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TechTalk
with Tom Coviak
Programming
Your "Legacy" AP55 Digital Message Recorder |
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Acquaint yourself with the AP55
Digital Message Player.
Whether your application is Highway Advisory Radio
(HAR), Public Information, Emergency Management, Tourism or the
Outdoor Recreation, if you've purchased a radio system from ISS in
prior to 2000, chances are you have an AP55 Digital Message
Programmer, the critical little component used to record and
broadcast messages. Familiarizing yourself with its overall
capabilities can affect your radio-programming creativity and
ability to update broadcasts quickly. The variety of AP55 features
available can make learning it a little confusing at first. Here
are a few programming tips.
Twenty different playlists can be created using
the AP55.
A playlist is a sequence of
messages joined together. Also called "strings," these
message sequences can make updating your broadcast a breeze.
Strings of messages can be stored
in playlists labeled from 1 to 20. To create a
playlist from a remote touch-tone phone or the digital message
recorder control phone, call your AP55. Enter star (*) 41 pound
(#). A voice-prompt will ask for the playlist number you want to
create (1 to 20) followed by pound (#).
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After you enter the
desired playlist number, enter the message numbers in the sequence
you want them to air. A pound (#) should
follow each message number, for example:
Command *41#, then
5# 10# 20# 30#
40#
The above sequence creates Playlist Number 5
with Messages 10, 20, 30 and 40 playing. To review a playlist,
enter *42#. To select which playlist is on the air, enter
*43#.
Messages can appear,
then re-appear.
A specific message can appear in many different
playlists or multiple times in one.
A good example would be the call-sign
message your station uses to identify itself (i.e., its call
letters and numbers, required by the FCC to be aired at least
every 30 minutes. If you put the call-sign message in all your
playlists, you won't have to worry about not airing it enough,
since most broadcast cycles are just a few minutes long.(Continued below.) |
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It
may be useful to create "ghost" messages.
For instance, to leave room for
a message that needs to be aired during an emergency (or when you
do not know the specifics of a message before setting playlists),
it may be useful to create unrecorded message slots in a playlist.
HARs and Emergency Management Agencies often use ghost messages.
In the following example, Message 99 is a
ghost message.
Command *41#, then 1# 99# 99# 2# 99#
99# 3# 99#
The above command-sequence
creates a playlist with Messages 1, 99, 99, 2, 99, 99, 3, 99, 99
playing. Without Message 99 recorded, the on-air playlist is 1, 2,
3. With Message 99 recorded, the on-air playlist is 1, 99, 99, 2,
99, 99, 3, 99.
Here's the trick, if this playlist is on
the air and an emergency occurs: Call the AP55 and record
Message 99. Your ghost message is now playing within the playlist.
Keep messages short, simple.
With 250 slots to choose from,
you can create short messages and string them together. With
shorter messages the chance for error is limited when recording. A
short message will also be beneficial when ghost messages are
needed on the air frequently. |
Not all messages
need
to exist now.
Use the 7-day-clock to change
playlists automatically. Command *21# then 2#
0900#
The above order sets the time as Monday 9:00 AM.
When scheduling a playlist to air at a
specific time, use the command *22#. The AP55 will ask for the day
and time you want to schedule a playlist to air. It will also ask
for the playlist number + 1000.
Command
*22# , then 3# 1700# 1002#
The above command will schedule
Playlist 2 to air on Tuesday at 5 PM. Multiple playlists can be
scheduled for the same week. Use the cancel-schedule command
to remove scheduled playlists: *24# followed by the day you wish
to cancel. Or use 999 as your day number, and the entire week will
be canceled. For example: *24# 3# cancels the schedule for
Tuesday.
Click here to download an AP55 cheat-sheet
and more detailed instructions.
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Questions?
Comments? Contact ISS technician Tom. |
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