The Flaming Lips Trading Post -> HUB

It's rather easy to do provided you've have the goods. There is many ways you can do this, but the most obvious and perhaps cheapest way to do it is to run an rca cable from your PC to your line-in on your stereo. This may require anywhere from 20 feet or more of rca cable to do. Which I've seen for sale from $10 to $42 dollars. If you'd rather use a wireless system, just take a look around and I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for.

I found these two websites.

http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/howto-pc-audio.html

http://www.ahernstore.com/xitel1.html

I still think the way to go is via rca cable straight to your stereo. Of course this is dependent on if your soundcard has an extra or open 8mm Line-out. If your soundcard also has a fiber-optic out, it would become extremely expensive to purchase 100 feet of it for (likely) un-noticeable gains in audio clarity. ...and not to mention if you've got money to burn...

Beware buying "gadgets" because they can actually dither (degrade/downscale) the bit rate and/or sampling rate. It all depends on if that matters to you. The device in the above picture, dithers all audio to 20 bit and an unknown Khz (likely 44.1).

Once it is all set-up, double check your wiring and run a test at low volumes until you are confident your configuration will not damage your PC or Stereo. This is my warning and you can't hold me responsible...

Now that it is set-up you'll want to select a program that uses "play lists." Play lists allow you to select as many songs as you would like to play and compile them into groups (which can be saved & named).

The only problem I have experienced is finding a program that will playback 24 bit / 96 Khz (or 192 Khz) wav files. The experts are still out. I know it is required that you have a 24/96 capable soundcard. Unfortunately, software creator's like Creative have not been able to successfully generate "DVD Audio" programs that work on WIN98 SE. I have heard that people running WIN2000 or even XP have not been able to playback 24/96 wav files either.

As far a shn files are concerned, you can play them directly with winamp and the shn plug-in for winamp available at: http://etree.org/shnamp.html

If you use a MAC, see http://etree.org/ for more plug-in information.

Appendix: How to Record From The Stereo.

If you're running an audio cable from your PC's line-out to your stereo's line-in, you might as well save yourself some time and run another rca cable from your stereo's line-out to your PC's soundcard's line-in. Now you can record whatever you hear on the radio straight to a 16/44.1 or 24/96 wav file. This will come in handy whenever you want to record your favorite band doing an interview, broadcasting a live performance, or is doing a premier of their new album.

I don't own a "satellite radio receiver" (such as XFM or Sirus), but I imagine you could rig up something similar with it. I hear the audio clarity of the broadcasts are to die for.

To record, you must obviously have your stereo on and your channel selected. If your stereo has any "fancy" features like room acoustics (say Stadium), I find it is best to turn them off. Make sure to place a note on the stereo warning others not to change the station or to turn it off because you are recording. When I was a young kid, my mom always turned off the stereo and cassette deck when she didn't see anyone around.

Newer stereos will allow you to select speaker set A, speaker set B, speaker set A & B, or off. The programs I like to record are often on late at night, so to not disturb those who are sleeping I turn the speakers to off. I can still hear the radio through my computer's speakers (and can adjust the volume). When I record through the line-in feature, adjusting the volume doesn't affect the recording. Never record through mic. It adds noise and can clip the high peaks in the audio recording.

Next you should have some software installed on your computer that is capable of recording. You may desire to record in mp3 format to conserve file size. You could record in 16 bit / 44.1 Khz wav file because it is easily burned to CD-R. Or you could even record 24 bit / 96 Khz wav files. 24/96 may be considered overkill for (AM/FM broadcasted) radio (because it lacks in quality as it is). Make sure to do a test run. Also make sure to turn of the "mouse click" noises and any other noises your computer might make. Oh, that reminds me, turn off that screen saver (especially if it makes noises)! Make sure your program has selected the line for recording.

After you save the file, you may want to edit it. Perhaps to delete commercials. There are many programs which you can do this with, such as Sound Forge or Wave Lab Lite.

Since you recorded this audio off the radio, I assume you want to keep it. Currently CD Burners are cheap (if not free after rebate). DVD Burners are also coming down in price. External USB Hard Drives are becoming more popular and affordable. So, you have quite a few options for storing your data.

Original Website Concept: Scott Bakal. Updated on August 31, 2003 by Ryan Mulberger.