I haven't mentioned  this topic for some time.  Many stations Defrag on a regular basis to maintain the integrity of their systems.  Some have no idea what Defragging is.  And some feel it takes too long, so they do it infrequently.  For those who don't know, recording and deleting audio from the hard drive causes gaps in the files stored on the drive.  Gaps can eventually be heard in the audio on the air as the disk head races from place to place in an effort to play all of the parts of the fragmented file.  Sometimes the audio will just stop altogether.  Defragging will cause all of the scattered parts of an audio file to be stored back-to-back so that the disk head doesn't have to go far to find the next part of the file.  If your station has not been Defragging, now is a good time to start.  Defragging on a regular basis reduces the amount of time needed to defrag the drive. Call the Support Line for details.

We're in the cold weather season, and that means heating systems, dry air, and static shock.  There are several preventative measures to keep static from hurting you and damaging your equipment. Running a humidifier during the winter months, grounding strips, plastic keyboard covers, and spraying the floors are the suggested procedures. The list is  from the most expensive to the cheapest. When spraying, we recommend the regular Static Guard or mixing fabric softener with water in a 3:1 ratio and using a spray bottle to mist it over the floor in front of the keyboard.  A buildup of static will render the keyboard useless and cause further problems with the SMARTCASTER.  Use the recommended measures to eliminate static in the studio.

Happy New Year from SMARTS Broadcast Systems!  The beginning of January signifies the changing of the guard, another year is gone, with another just beginning.  We can stop using '00 to signify the year, and have to remember to use '01 from now on.

U.P.S. stands for Uninterrupted Power Supply.  That is the little box that keeps your SMARTCASTER running when there are power outages.  Whether it is the momentary blink that takes your transmitter down, or the 10-minute job that leaves the studio in the dark, the U.P.S. allows your SMARTCASTER to keep running.  In the momentary blink it saves you from having to re-boot your SMARTCASTER along with all of the other equipment you have to turn back on.  In the longer blackout, it allows you the time to safely shut down your system without losing valuable information.  Most hardware failures are caused by brownouts.  If you don't have a U.P.S. on your unit, you should get one as soon as possible..  When hooking it up, the SMARTCASTER plugs into the U.P.S., which plugs into the Surge Protector, which plugs into the wall outlet.  The U.P.S.