Automation Poll

[radioguy12]

I have used Smarts Broadcast Systems automation with excellent results for many years? They've been around longer than many. Some engineers are very critical of Smarts. I disagree.

[boiseengineer]

Thoughts on BSI's Op-X anyone?
I see it in my future!

[mrmodulation]

Does DRS2006 Count?
I was on the developers forum around 2004 - 2005 when the programers were building this system take a look it's only $69 US

http://www.drs2006.com/

Download the demo and have fun guys

Clinton VK2FTDX

[bogointeractive]

What about RadioDJ. from http://radiodj.ro it is decent if the programmer can stay on it but so far it works very nicely for what I need.

[bogointeractive]

I think Marquette Radio is using Raduga now.

I had to deal with CartWorks while I was there. I sure hope they let the Marquette Radio people go "Office Space" on the boxes when they were retired. About the only good piece of hardware in them were the audio cards.

Seriously, DTG Xe had better documentation than CartWorks, and Xe came with NONE! (Not joking, no documentation came with Xe when my station initially got it.) Gah! I spent WAY too much of the summer between Sophomore and Junior year trying to figure out how to get CartWorks to run music by itself from a playlist so that we could have automated music when there was no DJ in the booth.

/vent

-A

CartWorks, dear Lord had to use that in College radio and wanted it banished to the trash heap as fast as I could. I mean there was however a Saw 32 or Was it Saw 64 input mod for it

[grich]

Well, one of my clients uses RCS, one uses Simian, two are using Smarts, one is using an On Air Digital UDSII/RS-HD system (now part of Smarts), and one is using Wireready automation. Retired a 14-year old DCS system not too long ago.

[TheRealBMac]

Currently running Simian at nine stations... can be a decent system if it's operated properly. In the ten years I've been in this industry, I've worked with MediaTouch, Audiovault and SS32 as a jock, and I've been installing/taming Simian systems since 2004. The MediaTouch system I used was installed in 1998 and I used it in 2002-2003... all DOS-based except for the play-to-air system which was running OPLOG 2000 on Windows 95.

Used AV during a 2003 internship... the three-station cluster had just upgraded to the newest version of AV, along with then-new Windows 2000 machines - they had been running BE's old CORE software in the on-air studios since about 1997, but went all-Windows with the AV software.

As for SS32, I used that in 2003-2004... the cluster running this had just been purchased by another company, which had installed SS32 in place of Audiovault... I'm told these AV systems were running unsupported beta versions of the software! The SS32 systems went live about six months before I arrived at the group... the station I was on had an ELO LCD touchscreen which seemed to have a mind of its own, randomly firing hotkeys and cued-up log items every now & again. Perhaps too much static electricity in the room? One of the two FMs in the building ran an easy listening format up until the mid 1990s (it's been an AC/Hot AC since 1996 or so) and there were remnants of Audisk, Format Sentry and a Harris automation system stashed in one of the back rooms... the Audisk machine is now in my possession, and I'm hoping to get it running again someday.

[Lane CKBJ]

I'm currently using http://radiologik.com (not in the list). A Mac OS program. It's geared for LPFM types. I run a small community station, and it's fairly good at letting me do that completely on my own if necessary. It doesn't yet have proper voice tracking, but it's relatively simple to do voice tracking with some drag and drops from an external program. You just don't get a preview. It has traffic. Scheduling leverages it's own functions against iTunes and it's smart playlists, with the scheduler reading and writing data to itunes for song management.

[musiconradio.com]

We're using Station Playlist at 2 LPFM's I'm associated with and they and I love it!!! Can't beat the features for the price!

SP is the best automation system for the price. Support is excellent. It also has music scheduling software. Voicetracking (including remote). Works will all major traffic systems. Try the demo on their site. We will be using it at our station.

[94Media]

I see there are a couple fans of StationPlaylist Creator/Studio in here. I was considering RCS PLAYER101 for reviving an Internet stream, but it seems like StationPlaylist would give me more bang for the buck. Do I need a beefy machine to run it? I'll have mostly voicetracked content but intend to do an occasional live show. Is using an external console going to complicate matters significantly?

Nope, no beefy machine required. A console is very easy to integrate.

[jtcomm]

I use automatronix (http://www.automatronix.com)

Also take a look at a free virtual cart for your PC- plays up to 9 carts, can be sequenced, etc.

http://playright.jtcomms.com


JT

[Kent T]

ATC 55. Cared for one under the Harris banner with the old Stereo 90 automation system. Did that a lot, nicknames for it at work were "Peter, Peter, Cart Eater" and the GM called it the 4 Letter Word Cart machine (not friendly 4 letter words either). Redubbed lotsa carts when that monstrosity wanted dinner and a snack. After it did it the 4th time, Quincy replaced it with an IGM Instacart. Much more reliable (it too had it's issues). We called this system FRAAN (Foul Redneck Atomic city Automation Nightmare). She even had her own liners. Ran Bonneville Beautiful Music at first, did Broadcast Programming Oldies later.

[Baylink]

When I was, oh, say, 8 or maybe 9 years old, I went on what I have to assume at 40 years remove must have been a school tour to Boston, where we saw WRKO-AM and WROR-FM, the latter of which was automated with 6 or 8 round cart robots; I have no idea what ran them, but I'll make a bet whomever was in charge of it is on the forum here somewhere... :-)

[Deep Thought]

Were they actual drums that rotated like a dryer (carousel) or were they carts on an oval track (go-cart)? The former was my nemesis in 1981. Eight of the little b*stards. I'm lucky to still have all my fingers.

[ChuckG]

Were they actual drums that rotated like a dryer (carousel) or were they carts on an oval track (go-cart)? The former was my nemesis in 1981. Eight of the little b*stards. I'm lucky to still have all my fingers.

Go carts could be had round or oval, depending on capacity. 24 or 48, iirc? Didn't they make one larger than 48 at one time? Oh the fond memories (not). Instacarts blowing through their stop tones and playing 3 carts simultaneously, go-carts jamming up when they didn't tray out completely and carousels mangling your thumb and not letting go. Toss in a scully deck losing a reel during high speed rewind and you've got a party.