Barix IP audio solutions for the transmission of Radio Notimil in Ecuador

The Barix Exstreamer 100 and Instreamer 100 devices provide perfect signals and improve audio quality to the Ecuadorian armed forces station. In Quito, the audio signal is encoded using a Barix Instreamer 100 device for transmission over the Internet.

Barix AG has developed for Radio Notimil, the official radio station of the Armed Forces of Ecuador, a network for the transmission of IP audio signals with the aim of transmitting its programming to radio stations in four cities. Diseños Integrados y Telecomunicaciones (DIT), a telecommunications design and integration company specialized in network solutions, has been in charge of designing and installing the system on behalf of Radio Notimil.

Based in the city of Quito, Radio Notimil is an FM radio station that began transmitting over the Internet with the purpose of implementing an IP distribution network for the dissemination of its programming. Senatel, the National Telecommunications Secretariat of Ecuador that is responsible for authorizing the use of frequencies, granted Radio Notimil the necessary license to simultaneously or independently transmit its programming in the cities of Esmeraldas, Tulcán and Coca. To achieve this, DIT suggested a Barix solution based on IP audio signal transmission with two different encoding and decoding points to transmit its programming from the main studio and provide local studio-to-transmitter connections.

According to Jorge Cárdenas, director of business development for DIT, he admitted that "we were looking for information on analog technologies before opting for a solution based on the IP protocol. The Barix Instreamer/Extreamer solution represented a cost saving of one third compared to analog technologies. And although the integration of the stations at a national level presented a logistical problem due to the distances between the studios, the Barix solution solved this problem and offered high-quality audio transmissions with a wide bandwidth.

DIT was in charge of designing and configuring the LAN network for the transmission of radio programming. In the city of Quito, Radio Notimil encodes the audio signal using a Barix Instreamer 100 device for transmission over the Internet. An Exstreamer 100 decoder device connects to the console of each studio in each city to provide a continuous broadcast source of programming, allowing local operators to control radio transmissions. The signals are then re-encoded through an Instreamer device external to the console and sent to a second Exstreamer device located at each broadcast facility for local radio broadcasts.

DIT established OFDM links to allow local Instreamer-to-Exstreamer connections in STL streams. At the transmission site, Exstreamers decode audio signals and send them to an aural exciter to restore harmonics and improve the audio quality of radio signals from FM transmitters.

Finally, it should be noted that Barix makes its open source BCL program available so that customers can program customized applications based on their needs. Local control, relay activation via audio signals and low latency transmission are some examples of custom programs using Barix BCL software.