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Yesterday evening, I had a very interesting thought. You see, I listen to internet radio all day long, and sometimes I want to rip the stream (that means: record a show).
Now, usually I use my PC, winamp, a streamripper package and an external drive to store the recorded audio. Then it hit me: I can use a WiFi enabled Pocket PC and an MP3 player to do the same thing! They're small, I can take it with me, and I don't require as much time and software to set it all up.
I doubt anyone has thought of this before, so I figured I might as well share this with you nerds
Here's a step-by-step.
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1) What Do We Need?
* A Pocket PC with a WiFi connection and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. I use the Ipaq RX3715.
* On the Pocket PC, you will need a program capable of streaming a radio station. I use which allows me to stream my favorite radio stations.
* We need an MP3 player with the ability to record on line-in. I use the ; a 20 gig harddrive player which has a splitter that can connect a line-in cable and a headphone at the same time. Sadly, it can only record in wav, but for our purposes this will do. Most players offer a line-in and the ability to record, so chances are you already own a capable device! (You can even use a Minidisc player ,a memorecorder or anything that records on line-in, but we want digital baby!)
* The last item we need is an audio cable with two male 3.5mm jacks. You should be able to find these anywhere they sell audio gear, and I got my cable at an electronics store for around 3 Euros I think. Here's a picture of one:
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2) Putting It All Together.
A) Take the the cable with the 3.5mm jacks and plug one jack into the headphone plug of your Pocket PC.
B) Connect the other end to the line-in on your MP3-player. Consult your manual to find out where which bit goes
On my player, I need to use the included splitter so I can connect a headphone as well as the line in. I am connecting headphones so I can monitor the recording. This is an optional step, so if you can't/don't want to, don't worry about it.
Now we have this.
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3) Start 'er Up
First we set up the Pocket PC:
A) Turn on your Pocket PC and establish a WiFi connection. You should know how to do this, so I'm not going to explain it.
B) Start or similar and connect to the stream of your favorite radio station. Again, consult your manual on how to do this. I like to listen to (shameless plug) , which has original, adult comedy and many live shows. I'm not affiliated with them except as a listener.
C) Adjust the volume on the PPC to a high setting if not the highest. If your volume is low, you won't hear anything.
http://img387.imageshack.us/img387/7145/gsplayer8eu.jpg
Then the MP3-player
A) Turn it on and find the audio recorder or similar program. Consult your manual on how to do this as it varies from device to device.
B) Check the recording settings on your player. You should be recording on line-in. Some players also have a built in microphone, so make sure it's set to record on line in. You can probably choose what format to record in. MP3 offers good compression, so I would select that if your player supports it.
C) You might need to adjust your recording level. Obviously, a PPC doesn't have the output of a stereo system, so you might need to adjust it to a more sensitive setting.
D) Hit record!
That's it! Your MP3-player is now recording the output from your PPC through the cable. I suggest you let it record for a 30 seconds or so and then stop the recording.
You've just recorded your first stream!!!
I hope this tutorial was as fun and interesting for you to read as it was for me to make
