Add DJ page, do some cleanup

This commit is contained in:
Neale Pickett 2011-10-03 17:51:00 -05:00
parent 32bd25ce2e
commit ed20a7611e
7 changed files with 180 additions and 30 deletions

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Title: Going Brown Title: Journal
--------------------
This is a journal--not a blog--initially about our effort to stop
generating so much trash.
In 2011 it's trendy to talk about "going green" for the benefit of the June 27: We've evacuated our house and are staying with my parents.
earth, but anyone who's bothered to step outside has surely noticed that News we're getting doesn't make it sound promising for the town. I'll
earth is actually brown. Hopefully, as we compost more and throw away keep this page updated for those who care.
less, we'll be making more earth and less landfill. We're going brown,
then, so that is the name of this journal.
This journal has no comments, although you are free to [email
us](mailto:neale-aim-journal@woozle.org) or talk to us in person about
anything you've read here. Entries are in chronological order, just
like a book or a diary.
* [January 2011](2011-01.html)

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esac esac
done done
m4 | markdown | m4 -DTITLE="$title" $1 - markdown | m4 -DTITLE="$title" $1 -

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Title: Debian on Digimatrix Title: Debian on Digimatrix
Caution: this is what I was running in 2004. Nowadays we just use Caution: this is what I was running in 2004. We've since given up
MythTV. Some of this stuff (like the X configuration) still applies, altogether on broadcast television. Some of this stuff (like the X
though, which is why I'm leaving the page up. configuration) still applies, though, which is why I'm leaving the
page up.
Introduction Introduction
------------ ------------

163
papers/dj.mdwn Normal file
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Title: Dirtbags DJ Setup
I DJ sound for [Dirtbags Capture The Flag](http://dirtbags.net/ctf/),
Roller Derby bouts for the [Los Alamos Derby
Dames](http://www.laderbydames.com/), and occasional parties. All of
these have pretty similar requirements: music from a PC, maybe some DJ
mixing, and at least one microphone for announcing. Derby is slightly
different because spaces can be larger and the announcer will want a
wireless mic.
My Recommendation
-----------------
This would cost about $650 in October 2011.
If I had it to do all over, and was unable to find a deeply-discounted
package deal again, here's what I'd buy:
* 2× Harbinger APS15 -- 15" powered speakers
* 2× speaker stands
* 1× Alesis MultiMix 4 USB -- USB + 4-channel audio mixer
* 1× Nady DKW-DUO -- wireless cardioid microphone pair
* Cables:
* 2× 30' ¼ balanced -- mixer to speakers
* 1× 6' ¼" unbalanced -- mic base to mixer
* 1× 3' ⅛" stereo to ¼" unbalanced -- laptop/MP3 player to mixer
This will give you a nice clean USB audio out from your laptop, with two mic inputs and
a spare (analog) stereo in for an MP3 player like an iPod or Android
device: you wouldn't even need anyone to stand by the rig if you're
okay with a straight up playlist. This mixer will also allow you to do some
basic digital recording, if you want (I do). It's rumored to have
noise problems with the headphone out: my guess is ground loop
problems in some people's setups. Use a laptop with a two-pronged AC
adapter and you should be fine. In any case, if you use Mixxx, you're
not going to want to use the mixer's headphone out anyway.
You don't get any digital effects in the mixer with this setup. I'm not
convinced you really need them.
If you want do to some live DJ control, you can use the laptop's
built-in headphone jack and a USB mouse for about $40 (I think the
Sennheiser HD202 headphones are an excellent value). You could add
something like a Hercules DJ Control MP3 e2 if you'd rather have
hardware than a mouse. The Hercules RMX looks nice, with more buttons,
a metal body, and a mic in, but at about $250 I can't recommend it
over $160 for both the MP3 e2 *and* the more-versatile 4-channel USB
mixer.
What I actually have
--------------------
This cost about $600 in July 2011.
When I bought my setup, Musician's Friend had a package deal of
speakers, stands, mics, mixer, and cables, at $40 less than the two
speakers alone. So I bought it.
* 2× Harbinger APS15 -- 15" powered speakers
* 2× Speaker Stands
* 1× Soundcraft Notepad 124FX -- 12-channel mixer with effects
* 2× Audio-Technica M4000S -- Wired cardiod microphone
* 1× Nady DKW-DUO -- Wireless cardiod microphone pair
* 1× SYBA SD-CM-UAUD -- El Cheapo USB Audio adapter
* 1× Sennheiser HD202 -- headphones
* Cables etc.:
* 2× 30' XLR -- mics to mixer
* 1× 3' ¼" unbalanced -- wireless mic base to mixer
* 2× 6' ⅛" stereo to unbalanced ¼" -- laptop/MP3 player to mixer
* 2× 30' ¼" balanced -- mixer to speakers
* 1× Laptop backpack from college
* 1× Roll of gaffer tape
APS15 Review
------------
The reviews I read on the APS15 speakers were mixed, with half saying
"they're just fine" and the other half complaining about hum, uneven
frequency response, etc. I'm in the "just fine" camp, and will go on
the record stating that for a beginning club DJ, which is what I do
with Derby and CTF, the TH-15A is not twice as good as the APS15.
The speakers do hum, but it doesn't get louder as I increase volume,
and I can't hear it once I start playing music. They're a little
muddy, and the EQ doesn't do much. They don't stack, even though they
look like they were designed to. Carrying them is difficult, with
only one handle on the side.
On the plus side, each speaker has two ¼" inputs (probably
unbalanced), three XLR inputs, stereo RCA inputs (presumably to hook
up an MP3 or CD player directly), and a moderately effective 5-channel
graphic equalizer. This versatility makes it easy to use these
speakers without a mixer: something, it turns out, I want to do from
time to time for practices, parades, etc.
These speakers can't be beat for the DJ on a budget.
Soundcraft Notepad 124FX Review
-------------------------------
I'm very happy with this mixer.
This 12-channel (4 mono, 4 stereo) Mixer is nice and compact, smaller
than the 8-channel Mackie ProFX8 I use at work. It does *not* have
USB audio, but it's very quiet and I can't see this making any
difference for CTFs, clubs, or Derby's big echo-y gymnasiums. It has
more effects than the Mackie: I plan to use number 31 (delay) for the
announcer's mic.
I've used this mixer to bring in two DJs, two mics, my 2-channel
wireless mic system, and an MP3 player, and I still had ports left to
bring in another mic/guitar and another MP3 player *and* a recording
device, as well as an unused recording output and monitor outs.
Behringer is now making a "Xenyx 1202" which appears to be the exact
same mixer as the Notepad series in every way but color. I had read
that Behringer's business model is based on copying the successful
designs of other manufacturers, and this appears to be the case.
Having never used a Behringer mixer and having owned many "clone PCs"
in the 1980s and 1990s, I don't feel qualified to comment on the Xenyx
series.
Other equipment
---------------
For $60 more I bought a Nady 2-channel wireless mic system. Then, $14
for four 9v low self-discharge NiMH batteries for them. They work just
fine, but the plastic body will probably crack if anybody drops one.
I'm driving the entire thing with [Mixxx](http://www.mixxx.com/) through
a $10 USB Audio device, with a ⅛-inch stereo to two ¼-inch unbalanced
cable. This is definitely the most sneer-inducing piece of the entire
setup, but after working with analog audio equipment in the 90s I feel
confident that this device is generating much less noise than the mics.
Aside from the speakers, all this gear fits into a medium-sized book
backpack.
Software
--------
I run Arch Linux on a Samsung NC10, my only computer. My DJ software
is Mixxx. My system is very stripped down: aside from xdm (asleep),
X, dwm, mixxx, udev, runit, a couple of gettys, and
[xss](http://woozle.org/~neale/src/xss.html), (which sleeps until X
tells it to engage), nothing is going on. I do not run any of the
things that come with a stock Ubuntu or Gnome2 setup, such as gvfsd,
cups, dbus, or pulseaudio.
I'm able to run Mixxx with a netbook (1024×600) theme and scrolling
waveform display. Audio is smooth. I suspect, but don't care enough
to verify, that a netbook with a full Gnome2 setup would struggle to
keep up. In particular, I would look first at gvfsd and pulseaudio as
a source of latency. Even though pulseaudio is a tremendous
improvement over esd, it's still an additional layer between mixxx and
the sound driver; and I have seen gvfs lose its mind and busy loop,
chewing 100% CPU, many times.

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@ -4,16 +4,10 @@ These are papers I have written. Most of them were written to explain a
concept to someone on woozle. Hopefully other people will find them concept to someone on woozle. Hopefully other people will find them
useful, too. useful, too.
* [Dirtbags DJ Setup](dj.html)
* [How to make the game of Monopoly suck less](monopoly.html) * [How to make the game of Monopoly suck less](monopoly.html)
* [Reply-To Munging Still Considered Harmful](reply-to-still-harmful.html) * [Reply-To Munging Still Considered Harmful](reply-to-still-harmful.html)
* [Converting .docx files to text using unzip and sed](docx.html) * [Converting .docx files to text using unzip and sed](docx.html)
* [Introduction to TCP Sockets](sockets.html) * [Introduction to TCP Sockets](sockets.html)
* [3-Minute HTML Tutorial](html-tutorial.html) * [3-Minute HTML Tutorial](html-tutorial.html)
* [How DNS Works](DNS.html) * [How DNS Works](DNS.html)
---
The rest of these are old, and probably irrelevant, but I'm keeping them
here on the off chance that someone still needs the information.
* [Debian on the Digimatrix (2004)](digimatrix.html)

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Title: pysieved: Python Managesieve Server Title: pysieved: Python Managesieve Server
pysieved is a GPL managesieve server. It is now hosted on gitorious, at pysieved is a GPL managesieve server. It is now hosted on gitorious, at
<http://www.gitorious.net/pysieved/pages/Home> <http://www.gitorious.net/pysieved/pages/Home>.

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GIT_DIR=$HOME/projects/ubk; export GIT_DIR GIT_DIR=$HOME/projects/ubk; export GIT_DIR
echo "<ul>"
git ls-tree HEAD | while read mode type sum fn; do git ls-tree HEAD | while read mode type sum fn; do
case $fn in case $fn in
*.ps) *.ps)
base=${fn%.ps} base=${fn%.ps}
desc=$(git cat-file blob $sum | sed -n 's/^%.*Description: //p') desc=$(git cat-file blob $sum | sed -n 's/^%.*Description: //p')
test -n "$desc" || desc=$base [ -z "$desc" ] && desc="$base"
echo "* [${desc:$base}](${base}.pdf)" echo "<li><a href="$base.pdf">${desc:-$base}</a></li>"
;; ;;
esac esac
done done
echo "</ul>"