These instructions are intended to facilitate participation in the MIM and RAIL Radio project by summing up our experience with the technical side of things. Some of these instructions are intended for sound quality, and some to save you time. But don't let the complexity of this discourage you from getting your feet wet. If something is good enough for you to listen to it, it's a lot better than no programming on that subject.
For practical reasons, it makes sense to do this digitally rather than using old analog equipment for recording and editing. The emphasis should be on internet transmission and on CDs. If you can't make CDs, that's fine as other people can.
These instructions are rather rough and aimed at Mac users but should serve as a guide. More detailed instructions for other platforms and programs can be found at www.radio4all.net/instructions.
Equipment:
It's fine to record analog and then transfer to digital. If all you have is analog recordings and no computer access, other parts of the radio project may be able to help you produce programs. If you have to buy, we bought the Optimus CTR-115, a $60 cassette tape recorder from RadioShack. (It's often on sale for $40.) We also bought a $10 microphone at radioshack. Going a bit higher end is helpful because you can monitor and adjust the levels of the sound as it is recorded. The Marantz PMD 222 is a good machine, but expensive. Audio equipment has little resale value, so consider Ebay for the more obscure equipment like Marantz.
Recording/Setup
Put the sound on the computer with the following settings: 16 Bits / 44.100 kHz Compression none.
Do everything in mono because the files are smaller and its too easy in stereo to get the L and R channels separated when editing.
It's hard to get the levels right on the program, but there is a way to do it automatically. Use the normalize command. The same speaker recorded at the same time is likely to have a constant level. Highlight that section of the program, select normalize and then 90%.
Do these for each section of the program, with the possible exception of music interludes, which you may want to do at a lower percentage.
If something is at too low of a level and your normalize, the background hiss might get really loud. Use the Noise Gate filter to remove this hiss. Experiment on a small section until you find the settings that work for you and then apply to larger sections or your entire program.
Mp3
In SoundEdit, Xtras> Shockwave for Audio Settings choose mono, 48kps. Export the file as an swa file. Later you can change the filename to .mp3.
Once you get the settings done, you can drag SE16 files onto the SWAutomator Droplet and it will process all of your files for you. This is a good thing, as this is time consuming and you can let the machine process overnight if you have a lot of files.
Follow the instructions at www.radio4all.net for their naming conventions as was as instructions for other applications.
Real Audio.
Download RealEncoder Installer from the realaudio.com site. (I can only find it by going to www.downloads.com and searching for real audio in the mac section.) Install it. There is a folder that says "for Sound Edit 16 users". Put the file thatŐs in there inside the Sound Edit Xtras folder. Restart. Now you can export in the real audio format. Select the mono 28.8 narrow response option.