 'studio
monitor',
'studio headphones',
and 'presenter
headphones'
controls are set to
low volume levels
- Ensure
the standby/transmit
switch is in the standby
position
- Push
the 'SBN'
fader all the way
to the top, and all
the other white, red
and green faders all
the way to the bottom
Mixing
Desk Setup
- If
you wish to use your
own headphones, plug
them into the 'presenter
headphones'
socket on the mixing
desk, otherwise use
the in-studio pair.
- If
you have a guest,
plug their headphones
into the 'studio
headphones'
socket on the panel
- these can be either
the in-studio headphones
or your own pair
- Set
the mixing desk control
to your requirements
- The
yellow and black
faders for 'stereo
master'
and 'mono
master'
should always
be fully up (set
to '0')
- Adjust
the 'studio
monitor'
volume control
to a comfortable
listening level.
- Adjust
the 'presenter
headphones'
and 'studio
headphones'
volume controls
for you and your
guests' comfort.
- The
yellow 'balance'
and 'pan'
knobs should all
be centered (set
to '0')
- If
you wish to use
tone controls
on any channel,
the 'EQ'
switch needs to
be depressed and
the grey tone
controls set appropriately.
Otherwise the
switch should
be raised (the
yellow light on
the button extinguished)
- If
you wish to use
the 80Hz filter
on any channel,
the '80Hz'
button should
be depressed (the
yellow light on
the button illuminated)
- The
'line', 'divert',
and 'line 2' switches
at the top of
the mixer should
all be raised
(red light on
switch extinguished)
unless you need
to use any of
the line 2 sources
(ie. Tape, MiniDisc
3, CDs 3 and 4)
- Select
'auto
PFL',
'split
PFL'
and 'meter
follow monitor'
to your preference.
- Adjust
the red 'gain'
knob on the SBN channel
so that the PPM meters
peak at 0.
- Adjust
the presenter microphone
(and guest microphone,
if you're using it)
as follows:
- Position
the angle-poise
microphone arms.
For the presenter,
you need to be
sat in a comfortable
position to do
your show, able
to operate the
mixer, observe
the meters, and
talk to your guest,
all without moving
your mouth too
far away from
the microphone.
- Ideally
a microphone should
be between 5cm
and 15cm away
from your mouth
when speaking.
- Put
on the presenter
headphones and
pre-fade the appropriate
channel (the red
light on the 'PFL'
button will illuminate
- Whilst
speaking into
the microphone
at a normal volume,
adjust the red
'gain'
knob so the PPM
meters peak between
4 and 5
- If
you wish to adjust
the tonal quality
of your voice,
depress the 'EQ'
button (illuminates
yellow) and adjust
the grey tone
control knobs.
- Depressing
the '80Hz'
switch (illuminates
yellow) is useful
for filtering
out breath noises
and preventing
'pee' sounds pushing
levels through
the roof.
- De-select
pre-fade (push
'PFL'
again, the red
light extinguishes
- Thereafter,
whenever speaking,
simply slide the
appropriate microphone
fader to the top
('0'), and check
the meters read
between 3 and
5. Don't forget
to slide the fader
back to the bottom
when you've finished
speaking!!! Also,
remember that
you need to fade
music down to
talk over it.
Recording
Your Programme
You
can record your show
onto MiniDisc or cassette
tape. This records the
output of the mixing
desk as heard by the
listeners, regardless
of whether you are on
air or not. You can
still prefade as normal,
though; this is not
recorded.
Tape:
Use the cassette deck
under the CD. It works
just like a standard
tape deck; insert the
tape, and press record.
The two indicator bars
show the recording level.
Remember that for an
hour show, you'll need
to turn the tape over
at some point, so it's
best to do this in the
middle of a track rather
than letting it run
to the end (or alternatively,
stop recording during
the songs so that your
show fits on one side
of the tape).
MiniDisc:
Use the MiniDisc machine
on the on top of the
two CD players. Insert
a blank MD, and wait
until the machine is
ready. Check that the
'rec source'
switch is set to 'ana'.
Select stereo or mono
recording using the
switch on the MiniDisc
machine - you can fit
twice as much on one
MiniDisc if you use
the 'mono'
recording option. Press
'rec'
- aim to have the MiniDisc
meters reading around
-8 to -12dB when the
mixing desk meters show
4-5. Finally press 'pause'
when you're ready to
start. Please note that
when you press 'stop',
the machine will take
several seconds before
you can eject the disc
as it finishes writing
the data.
Caution:
When you are recording
onto MiniDisc, take
care not to fade up
the MP3 chanel. Doing
this will result in
unpleasant feedback
being broadcast!
Levels,
Mixing and 'Ducking'
The
mixing desk has a pair
of Peak Programme Meters
(PPM Meters) which show
the output level of
the desk, or of the
source being pre-faded.
The output level should
not exceed 0 at any
time during your broadcast
- if it does, the FM
and MP3 transmissions
will sound distorted,
although what you hear
in the studio will sound
fine. Normally the meters
will peak at 0. At the
same time, your levels
shouldn't be much below
-4; if they are, your
show will be much harder
to hear when listening
on AM, and of a poorer
quality for listeners
using RealAudio.
When
speaking over a record,
you need the microphone
fader all the way up,
and you need to pull
down the fader for the
music that is playing
while you are speaking
(this is sometimes called
ducking). If you don't
lower the music level,
your speech will be
inaudible to the listeners.
If you set the presenter
headphones to quite
a loud level this effect
becomes clear to see.
It
is very important that
you set up your microphone
properly, as described
in the section on mixing desk setup. It is
surprisingly common
for people not to do
this, and their speech
usually ends up much
quieter than their music
or much louder. While
this doesn't sound too
bad in the studio, it
makes your show unintelligable
for listeners (too quiet
and your voice is lost
among the background
noise of FM, too loud
and it distorts).
Cueing
and Fading sources
General
Cueing
is a very important
aspect of your radio
show - it ensures that
when you push up the
fader, the sound source
you want to hear is
there, starts at the
right time and is at
the right volume or
'level'. The basic process
is as follows:
- Determine
what sound source
you want to use and
what channel it is
connected to on the
mixer. If necessary,
remove existing media
and insert new media
(eg. CD, cassette,
Minidisc).
- If
the source is labelled
at the top of the
mixer channel rather
than at the bottom,
you need to select
'line'
or 'line 2'
on the channel (the
red light on the switch
will illuminate).
- Pre-fade
the source: Push the
'PFL'
button - a red light
will illuminate on
the button. The 'meter
follow monitor'
button on the right
hand side of the desk
should be pressed
(illuminated red),
in which case the
meters will show the
level of the pre-faded
source. The pre-fade
source is audible
in the presenter headphones
and any other monitors
that have 'auto
PFL' selected.
If 'split
PFL' is selected,
the presenter hears
the pre-faded source
in one ear and the
broadcast output in
the other ear.
- Note
that a source cannot
be pre-faded if the
fader is up, and moving
the fader up clears
the pre-fade condition
for that channel.
- Start
the source playing,
either using a play
button on the device
or using the 'start'
button on the desk.
Obviously SBN is a
continuous signal
and can't be started!
- Skip
to the loudest part
of the track or listen
to the loudest bit
of the source
- Adjust
the red 'gain'
knob so that the peaks
in the signal register
at 0 on the meters.
This is important
- if your output goes
above this level,
it will sound OK in
the studio but horribly
disorted to your listeners.
- 'Re-cue'
the source to the
start - e.g. pause
a CD player at the
start of the track,
ready to play.
- When
you want to broadcast
the source, push the
fader up and start
the source playing
(with a play button
or with the 'start'
button on the desk).
When using the turntables,
it is possible to
push the 'start'
button with the fader
down (the button glows
green dimly), and
the source will start
when the fader is
moved up (the 'start'
button glows brightly).
About
'Start', 'PFL' and 'Line
2' Operation
Pushing
'PFL'
will pre-fade a track;
the red light on the
PFL button will light
up. You can pre-fade
more than one thing
at once. Note that you
can't pre-fade a channel
when the fader is not
fully down, and moving
the fader up automatically
clears the pre-fade
state for that channel.
Pushing
'start'
will cause a machine
to start playing (MiniDisc
channels and turntables),
provided that either
the fader has been moved
up or the channel is
in pre-fade mode. The
green light on the 'start'
button glows brightly.
Pressing 'start'
again will clear the
start light. If 'start'
is pressed when the
fader is fully down
and the channel isn't
pre-faded, the green
start light will glow
at half brightness -
the machine will start
when the fader is moved
up.
The
operation of 'start'
and 'PFL'
is interlocked with
the 'line 2'
status. For example,
'start'
will only start MiniDisc
1 if 'line 2'
is de-selected.
Cueing
a CD
- Ensure
the play
light is flashing
at the top left of
the display. If not,
press CUE once and
it will start flashing.
You will only need
to do this once.
- Open
the draw by pushing
the white 'open/close'
button firmly. Remove
any existing CD and
file it in
its proper place.
Insert a CD and push
'open/close'
again.
- A
few seconds after
the tray has closed,
the machine will show
the number of tracks
on the CD.
- Push
the 'program'
button and type in
the track number you
wish to play using
the numbered buttons
along the player.
If you need a two
digit track, push
the numbers one after
the other. The display
then shows '1' (meaning
one track has been
programmed) and the
length of that track.
- Push
the 'play'
button. After a few
seconds the CD player
enters pause mode
at the start of the
track. The display
shows '0:00' unless
there is a lot of
silence on the start
of the track.
- (Optional,
but useful) Press
the 'time'
button so the time
display shows the
time remaining for
the track, rather
than the time already
gone.
- Push
'pause'
to start the track
playing - it should
start immediately
in most cases.
- Listen
to the track on pre-fade
and ensure that the
levels are set correctly.
You can use the forward
and backward wind
buttons if necessary.
- Recue
the track ready for
playing by pushing
'play'.
This takes the player
back to the start
of the track, and
holds it there. (If
you don't want to
play from the start,
find the point in
the track you want,
and press pause).
- When
you're ready to start
the CD playing, move
the fader on the mixing
desk all the way to
the top, and press
'pause'
on the CD player.
If
you make a mistake,
it's easiest to eject
the CD and start again.
Also useful is the 'time'
button which allows
you to switch between
time elapsed and time
remaining.
Cueing
a record
- Put
the record on the
turntable. Check what
speed setting you
require - singles
(7" and 12") are usually
45rpm, albums are
33rpm, but there are
exceptions - and press
the appropriate speed
button on the bottom
left of the deck.
Ensure the pitch control
is in the centre,
with the green light
illuminated.
- Press
'start/stop'
on the deck, or 'start'
on the mixing desk,
to start the turntable,
and gently place the
stylus in the middle
of the track. Listen
to the track on prefade
and ensure that the
levels are set correctly
for the loudest part
of the track.
- Stop
the turntable using
'start/stop'.
Place the needle just
before the track you
want to play.
- Still
listening on prefade,
start the turntable
again. As soon as
the music starts,
stop the turntable.
Then, by hand, carefully
wind back the record
to the start of the
music, and then take
it back a further
three quarters of
a turn. This is to
ensure that the turntable
is up to speed by
the time the music
starts.
- When
you're ready to play
the track, press 'start'
on the mixing desk.
The record will start
turning when you push
up the mixing desk
fader.
Cueing
a Minidisc
- Put
the minidisc into
the machine. (The
metal shutter goes
on the right hand
side as you insert
the disc.) The display
says 'Welcome', then
'TOC Reading' and
finally either the
title of the disc,
or '0' if the disc
has no title. Other
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