How do I feed audio into a laptop from the chapel audio system?

Discussions around meetinghouse sound systems, microphones, assisted listening devices, and translation equipment
level43
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Re: How do I feed audio into a laptop from the chapel audio system?

#11

Post by level43 »

TECSUN X3 sounds the best and is small. The D3 will also work. Both of those models are listed on Amazon for 32.00 and 25.99 respectively. Each uses a different Li-ion battery that are available on ebay. Both Amazon listings currently say "64 - 108MHz". I have seen the X3 with the 64-108 range and with just 88-108 frequency range, so make sure it says 64-108MHz.

The D3 is cheaper and had analog volume. X3 sounded much better, especially in high frequency range, and has digital volume. Both will run on an adapter or external battery with/without internal battery. (mini USB power input)

Tips: to extend the receiving range beyond the building, add a few feet of wire to the antenna with an alligator clip. For the X3, if reception does not work as expected, enter the frequency again ("7 2 1") -no decimal.

Another possibility to solve the original question is to use an external mic on a long extension. A little extra work but should work well anywhere, and with phones as well. We still use this method for sacrament meeting zoom with Android phones. We put a small carpet over the long cable.
level43
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Re: How do I feed audio into a laptop from the chapel audio system?

#12

Post by level43 »

Mikerowaved wrote: Tue Mar 21, 2023 10:44 am
level43 wrote: Mon Mar 20, 2023 6:07 pmA Baofeng ham radio could also work but make sure the ham frequency is unused or the FM will get interrupted.
Probably not the best idea as you won't be able to ID every 10 minutes per FCC rules.
FCC rules do not require ID every 10 minutes or even a license to receive ham radio transmissions or FM broadcasts on any radio or transceiver. Only transmissions require a license and ID/10m (including automatic transmitters such as repeaters). Anyone can buy and listen to a ham radio without a license.
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Re: How do I feed audio into a laptop from the chapel audio system?

#13

Post by rmrichesjr »

level43 wrote: Tue Mar 21, 2023 12:55 pm TECSUN X3 sounds the best and is small. The D3 will also work. Both of those models are listed on Amazon for 32.00 and 25.99 respectively. ...
Thank you very much for the model numbers.
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Mikerowaved
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Re: How do I feed audio into a laptop from the chapel audio system?

#14

Post by Mikerowaved »

level43 wrote: Tue Mar 21, 2023 3:56 pm
Mikerowaved wrote: Tue Mar 21, 2023 10:44 am
level43 wrote: Mon Mar 20, 2023 6:07 pmA Baofeng ham radio could also work but make sure the ham frequency is unused or the FM will get interrupted.
Probably not the best idea as you won't be able to ID every 10 minutes per FCC rules.
FCC rules do not require ID every 10 minutes or even a license to receive ham radio transmissions or FM broadcasts on any radio or transceiver. Only transmissions require a license and ID/10m (including automatic transmitters such as repeaters). Anyone can buy and listen to a ham radio without a license.
Of course, but I'm not talking about the receiver. When you post: "...make sure the ham frequency is unused..." it implies something is being transmitted on the ham bands. That something is required to ID.
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level43
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Re: How do I feed audio into a laptop from the chapel audio system?

#15

Post by level43 »

Mikerowaved wrote: Thu Mar 23, 2023 2:26 pm
level43 wrote: Tue Mar 21, 2023 3:56 pm
Mikerowaved wrote: Tue Mar 21, 2023 10:44 am

Probably not the best idea as you won't be able to ID every 10 minutes per FCC rules.
FCC rules do not require ID every 10 minutes or even a license to receive ham radio transmissions or FM broadcasts on any radio or transceiver. Only transmissions require a license and ID/10m (including automatic transmitters such as repeaters). Anyone can buy and listen to a ham radio without a license.
Of course, but I'm not talking about the receiver. When you post: "...make sure the ham frequency is unused..." it implies something is being transmitted on the ham bands. That something is required to ID.
Thanks for the explanation. Now I understand your assumption. Correct, I was referring to "something being transmitted" on a frequency but only in the context of receiving that transmission. The Baofeng radio has an annoying feature whereby FM Broadcast listening is interrupted every time a transmission is received on the ham frequency set before switching to FM Broadcast band. It would be similar to a scanner with a priority channel feature, but with the scanner, that feature can be turned off. It would also include 2 ham frequencies if dual monitoring before the switchover. The worst case: if I select the 2 most busy ham repeater frequencies in dual monitor mode before switching to FM Broadcast, my FM Broadcast listening will be interrupted frequently because the radio will treat those preset ham frequencies as priority channels, automatically switching over to listen and back to FM Broadcast. Even quiet repeaters would interrupt with periodic ID. The best case to to set the radio on a quiet simplex frequency in single monitor mode with no ham traffic or any RFI. That was a cheap way to do it with ham radio. There are other more expensive ham radios like Yaesu VX2/VX3 or a portable scanner with 72.1 MHz FM wide that could work better without that annoying feature.
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Re: How do I feed audio into a laptop from the chapel audio system?

#16

Post by Mikerowaved »

level43 wrote: Mon Mar 27, 2023 1:22 pmThat was a cheap way to do it with ham radio. There are other more expensive ham radios like Yaesu VX2/VX3 or a portable scanner with 72.1 MHz FM wide that could work better without that annoying feature.
Ahhh, now I understand what you were referring to. Not having owned a Baofeng, I wasn't aware of that annoyance. Having looked at MANY ham radios on my HP analyzer, I can say with certainty that most don't have a very flat audio response (allowing for deemphasis).
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Re: How do I feed audio into a laptop from the chapel audio system?

#17

Post by level43 »

other possibilities include the old Comtek receivers that power-on with just plugging the audio cable in (no load needed), or a cheap language translation radio from a convention.
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Re: How do I feed audio into a laptop from the chapel audio system?

#18

Post by russellhltn »

level43 wrote: Tue Mar 28, 2023 12:28 pm other possibilities include the old Comtek receivers that power-on with just plugging the audio cable in (no load needed),
It may depand on the model, but some need to see less than 100 ohms to turn on. See
Using a Comtek for sound when broadcasting Sacrament


There's also some discussion in Where to get personal ALS equipment
Have you searched the Help Center? Try doing a Google search and adding "site:churchofjesuschrist.org/help" to the search criteria.

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level43
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Re: How do I feed audio into a laptop from the chapel audio system?

#19

Post by level43 »

russellhltn wrote: Tue Mar 28, 2023 1:22 pm
level43 wrote: Tue Mar 28, 2023 12:28 pm other possibilities include the old Comtek receivers that power-on with just plugging the audio cable in (no load needed),
It may depand on the model, but some need to see less than 100 ohms to turn on. See
Using a Comtek for sound when broadcasting Sacrament


There's also some discussion in Where to get personal ALS equipment
The tan coloured 9V single frequency units - model PR72b (I have 2) just requires an audio cable plug-in. There's quite a few on ebay for cheap. The 2xAA frequency scanning units need earbuds connected (with a Y cable if necessary for recording) to power-on.
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Re: How do I feed audio into a laptop from the chapel audio system?

#20

Post by russellhltn »

But if you can lay your hands on a Listen Technologies unit, they're programmable about the earpiece and have DSP that really knocks the hiss out of the signal. I haven't listed to see what the music sounds like. But they're nice little units.
Have you searched the Help Center? Try doing a Google search and adding "site:churchofjesuschrist.org/help" to the search criteria.

So we can better help you, please edit your Profile to include your general location.
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