Good morning all... I hope this isn't a repeat thread, and if so feel free to point me in the right direction. I am looking to purchase a new computer for one of my two feeds. What as some suggestions that are inexpensive and easy to maintain? I was using a mini PC made by MinisForum and it worked great for about 2 months and took a crap. Back to square one now. Thanks in advance!
Best inexpensive computer for streaming audio
- Thread starter fireguyokc
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Take a careful look at the Raspberry Pi 3B+. That makes an exceptionally inexpensive platform.
But research it first, make sure it's something you'd feel comfortable with.
But research it first, make sure it's something you'd feel comfortable with.
Thanks! I’ll definitely take a look at it!
For streaming, Windows OS and the available programs are the easiest route. I have a used desktop and laptop I paid around $100 for each of them. The desktop from amazon and the laptop via eBay. They are definitely not for gaming, but handle various streaming duties of one sort or another. Their processing power is enough and they have 2 to 4 GB of RAM. This is quite low, but enough to get by. They had Windows 10 Pro installed.
I use a Mac for my main computer and the Windows machines are just workhorses...more like ponies. I use Raspberry Pi as well for dedicated APRS stuff. I am comfortable using Unix command line and the Pi is nice, but for the low prices of used Windows computers it was an easy choice to offload particular tasks to them.
I use a Mac for my main computer and the Windows machines are just workhorses...more like ponies. I use Raspberry Pi as well for dedicated APRS stuff. I am comfortable using Unix command line and the Pi is nice, but for the low prices of used Windows computers it was an easy choice to offload particular tasks to them.
You could go the RPi3 route for a total of around $70 after power supply, SD card, sound card, etc. For $27.99 you can get an Amazon Prime Pi Zero kit with everything but the SD card and sound card (total would be less than $40). The Zero should work fine as a streamer. Streaming doesn’t require much horsepower. Setup on the pi is much simpler than the Wiki makes it. Just ask for a little help. The advantages of the full Rpi over the Zero are its four usb ports allowing potentially four feeds from one pi, and its ethernet port if your wifi isn’t reliable.
If you want to jump in a little deeper, get a pi4, install an sdr dongle ($20-25), run GQRX, and pipe the audio to darkice on the pi from there. Eliminate the Scanner completely and do it all from a single pi for less than $100. One of my feeds is currently set up this way:
www.broadcastify.com
If you want to jump in a little deeper, get a pi4, install an sdr dongle ($20-25), run GQRX, and pipe the audio to darkice on the pi from there. Eliminate the Scanner completely and do it all from a single pi for less than $100. One of my feeds is currently set up this way:
Franklin County Fire and EMS Live Audio Feed
Franklin County Fire and EMS Live Audio Feed on Broadcastify.com
www.broadcastify.com
Thanks for the info... I will take a look at these options as well. I only have 2 feeds, but having them both streamed from one location would be awesome. I currently have two different computers running them.
While doing some research this evening, I found that I’m able to broadcast my feeds from an iPad... anyone hear of others doing this? I already have 2 of them and plan to try it out for a bit and see how it works. Any feedback or those may have pros/cons of doing this, let me know.
I have not heard of this, but I have an older iPad doing nothing and would like to know more about using it for streaming.
The app in the App Store is called izicast and cost $4.99 to download. I downloaded it and put all the technicals for one of my feeds into it. I was able to broadcast from it and seemed to work well. I didn’t have the appropriate adapter to use the 3.5mm jack as the microphone, but will pick that up today. I did a couple of 10 count mic tests with the internal mic, just to ensure it was sending the information to Broadcastify, and it did without any problems. I’m gonna move the one feed to it and let it run a couple days and see how it does. Very well may be worth the $4.99!
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