Air3 1350: About: Tuning

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the air3 1350 tuning guide

Sounds grandiose doesn't it? Don't worry, it's not hard.

There's been some major changes to Air3 recently, we switched from using an old loop system which only played back in the halls and used to work on a different frequency to a brand spanking new transmitter in Airthrey Castle at the start of the 2000 academic year, so we now broadcast on 1350 Medium Wave, and that's where you'll find us.

Medium-wave, AM, FM... You what?
There are several different types of Radio Frequency, basically FM, AM or Medium-Wave and Long-Wave. People have been telling us they can't find Medium-Wave (MW) on their radio, this is probably because your radio only gives you a choice between AM and FM. AM is the same as MW, just a different name and a slightly more confusing abbreviation.

Basically, FM is the main one everyone knows, that's what you get Radio One, Classic FM, Clyde One and various other major radio stations on. AM, or MW (They're the same thing, remember) is where you find things like Virgin Radio (1215 MW/AM) and BBC Radio Five Live (909/693 MW/AM) as well as some of the smaller local radio stations...AND US!

Let's recap
Okay. So MW and AM are the same thing. So grab your radio, find the switch that lets you choose between one of those two and FM (And possibly LW, or Long-wave, but we're trying not to confuse you here, suffice to say that that's not what you want) and flip this switch to MW (Or AM). Now tune it to 1350 and hey presto, you should be hearing the dulcet tones of Radio Air3 blaring out at you. You can get it all across campus, from Alexander Court right over as far as Andrew Stewart Hall and the Gannochy, so there's no excuse not to at least give us a try.

I live off-campus, can I still get it?
Air3's broadcast is only on-campus, however, atmospheric conditions and the funny nature of radio being what it is, we've occasionally heard reports of people managing to pick it up from further afield, so why not give it a go? Flick the switch to AM/MW and tune to 1350 and see what happens. If it's just static, then you'll have to wait till we start broadcasting online, but if you hear the dulcet tones of sweet sweet music, then you're bang on the money. good luck!

What's the Beef with all this Web Streaming malarkey?
In order to listen to the web streaming broadcast, you need an MP3 player. If you're listening from the labs at Stirling, the computers have WinAmp installed. If you're off-campus and nothing happens when you click the link on the top-left corner of the page then you need to get an MP3 Player:

If you're using an Apple Mac then Apple's iTunes should fit the bill, or if you're using Windows we recommend Nullsoft's WinAmp as a simple solution that won't change every setting you've ever set on your computer!

If you're using anything else, then, well, you should probably know what you should be using because we probably don't.

Once you've installed one of those, clicking on the link should work.

If not then try the following:

If you're using WinAmp, click on the button on the top left-hand corner
to pop up the menu, choose Open (or it might be Play, I forget...sorry)
and look for something along the lines of 'Open Internet location' or
'Play location'. This should give you a box into which you should type
the following address:

http://139.153.130.171:8000/listen.pls

If you're using iTunes, choose 'Open Stream' from the 'Advanced' menu
and type in that same address into the box that pops up. That should connect you straight to.

It should go without saying that you need to be connected to the Internet to listen to the Streaming broadcast, if you disconnect, it will stop.

NOTES ON THE STREAMING:

We've heard reports of occasionally distorted sound on the webstreaming, particularly when DJs are talking loud. This is due to the way the studio is wired up. We're working on it!
Be wary of the timing - typically the streaming broadcast is delayed by anywhere from 30 seconds up to three or four minutes depending on internet speeds, your distance from stirling, the buffer settings on your MP3 player, the colour of the DJs trousers, the price of Mustard in Angola, sunspot activity and the mating habits of bees. Bottom line, don't try and set your watch by the web-streaming!
I don't like MP3, are you going to stream in any other formats?
No. We don't like any of the other formats. They're stupid dumb formats, they smell, they don't have any friends, they buy all their clothes from that bargain bin at Poundstretcher, they never buy their round and they're stupid. Childish perhaps, but that's just the way it is. There's also a whole bunch of stuff about principles in the face of evil corporate monopolies as well, but I'll spare you all that...

Hope that's cleared things up for you, if not, drop us a line at manager@air3.susaonline.org.uk, and we'll try and sort you out.

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receiving air3 1350

Your questions about tuning in to Air3 1350, or listening online answered in the tuning guide...