Streaming analog audio source over wifi

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greaneyr

52 posts

Master Geek

#130929 2-Oct-2013 20:40

Hi all

I have a requirement for a device that's becoming quite difficult to find. I want to send an audio source originating as analog over wifi. There's plenty of devices that will go the other way (eg letting you stream from your PC to a 2 x RCA output to connect up to a superior audio system) but as far as I've managed to find, nothing that goes the way I want.

I want to be able to take an audio source (my airband scanner, located in the best reception spot in the house) and access it like any other streaming service. So, it would need a an audio input, an ADC, streaming software, and a wireless interface. There are tons of high-end audio streaming appliances intended for Internet radio stations, but I don't need that. I could also potentially go down the two-item path, and use one box for streaming and hang a wireless AP on the end of it, but then I'd have two wireless networks to have to associate with all the time. Much more RF-friendly if I could just stream over my existing network.

The problem I have is that this niche seems to be well catered for by low-cost FM transmitters, but I can't just go firing out VHF scanner transmissions over FM for everyone to hear, so streaming it over my WLAN seemed to be to easiest and most secure way.

If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know.

Thanks
Richard

gareth41

742 posts

Ultimate Geek

#906729 2-Oct-2013 21:34

I help run an LPFM station, here's what I do to stream audio from the studio upto the transmitter. My method may be of help for what you're wanting to achieve.

Studio has a broadband connection, transmitter site also has a broadband connection. Studio has a PC which takes analogue audio feed from mixer via the onboard soundcard. We use "edcast" to encode the stream and send to an Icecast server hosted on a VPS at sitehost. The PC at transmitter site connects to Icecast stream via winamp with the restless plugin, the Pira.cz silence detector is also installed and restarts the playback if silence detected for more than 10 secs. System scheduler installed and initiates an automatic reboot of both pc's every couple weeks at 4am, windows updates on both disabled to stop random reboots.

Icecast doesnt have to be on an externaly hosted server though, it could also be on a local pc running ubuntu. We just have ours at sitehost because its the same stream used on the website.

numfarr

329 posts

Ultimate Geek

#908090 4-Oct-2013 19:35

Raspberry Pi + cheap audio input dongle + cheap WiFi dongle should do it.
e.g. http://www.crazy-audio.com/projects/raspberry-pi-for-audio-distribution/

greaneyr

52 posts

Master Geek

#908173 4-Oct-2013 22:07

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I was thinking about the Raspberry pi option as well. The other option I did consider that would achieve the same result (getting audio from a remote site onto my laptop with minimal hardware at the laptop end) is to use a Class 1 Bluetooth audio sender, and a Bluetooth adapter for my laptop. No 'streaming' in that case, but I'd get audio in all the same. It's just a question of whether that would mess up my wifi signal, and whether it could reach over the distance I'm hoping to send it.