Of Faith and Radio

Possibly My Last Blog on this, but I'll keep the keys.

2020-01-07T19:00:00.002-08:00

What I have always liked about radio streaming is that the prices are continually going down. An old smart phone can be purchased at a pawn shop or on a black Friday. I have a Microsoft phone I got for 5 dollars at a pawn shop and an new android a purchased at Christmas for 10 dollars. With the Tune in app, I heart app and a web link to vtuner I can pull in the world and quite a lot of faith based radio. This does posit I have a wifi signal to use them with, as they are not on cell service. I have always gone at this hobby on the "cheap." Lately the little Amazon Alexei is the easiest tool to listen to the web with. I bought my last early version of this for about 19 dollars. Since a lot of stations are on Iheart radio you can simply ask about a station by its call letters and if I heart does not have it, tune in might. I believe this little hockey puck sized item might have more people listening and streaming radio at home. As my favorite stations are on those two outlets most of my listening around the house is on this little guy. Sound is pretty good. Apparently she can also be trained to get to other stations with a few commands. Now this is a wifi device and the user will need unlimited wifi or just monitor there usage. Sadly this is the last bridge for us to cross in radio. While streaming is great and you can listen to virtually any station on an android phone or this device, you have to have the internet. This is why I am a huge proponent of FM in cell phones and radio in general. Yep I know there are music purest out there that have sworn off radio, but, hey its free and cheap. I urge everyone to explore their local FM and AM dial wherever they find themselves. Neat thing, if you find a station that is a little messy you can go and call up call signs or a frequency on Google and find a stream of it. I have monitored some great stations that way.
Honestly I am amazed where this hobby has taken me too. Back in the day (yep I've used this blog for 8 years.) you had to have a computer with a good sound program to stream. That was challenging with dial up in some places going very slow. Any one remember 56,000 baud and slower speeds. We would find big quick setups and marvel at live radio coming through the speakers, ok maybe it was just me. As connections sped up internet radios appeared. As usual I went bargain basement and got Aluretek streaming tuner. I was great sounding when hooked up to speakers or my stereo. It ended up paired with one of the first portable HD radios I still have. I was digital on wifi and net right next to my bed where I listen when sleep escapes me.
This little unit is still alive and tunes stations found on V-tuner page.Lots of stations still list on this. As this was coming together cell phones with blue tooth or just a corded hookup to a vehicle began to be very common and prices like, most electronic fell. Eventually I had an old android and no problem loading I Hear Media and Tune In, or stations individual jump off to a stream. A few years ago any one with a decent cell phone could listen to the world with the right cell phone plan. As I write this a cheap Samsung (lower than 40) bucks is pushing a pair of cheapy plug up speakers and I am listening to an internet station from Houston. Later I would try this theory out and buy a Windows phone for 5 dollars that would not work on a cell network to use as my internet receiver for a vintage stereo set up in my home office. It works fine with a chip of music and still can be used to pick up a few streams. Also streaming has exploded on TV. Personally I am a ROKU fan. This little box is availiable for under 50 dollars and if you do not subscribe to anything, there is a world of radio that can be streamed to your TV. I have mine hooked to an old stereo and stations sound pretty good.

When I set out to unite my too favorite interest of Christians broadcasting and Radio there was a bit to say about technology and some favorite Christians stations. If you are a believer or looking into Jesus Christian radio is alive with beautiful music and ministry. For music I have always pointed people to KSBJ.org for teaching KHCB.org is a good place. If you have bothered to read this far I would urge you too read the earlier post and see how streaming and this genre of Christian broadcasting has developed over this last decade.
As I sit here at the start of 2020, I am not sure this is my last article. Cell phones have become pretty standard, blue tooth is pretty much on any audio device and consumers tend to understand this world better than playing an old CD or a vinyl record, which I do from time to time. If I do post again I will update social media. If you have questions or comments please reach out to me at scotttalbert1963@gmail.com.

Scott Talbert, happy streaming and blessings.

PS To all my audio-file and High end streamers. I really am not worried about streaming quality. It has gotten way better over the years. Enjoy.

Linux Machine for Scott, your brother blogger.

2018-06-10T22:23:00.000-07:00

Linux, that is a name that is not heard too much among basic computer users. Well I always heard I could take an old PC and put a different, non-Microsoft operating system on it. I heard this system now had a graphical interface. I also read that most install of this could run a browser, email, view web media and play my media files. I also heard that most came out of the “box” with a word processor, vis calc look alike and and presentation program, that was compatible to big bad MS Office. And I heard that most slowing machines worked a little better because the Linux system was not small compared to many MS operating system.

I cautiously entered the game. I found a very old machine that was locked up as Windows XP with a lost user password. Yes I know this can be worked around, but the machine was a Pentium 4 with very little memory. I had blown it back to MS 98se and it moved pretty good, but continued to have hassles. I pounced. I got a Linux Ubuntu disk on Amazon for 10 USD. It would boot. I tried the install it took a long time and never really looked right. Later I found out they had lighter versions and I tried that and had some success with that box.

I had just upgraded my junk, play machine (different than above) up to Windows Vista and it had quite a few issues, but I could use it to email, browse with Firefox and get frustrated at about every thing. Linux disk still on the desk, I put them in and pretty much did a boot-able install of Linux. Unit still had to work off DVD and that caused hassles. “Why not?” I said. Lets go full on a machine that does not have to work perfectly or could fail any moment. Install went well. One issue was hard to get around. My machine, and old compact AMD, and Linux did not want to find a modem to reach the WIFI. Yeah, this was a big deal. I would like this machine for Facebook, web browsing, and occasional streaming. Apparently after some hit or miss research this Linux “distro” does not like Netgear dongles. Matter of fact my very popular dongle is not supported. (Ok settle down, Linux, “I can solve anything” crowd.) “Ok, find one that is supported.” I did an Amazon search and a particular chip set is easly used by my Xenial Xerus 16.04 distro. Oh and I had that little WIFI receiver. It was a Edimax (less than 10 bucks) It is a small as a USB plug in with a plastic cap. Tiny. I plugged it in and Linux recognized it. No problem, full, not speedy access.

Now I had to put a few programs on that machine. I went to net. That was not too great. Very confusing instructions about how to install programs. In Linux you really do not want to go to programing screen and start punching around. My distro came with a “Ubuntu Software” app. Use that. It has a few browsers, games, tools, several media programs and a host of other higher level stuff. Your distro it seems, comes with a lot of programs on it. It is a DVD and they fill it. Also when you can access the net the Ubuntu Software app will allow workable programs to be downloaded from them. Most are free that I can tell.

OK, what did I end up with. I found Firefox gives me pretty much full access to the Google word of Email and services. You could use Linux to just build a Google machine I think. I use gmail, and found a widget that I can touch to go to email if Firefox is going. The distro put on a unity desktop that is pretty simple, and it came with file access, Firefox, Libre Writer, Libre Office Calc, and Libre Office empress. So far the word-processor seams fine. I added VLC to handle music and video. I also just played and open GL game called Super Tux Cart that ran fine.

This is not my first walk outside the gate. I have used free ware to do a lot of things MS wants to charge for. Some are very good programs. But now I have a machine that big computer does not really own. And I think I’ll keep it, if it turns on next time.

Scott.

I guess I wrote this because when I started listening to radio no streaming was available. We guessed it would happen. Then you had to have an expensive computer with expensive soft ware to listen to streams. Then progress took over and we could stream on phones, wifi radios and all kinds of browser enable stuff. Even a game machine or two. I wrote this to celebrate leaving the MS world on one machine I own. I have gotten streams to work. You will need a Flash plugin in at least a Linux Firefox setup. I also feel the Lord could use this technology to allow older machines to be put in the hands of poorer families. I have not worked that out yet, but I am playing with Linux and learning. Still Blogging about Jesus and Radio. SWT

Still Streaming, Still believing In Jesus.

2018-05-04T21:11:00.004-07:00

Still Streaming, Still believing in Jesus

Just an update. I have not gone silently into the night. Those who know me, know that wherever I am there will be sound. As I have alluded to in this blog, I have moved to Lolita, Texas to Pastor first Baptist Church in Lolita, Texas. That happened over a year ago. Since then we have gone through a hurricane and I started collecting older CCM pretty heavy. I came to CCM (Contemporary Christian Music) at about 15 or 16. That allowed me to hear the grandmothers and grandfathers of the genre before some past on or were at the height of their careers. I did see Larry Norman, of "I wish we had all been ready" fame, back in the day, before and after his head trauma that changed him a bit. He would die later in life of heart complications. I also saw Rich Mullins and Keith Green before they died way too early. Mullins wrote huge pre Praise Music like "Mighty God" and Keith also wrote some great music that is still played today. I sadly believe I saw them on their last tours. I also love Amy Grant, DC Talk, the Newsboys, Micheal W. Smith, Steven Curtis Chapman, Petra, Daniel Amos, and many other CCM acts. If all that shot by you, Google some. Some say CCM had a golden era back in the 70s and 80s. Their was more diversity, as simple people of faith sang songs about God and their experiences. Much of the music is deeply evangelical and tends to be much more in your face than stuff that now is on the radio. After this music most CCM went to what I call "Mommy Van Praise Music." Producers understood that women with mothers bought and listened to CCM. They liked songs that would eventually be sung in Church. Christian Rock has pretty much gone underground, except some Rap and Hip Hop acts that are very popular. I like praise music, but I also crave artist that show inventiveness in verse or music. Also the channel for this music has shrunk. In the good ole days many independent labels published lots of music. When CCM got hot the big Guys bought out almost everyone. Then producers trimmed back acts that did not sell into very narrow playlist at CCM stations dominated by the MVPM. Ouch. So what to do? STREAM, the music still exist, I have cds and albums to prove it. Many good streaming stations feature older CCM. I have listed a few in previous articles. The best in my small world is http://www.classicchristian247.com/ they have a morning DJ and electronically announce who is singing to you. They are listener supported, so give them a gift if you can spare it or at least tell someone else to listen too. Oh this station is pretty eclectic. They will play soft rock and the next song may be a Christian Hair band along the lines of Styper. WWW.classicccm.com, it is a Salem commercial station that plays pretty much the ccm hits of 70s to 90s. As for present stations that I still like, try klove.org, ksbj.org, or Klty.com, if you listen to these stations you will about the same music. One is a network station that has outlets in most areas, on is a non com, public station and one is the largest commercial CCM station in the US. I let you listen and figure out which one is which. I would love to pray or read reactions to the blog. You can contact me at scotttalbert1963@gmail.com.
Pray, believe, listen, and enjoy. SWT

Small side note: If you really like older CCM, there are fine facebook groups that you can join, discuss and also reap a lot of streaming material from.

2017-06-01T10:58:00.000-07:00

The Future of Streaming Radio

What I have always liked about the world of radio streaming is that it is getting less expensive by the day. One can get an old smart phone and stream better than any previous rig. I have a Microsoft phone from a pawnshop that cost 5 dollars and works well with a nearby stereo. I acquired a new android phone for l0 dollars that I can also use. With the tune in app, i heart radio app and a few others i have a world of radio at my fingertips. On my 50 dollar Microsoft phone that i carry service on, I can also stream in my car. But alas you have to touch stuff to make it work. Streaming does have re-connection problems that can only be solved by a touch or two.
Enter wireless smart speakers. I found the Amazon Echo Dot for 49.99 on Amazon and have been impressed with its voice command only abilities. It comes able to interface with Tune in Radio, I heart radio, Pandora and amazon's audio books and music. As I write this, it is gaining new abilities every day. In most cases I can say the name of a station and Alexa will tell me she is tuning it. "Alexa play KSBJ" I say. "Playing KSBJ by way of the Tune in app." she reacts. The station is even using this in their adds. KSBJ is a large non profit CCM station in Houston. Alexa has some other basic abilities that are fun to play with too. She will need to be on your WiFi system to work. She has a big sister with better sound, but the little dot is capable of filling a mid sized room with sound and fine for an office.

As always feel free to write me.
Pastor Scott Talbert
scotttalbert1963@gmail.com

2016-08-22T19:44:00.004-07:00

Ngen the little HD Station that could

In 1982 a public supported radio station rumbled on to the air in Houston. KSBJ was born on 88.1 fm, later she would move to 89.3fm. She grew to own the CCM market on the Texas coast. Buddy Holiday, its founder wanted a 100,000 watt fm station to stand tall for his savior. At first the station had some talk. Later it moved to 95% music. They still have some talk on Sunday nights. From the early days of the station they would play Christian Rock late on Saturday nights. This segment carried several names, Rock of Love and Light Force come to mind. The kids loved that music, but mainstream CCM with Amy Grant and Micheal Smith paid the bills. The station developed a lock on Christian concert promotion that still holds today. HD radio arrived in 2010. Most public stations jumped in, as they got a good deal on the medium.

KSBJ realized their music played well with the “Mommy Van” crowd but not the rock, rap and next generation. In 2010 they put up NGEN on their HD2 signal. HD2 signals allow radios with HD to receive secondary digital signal with great clarity of sound. This signal runs under the analog big brother. The signal is also weaker than the big brother. KSBJ also put the station online with its website and a host of phone apps. Ngenradio.com is available on most platforms. (Tune In is good)

August 8^th, 2016, at 6am NGEN went live on 91.7fm KXNG (analog) and became a major player in the crowded Houston Radio landscape. 50,000 watts of Hip Hop and Rock to reach a new generation. This represents a Digital and HD success story of sorts. This station birthed online, nurtured in HD and some low power fm analogs has come into its own. It will be an expensive baby for KSBJ. KSBJ has been run well a long time and will see the station become a titan like KSBJ, whose PPMs typically rank her 4^th in Houston – Galveston's radio market.

There is a flip side to this story. KUHA (now KXNG) was previously Rice University's radio station. The station was sold to UH and Rice's station ended up a HD2 and then just digital. UH wanted to use 91.7 fm to be their classical outlet. Classical music had shared the airwaves with KUHT. In )))) that station decided to go all news and put classical on HD2. NPR program left classical music playing at night. Now at least classical music could be heard all day. They also purchased 91.7fm from Rice with the intention of having a free standing classical music station that was analog. The station tanked from lack of support, then most of the on air personalities where fired. UH decided that 10 million being offered by KSBJ was too much to pass up.

Interestingly enough, the classical station is not dead. She is alive on HD2 under the Public Radio of UH, a great NPR affiliate. She also has a robust online presence and the greatest tutorial about streaming I have seen any station use. https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/classical/ways-to-listen/ She also has a presence on on digital tv as an audio only channel 8.5. How she will survive is a good question. UH can keep the format alive, but it will lack any real connection to Houston if it is simply a network outlet. Sadly classical music has been in full retreat to internet streaming for a few years.

I really hope both stations do well. As a Christian we need more than tightly programmed CCM. NGEN and her team will give Houston some alternatives, that even this 50 plus guy likes to hear. Classical music is just important. In that format world history has a chance to sing and play in our heads. It will be up to a very dedicated group of donors to keep it alive.

Programming note: I have moved back to Texas. I am still a pastor. I still have too many radios and not enough time to listen to everything.

Web Reference:

http://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/2016/07/15/160454/houston-public-media-completes-sale-of-classical-station-kuha-91-7-fm-to-ksbj/

Some Christian Rock to stream

2016-02-21T19:34:00.001-08:00

Some Christian Rock Stations on the Web.

I volunteered to write about some selections of streaming Christian Rock stations. This is a basic list. You can google Christian Rock and find many more. You can also search for stations on various apps. One of my favorite list is at www.vtuner.com.
Ngenradio.com is one of my favorite stations for Christian Rock and Rap. They are an HD2 of KSBJ.org in Houston. They are a better urban station than a rock station, but still good.

http://www.theblast.fm/wp/ These guys are loud and they are rock. They also have a 320k stream they consider cd quality. They are also on Roku players with the high speed being one of the best audio test for that streaming device.

http://www.christianhardrock.net/ This is a good network of power praise, rock, hard rock and classic rock stations. They have updated their look and I did not recognize them the first time I revisited this site. Their site is cool because you can jump off to their other offerings. They also have a pretty good selection of ways to connect to their feeds.

www.air1.com You can't go wrong with Klove's little louder brother. When they started this, it was a rock station. It has gotten calmer over the years.

http://www.fuelradio.fm/ This one caught my eye in a search but I do not have a lot of time listening to these guys.

http://radiou.com/ this is a station from Ohio that has a great online presence. They are very outreach oriented, but eventually you figure out your listening to a Christian stations. They also have a live tv and music video channel on Roku.

http://star88.fm/ This is our NM station from Albuquerque. They really are a good alt worship stations. This is not Rock but it is pretty progressive.

2016-01-22T19:47:00.002-08:00

Streaming Radio in Cars

Last time I posted, I simply gave an over view of streaming and discussed how the hobby (?) has grown from computer to internet radios to set top TV streaming devices like a ROKU. I have also spoke about using a simple cell phone to stream on a data plan or getting a phone that can pick a internet signal from your home router or a public hot-spot like a library with a public signal. When you use set top boxes or your choice of smart phones you need apps. Apps provide access to various stations. Also some stations provide their signals and cell phones and computers can stream them.

We have also have said many good Christian ministries are into streaming. KLOVE comes to mind. They have a great FM presence in many towns. They are more prevalent in towns where the locals can not support a Christian music station like KSBJ(public) in Houston or KLTY (for profit) in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. KLOVE puts there signal on apps like Tune In and I Heart Radio. They also put most of their sister stations signals out on the net at vtuner.com. You can also download a separate KLOVE and their sister format AIR1 app for most types of cell phones and boxes like ROKU.

As I have explored this on-line world of noise, I have also noticed that many people are now using cell phone for in car entertainment. Most just used to store music files on a phone and plug it into a car stereo's jack for what looks like a headphone. The cable for that has a plug on each end that looks like a headphone plug and your phones audio is transferred to the car stereo. It works pretty good because it is a solid connection for tablets, mp3 players and most phones, even very inexpensive ones. Surprisingly you can also use this as real cheap hands free option on most phones. The voice comes out the speakers and the cell phones mike picks up voice because it thinks it is playing into headphones. But you do have to control the phone from the phone.

Now us really old car owners might have a stereo before they mounted AUX jacks in them. How can I get signal from a device, streaming or not to that? Well for years they have made in car FM transmitters for older vehicles. This is my least preferred system I have discussed. This device that usually cost over 30 bucks will plug into any headphone enabled device and transmit a very low powered signal to your car radio. OK this is where it gets interesting. The old transmitters would only use about 4 public bands like 88.1, 88.3, 88.5, 88.7. Before everyone found the public bands, in most town you could find one of those frequencies empty and tune your car radio to one and the device would broadcast your mp3 player, phone, or any device with a headphone jack to your car stereo. The problem would be what you heard. Usually it included a huge amount of hiss and sometimes just no signal. Having dealt with this in two vehicles we found removing the external car antenna helped. Then you could place the transmitter (usually small) in front or near the radio. In cities this was just a hard setup. Out in the country with less stations, a person could find a setup that worked fine. My son would DJ from a computer, Ipad or Iphone as we rolled down the road. Newer rigs can transmit on all the bands I believe. They can still be purchased for older cars or classic cars where tech upgrades are frowned on.

Ok I left out the infamous cassette adapter. I saw one at a dollar store recently. If you had an old tape deck you dropped it in and played signal through it. This device worked great if your tape deck heads where positioned right. I had a Ford Arrow-star van that could not use one. Most other vehicles could and a lot of people hooked up portable CD players to cars that way. Just dump the CD player and replace it with a Iphone streaming KLOVE and your on your way retro guy.

Lately I have been using a technology that has been around a long time but, is now coming into its maturity. Bluetooth is the particular technology I am thinking and using. Recently I retro fitted my 2006 Toyota Corolla with a sub 200.00 dollar car radio with Bluetooth. Best streaming car audio money I have spent. I can stream my one of my favorite web broadcasters on Tune In app like CCM Rewound and when I enter the car and set the radio to Bluetooth audio it plays through the speakers and on the road. Even in the El Paso area I can listen to streaming radio all over town on my ATT family cell plan with out doing too much damage. I am also able to answer and talk on the phone hands free when calls come.

The last little idea I want to stick in your head is the smart phone choice. I know Iphones are not for everyone. They cost a small fortunes. They are good audio machines. I am paying for my wife's and my boys have older versions they have got used. I used to use an old HTC android phone that streamed pretty good with apps and ok straight from the web. Lately I have discovered Windows Phones. They are a good work phone, but the app selection is pretty awful. I was able to get a Windows phone running Windows 8 at Christmas for less than fifty dollars. With a I Heart Radio, Tune In, and British Radio tuner app you can listen to a lot of English streaming radio. Those apps will also pick up a lot of Christian Talk, music and teaching too. I have also managed to use the vtuner.com web site in conjunction with a sound app to further enhance my channel choices witch should be in the 1000s.

That phone with a Bluetooth car stereo allows me to stream about anything I want while driving between El Paso, Texas and Las Cruses, New Mexico. I can tell you that audio streaming is way less costly on your data plan than video based steaming and I have not broke my 15 meg a month plan with this setup and my families phones. If you live in a bad cell phone area, the Bluetooth upgrade is worth it in terms of hands free cell use in the car with a fine MP3 library. With the Windows phone I can even handle incoming text messages without touching the phone.

I write this stuff for a few reasons. As a Christian, Christian music, teaching and talk enhance my faith. As a fan of older Christian Rock, I have to use MP3s or streaming to hear bands like Petra or Rez Band. I also just love radio around the world, that I started listening to as a child late at night with a portable AM radio or an old Army Jeep shortwave radio. The world is huge and a lot of it speaks language we can listen to, learn from and pray over.

Listening, Scott Talbert

scottttalbert1963@gmail.com

Random Thoughts: Just added scanner app to phone. So now I can cruse around and listen to local fire and ems. Bluetooth and phones sometimes have problems with getting out of car and coming back and resuming signal. Have fun, you will need to work with apps and phone to see if you have issues. The night I wrote this post I listened to BBC1 (London, UK)show live from Hollywood (USA) while driving in Anthony, New Mexico. How cool is that.

2015-10-26T22:54:00.002-07:00

Steaming So Far

Its October 26, 2015 as I begin to write this. The options for streaming Radio are pretty amazing for the person with Internet, router and cell phone. There are lots of great choices of things to listen to and enjoy. For Christians it is also a great time to listen to teaching and some great music from many providers that cover everything from Christian Rap to Christian Rock and all in between. Good ole Gospel and Choral music is also there if you search for it. My particular love is CCM before the 90s going back to the origins of it in the late 60s. Think Larry Norman, Evie and Dogwood. I can listen to several outlets that play this take on CCM.

As I have explored this topic and just shared what I have been doing. I am finding that not a lot about delivery of music has changed in the last couple of years. I think more people are streaming with cell data as the price of that is going down or plans are adding data. In the bad ole days of streaming you almost had to have a good computer and a pretty good connection to listen to Radio on a computer or even a streaming station. Well computers have improved and connections by and large are faster than dail-up. When I started this blog, I had been streaming on various sites with various programs to play music like windows media (still good) or winamp (have to search now, but still downloadable, just not not supported again, best I can tell.) But that meant all music listening had to be down around a computer, just like the days of gathering around the radio. Many ministries have been streaming for many years and many ministries do that quite well. I later got a internet radio that hooked up to small radio with inputs for phone or any other device with aux outputs. This radio used www.vtuner.com as a source of stations. That site can be accessed for listening for stations around the world by a computer with a good player program like winamp or even windows media. (it will not play some sound files for some stations, amp will play most)

In that time period some very nice internet radios came on the market, like squeezbox and you can still Google the rest.

Later I found that a ROKU TV box makes a great internet radio. Most TV's have good speakers or are hooked to home stereos so the ROKU makes pretty good sound. This is a box that gets a internet signal from a router (some wired) and then developers give you channels that have individual stations (Klove, Air One), or small batches of stations (Christian radio from Salem, CBN) or big market radio channels like Tune In and I Heart. Also Christian movies, music videos, networks and other religious ministries are on ROKU. Matter of fact a lot of ROKU stations are religious and of many flavors and types.

Eventually I began to to use and Android cell phone to stream a lot of Christian and other radio. They are becoming the new pocket radio for the next generation. Many are taking notice for this, as apple has put a lot of money into a customizable streaming station. I choose an Android because I got my wife's old one and they really are cheaper than apple. On most cell phones you can get the Tune In, I Heart and a host of other streaming music apps. Most of these apps have a tun of good Christian radio and ministry. Lots of apps are also just for one stations. If you are a fan of a particular station or group of stations you may want to check and see if they have a specific app or if they use any of the major streaming outlet.

Now this is not the whole streaming universe. Most major phone apps have a good PC equivalent so you can listen on a lap top or your phone. Podcast are huge too. Most preaching ministries have podcast for certain messages and usually they are free. The steaming service are numerous and they have huge listings. This is good for CCM and Christians because most stations will be some where on the net for you. I am listening to Lead Me to the Rock Radio out of California on my PC though a WinAmp program. The sound is a solid 128kb and sounds great. Some Christian stations are breaking that speed and sound crystal clear.

I have used steaming radio to go to trouble spots in the world in order to pray for people on the ground or use the info about other cultures to pray about evangelism.

Some closing thoughts. Do you have a type of music you like. Stream it. Do you have a church you follow. Try podcast. Do you like to hear new and pray over situations. Look up a local station and stream it. I would like to talk with any readers at scotttalbert1963@gmail.com

Would Jesus Like Commercial Christian Radio

2015-04-27T17:44:00.002-07:00

This post is about commercial Christian Radio that is available to listen to and enjoy with the internet. Religious radio has a long interesting relationship with commercial radio. In days of old some musical content on radio was decidedly religious. Many popular songs were hymns and songs of faith. Country music artist still have hits with religious music today. Travis' “3 crosses”, Long Black Train” by Josh Turner, and Carrie Underwood's “Something in the Water” are examples of this type. Many radio stations in 30s to today allocated time to religious broadcasters who would buy time on a secular stations. 24/7 specific programming has stopped a lot of this broadcasting. Many teaching stations are still commercial outlets. Various broadcasters simply buy times on those stations. Thus, when somebody listens the station is rarely asking for money but the various ministries are asking for help to stay on the air. Gospel music in the south found various stations who still are commercial in nature and they do well in various markets. Contemporary Christian Music which began to evolve in the 70s and 80s found its way onto various outlets as a format or something that was played at a certain time of the week. My home town had a several commercial ccm stations that lasted a few years. Very quickly a large part of the ccm listening community realized to make a station that would not change formats quickly as needed to survive, they needed to have a non commercial station. Christians in Houston would form www.ksbj.org that still broadcast Christian music today. Dallas, some would say the buckle of the bible belt got KLTY over twenty years ago. WWW.klty.com is still quite active and is the leading Christian music station in a market loaded with non commercial religious broadcasters. I have found some commercial outlets of Christian music if you do not mind a commercial or two instead of pleads for donations. http://www.1faithfm.com/channel18.html is a service that plays a few formats of Christian music.

The mother of all Christian broadcasting is Salem Communications. This California Christian Based company owns conservative and religious broadcasting and publishing services all over the United States. http://www.christianradio.com/ This site has lots of online music and teaching.

As a Christian writer I have to ask the question is this a case of tables of trade in the temple. I am not sure. I do know when the commercial outlets are owned by well meaning Christians, things tend to be run well and content is pretty good. Salem has even raised funds for Christian ministries.

Most music services have a ccm or Gospel choice. I'm thinking of XM radio or Direct TVs music channels. Also online services like Pandora, or even I Heart have ccm choices. Try setting up an Imperials channel on I Heart. Do they have respect for what they are playing? I do not know.

Contemporary Christian Music has always been a strange blend of commercial interest and people wanting to reach other people by any means possible. Most large Christian artist work for multi-national labels who's sole motivation is making money. Even famous christian writers are carried by commercial book companies. On the same theme most Christian book store chains are owned by churches or christian groups. I just see the commercial or non commercial route as a way to get a message to an audience.

Great Classic CCM Music on the Net

2015-02-12T10:24:00.000-08:00

El shaddai, el shaddai,
El-elyon na adonia,
Age to age you're still the same,
By the power of the name.
El shaddai, el shaddai,
Erkamka na adonai,
We will praise and lift you high,
El shaddai.

Do you remember Amy Grant singing this famous Michael Card song. Actually, quite a few artist covered it. Amy must have liked it, she had 3 versions of it. As I get older I find myself wanting to reconnect to music out of my youth and college days . Christian Contemporary Music (CCM) has been around since the 60s and has changed a lot. The early stuff tended to sound acoustic and like west coast rock. Some out and out rock was part of this new music. As CCM grew up it tried to sound like top 40 music. Later hard rock, alt rock and even hair metal music would all have their own CCM artist. Today praise music is a pretty pervasive part of CCM. As a fan from the 70s and 80s, I have began to want to listen to some of that era of music again. Like it or not, that music formed who I was spiritually. Did you sing Michael Smiths “Friends” at camp. How many names can you recall from 7^th grade church youth camp. Later I would see Pat Terry and Steve Camp at a National High School religious camp. Both performances still speak to me today. Later in life I would see Larry Norman, Steve Green and Rich Mullins before they passed.

I am also concerned that a lot of music from that era was put on vinyl and cassettes and has yet to be archived on digital or at least CDs. Sadly, we could lose or degrade some beautiful early heartfelt work of many artist. Also death is a factor, some of these artist are getting older and a window to capture this music is getting smaller.

Streaming radio will not solve all of these problems but it may at least get some of this music off the shelves and back into some old and even new ears. I have found a few good outlets playing CCM “oldies” or classics.

The station I feel has the most promise is http://classicchristian247.com/ This five year old outfit has a great website. It is apparently visited by lots of artist from that age. The stream is available on the tunein mobile app too. They are supported by gifts and some advertising.

I have also found http://www.ccmrewound.com/#! The website is not as cool at 247's but the music seems a little more diverse. They also seem to have really good audio at 128k. Some of the base material can be hard to get good sound from, but they seem to do it well. I also like the fact they are playing Jerry Bryant's 'Full Circle” shows on a regular basis. Jerry was a DJ with decades of experience and plays some very early, sometimes quite rare material. They are also listener supported.

Another station I checked out has been http://www.ccmbacktracks.com/ Their website is pretty much just a place to get the stream. Audio is good at 128k and you can get them on the net and with Roku and smartphone through the tune in app.

A multi site (has more than one stream) http://www.christianclassicrock.net This site considers any rock over a few years to be classic rock. They play a diverse list of artist from the history of Christian Rock. They are associated with 3 other stations that their parent non profit ChristianRock.net They offer Christian Rock, Power Praise and Hard Rock. Beware these streams have some really loud music in them. They have their own apps for smart stores and are carried by tunein.

Honestly I have only reviewed a few stations. Googling CCM Classics will get you a host of websites and streaming sites that play classic CCM. It seems to be growing genre that many are going into.

A face book site I have found is https://www.facebook.com/groups/jesusmusic/, They try to focus on the music. To their credit they ask posters not to comment on artist failures and theology. I am a member and have seen lots of album covers and other commits about finding music.

This January a group calling itself CCM United pulled together over 30 classic artist and had a mega concert called “We Will Stand” for some excellent charities. The DVD of the concert will be available at CCMunited.com later in March and through Lifeway book stores.

Back in the day this music helped build my faith and helped me find expression of my faith. I am thankful that so many are also apparently ready to rediscover this great stuff. As I end this post, I am listening to “Watch and Pray” by Twilla Paris on http://www.ccmclassic.com/ccm-classic-radio-station.htm a station I found randomly with a google search.

End notes: Tune in is a web site, smart phone app and Roku app that caries various streaming services. The Roku is a device for streaming apps that can be hooked up to a tv. I have listed the stations by their web adress for easy access from this article. You may need to hit a “listen Now' button or two.

Religious Broadcaster on Roku

2015-01-05T12:57:00.002-08:00

2014 was a year of many changes for my family. I have accepted a pastorate in Anthony, New Mexico and am learning to lead and pastor a church again. Your prayers are gratefully requested and received. My relationship to streaming of Radio has also been altered a little too. In Houston, my previous town, we had Infinity cable and a pretty good net speed for streaming. In Anthony, we could not get Infinity's relative Time Warner cable due to the fact we live on a more non residential street. We also had Century link available in the community. They had a good price, but they do “cap” or limit the amount of data you can use monthly. If you go over the limit, they charge a bit more. Finally my son found a provider called Megaweb that allowed for a flat fee all you can get net service. The speed is not that great, but fine for radio streaming. Video streaming can be a little rough at times. This system consist of a small antenna that communicates with an internet node on a local water tower. This is a set up used in a lot of rural situations. We have managed to use a small Belkin router to supply this signal to a Roku, home computer, several phones, tablet, and two church computers. With this in mind I have managed to put up a few Of Faith and Radio blogs this year.

Lately I have come to believe a ROKU is still a great option for streaming radio and video. In the early days of streaming radio and video you had to have a computer handy. My computer is a great place to work but its not to great to watch movies and that puts speakers in a fixed place to listen to radio. Later, internet radios arrived. I could at least listen to a fairly large amount of stations in the comfort of the bed room or where ever I wanted to set it up. This is when I started writing this blog mainly in regards faith and radio streaming. You can still pick up a good amount of teaching and music stations on an internet radio. If you look at previous blog post I have given you many stations to listen to. I also have found some stations have moved into streaming, others have changed the way they stream and some may have simply gone dark. (Old radio phrase for going off the air.) Stand alone internet radios are still available. Most are portable. All must use a wifi signal.

A good while ago I purchased my one and only Roku and discovered a cheap streamer for Radio and some good video. A person of faith needs to understand that one has pretty good access to a variety of programming with this small box. This is the kinda of device that you can watch movies from subscription services like Netflix or see movies with ads for free. The box can access adult material but you can control what channels you put on the box. I think its safe for family use, should be monitored with teens and a little to much for kids. The Roku is a favorite of “cord cutters” who chose not to use satellite or cable tv. A lot of these folks just have internet and broadcast television.

I have become a fan of this little box. (Most are 60 dollars or cheaper if you get the stick version) As a believer I have access to several free music services like Pandora. I can program some of those stations to play non stop Christian music. I am listening to my Petra station on Pandora as I write this. Many Christian radio stations have there own Roku channels. Klove, KLTY, AirOne and few others come to mind. A huge amount of videos make there broadcast and podcast available too. Some also use the device to stream services live to shut ins or displaced members. Also the Roku has several good internet broadcasting channels that allow a consumer to listen to a numerous amount of Christian teaching and music. Tune In and IheartRadio come to mind, but there are plenty more. Like any internet connected device, the gate keeper needs to be responsible for watch channels they have on there system.

In the history of streaming the first adopters have been faith based. Faith based groups are less profit driven and willing to use new media to reach audiences. Lately I have been looking at various religious television broadcasters on the Roku scene. I have shied away from some religious Television broadcaster in the past because in the old days most Television broadcaster where highly Charismatic and “Seed based” guys like Oral Roberts. Now there where exceptions like Billy Graham or local churches who have fine local broadcast. Graham does have a small Roku channel. As I explored the the system I found the most impressive religious Roku channel is run by CBN, They offer news, a lot of talk and the CBN show with Pat Robertson. They also offer several music channels and a lot of material in a on demand setting. TBN also stream all of their stations. When multi-casting came to broadcast TV the TBN folks responded by creating a host of channels in addition to the TBN channel. They have channels in Arabic, Spanish, Russian and a few other channels. They also have a pretty good youth channel called JUCE. They also offer a pretty huge section of on demand stuff from their website. GOD TV also has a channel. It has their various live streams available. This religious broadcaster took off in Europe and is quite charismatic, but is a great place to view the growth of charismatics around the world. Day Star also has a channel and has its feed available. I have also found two fairly conservative stations. One is the His Channel. While most of the others I have listed have a terrestrial television network behind them, His Channel does not. They are into end times prophecy a lot. They also play great ministries from the Calvary Chapel spectrum, and other conservative bible teachers. They simply try to get their signal on lots of devices. They do on demand programming and a live feed like a television station. The station that I think is most appealing to me as a Southern Baptist and all that entails is the NRB channel. This station started on Directv many years ago, apparently has some affiliates on broadcast television and a Roku channel. If you have a favorite ministry that uses television you can probably find it on the web or on a Roku. With this Roku you can sit comfortably and allow the Lord to speak to you.

Good Things from Billy Graham

2014-10-23T22:08:00.000-07:00

I have been a Billy Graham fan all my life. I was saved at Lieghton Ford Crusade. He was a Graham associate. I attended several Billy Graham events and worked at a counselor in a few. What some do not realize is that Billy and his namesake the Billy Graham Evangelistic Organization are still quite active and alive. Recently I found 106.9 FM The Light WMIT of the Blue Ridge Broadcasting. On their website they acknowledge they are a Billy Graham ministry. They also seem to quietly be helping a station in the Middle East that is a satellite station. This station' stream can be found at http://www.brb.org They are an HD station. They are supposed to have a youth oriented station called “the edge.” I have yet to find a stream or a website for it. The Light is a good mix of top contemporary music and ministry. They give you several ways to listen on the net with a windows player, apple or other ways.

Also this time of year Billy's group releases a video special. His “My Hope America” special the “Cross” recorded 100,000 decisions. It played on some broadcasting outlets and released as low cost DVD that folks can play for neighbors or give away. That year folks wondered out loud if that was going to be Billy's last message. Its a powerful video that presents the Gospel in a beautiful way. On www.myhopeamerica.org or https://myhopewithbillygraham.org/ you can get one free video of this year's DVD “Heaven.” The church I pastor, will show “Heaven” around Billy's birthday on November 7^th. I hope people will want to use it in other ways too. I hope I will use it to share the Gospel of Christ.

El Paso Anthony and Las Cruces Christian Stations

2014-09-22T11:47:00.000-07:00

Well I have been away from the blog for awhile. I have moved and have gone back to active church work. I am now the pastor of FBC Anthony, New Mexico. My email of scotttalbert1963@gmail is still the same. With a new move, I wanted to make my first blog a band scan of Christian Stations in the area of El Paso, Texas, Anthony, New Mexico and Las Cruces, New Mexico. One main thing hit me pretty quickly is that as you move around this West Texas, South New Mexico area is that your radio choices will change drastically as you move about. A few factors really contribute to this. Most Christians stations here are satellite stations and low wattage. They get there programming totally from places very far from here. There programming originates in San Francisco, Florida and other distant places. These organizations can easily get station permits for low power stations and fill the major population areas up with there brand of programming. This is ok if you live in down town El Paso or Las Cruces. I will discuss one major exception to this situation later. As always, I am a huge proponent of internet radio with the web, a roku or other streaming instrument or an internet radio. (See earlier post about this or write me.) This allows me to listen to most of these stations even if my regular radio or car radio can not get them. As usual a car radio is your best choice for hearing a lot of these stations as you move about the area.

El Paso Christian Radio

88.1fm – KNMA – Christian Satellite Network, This station actually comes out of Tularosa,NM but can be heard in Anthony, NM with Static. The station originates in Twin Falls, ID and owns other frequencies in the area. They are fairly conservative in there teaching and music. They have a fine website at www.csnradio.com

89.1fm -K206C – KYCC - “Family Radio, Your Christian Companion” These folks are out of Stockton, California broadcasting locally with 10 watts, I can hear them with static in Anthony. They play a mix of music and teaching. WWW.kycc.org is their website. I did check the signal in North West El Paso and they came in fine.

89.3fm – KELP- This is the Las Cruces version of our local religious broadcaster in the are. It come is well with a little static here in Anthony. Lots of teaching and some praise music. 3000 solid watts. It also has a slightly different schedule than its sister stations in El Paso. They broadcast this station from a small town called Mesquite, New Mexico. WWW.kelpradio.com

89.5fm -KKLY – KLOVE – This is the El Paso outlet of the worlds biggest satellite driven Contemporary Christian station out of California. This is a quality station that has 3.500 watts of power for the El Paso listeners. WWW.klove.com Sadly this signal does not work too well in Anthony, but they use a low power outlet here at 102.7fm that works fine. I just have two buttons on the car radio.

90.3fm – K212EO – Christian Satellite Network- This is the same station that appears on 88.1fm from Twin Falls ID. At a raging 5 watts we can not hear it in Anthony. I did listen to this station in North West El Paso

95.1fm – KELP – Records show that KELP owns this frequency but has yet to use it.

91.7fm – K219BX - KEAR “Family Radio” this is another low watt station that originates from San Francisco, California. Looks like teaching. Website is www.familyradio.org I can not hear it in Anthony.

95.9fm – KELP – This is our local El Paso for KELP's am outlet 1590am. It has different programming than its Las Cruses outlet. They mainly have a strong lineup of good teaching shows and Christian radio standards. WWW. kelpradio.com. This is a great signal in El Paso as they have quite a bit of wattage. They seem to have a minor interferance problem as I headed North to New Mexico.

102.7 FM – KKLY- translator for KLOVE. Anthony's only real radio stations. It has a massive 53 watts. It covers the space between El Paso and Las Cruses. WWW.klove.com The station has a steady but noisy signal in town.

91.1Fm – KVER – “Radio Manantial” The best I can tell or research this is the only Spanish FM Christian station in El Paso. I finally heard this station in El Paso proper. I have heard the Las Cruses outlet. WWW.kver.org I believe this is music and teaching. Neither reach me in El Paso.

Las Cruces Christian Radio – I have only heard a handfull of these station by car, but I will verify them later as I go about the area.

88.1fm – Static Radio – Great Christian rock station that has transmitters all over New Mexico. They have a great website for music at www.mystaticradio.com. I really like the sound of this station. They have 250 watts in Las Cruses and should get out all over south Las Cruses. Very good Christian rock and personalities.

88.9fm – KRUC- KVER. “Radio Manantial 500 watts this outlet of KVER sounds better and I have heard it. Once again I believe this is the only Hispanic Christian FM station in the region. WWW.kver.org

89.3fm – KELP for Las Cruces – Once again our only local Christian broadcaster. Lots of teaching and a slightly different lineup than the El Paso outlet. 3000 watts. I can hear it fine in Anthony. WWW.kelpradio.com

89.7fm – Moody Radio – Only in Las Cruces. Satellite station from Chicago, ILL. Great Christian teaching station sponsored by Moody College. 500 watts. WWW.kmbn.org

90.1fm – K211EN Another 6 watt Christian Satellite Network station. They also have a permit for 90.3fm www.csnradio.com

91.9fm - K220gf – WPCS – Pensacola Christian College. A 6 watts its gets out well in Las Cruses. This is a very old fashion Christian radio station with teaching and a noon prayer time. They also have a lot of coral music and Southern Gospel music. WWW.rejoice.org

I present this list to give brothers and sisters in Christ a place to go to be encouraged and built up in the Lord. I will try to listen to all these stations and verify them if possible, in the future. If you know more info on these broadcasters please feel free to contact me at Scotttalbert1963@gmail.com

To find an initial list of any radio stations in any area I like to use http://radio-locator.com/ This site will let you enter a zip and a state. It will give you call signs, website (where you can listen to station most of the time.) and the ability to look up a coverage area and wattage.

A Good Encylopedia of Christian Music and a Great Classic Christian Music Site

2014-04-25T15:43:00.000-07:00

My (Scott Talbert's)

Review of Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music

by Mark Allan Powell

I looked a long time for a complete catalog of Christian Music. I have been a fan of the music since my early teens. It was good to find such a large volume. Honestly I had never heard of the work. I have found other works not comprehensive enough. I think CCM music grew too fast for those involved to write a good work in the earlier years. This volume has some overwhelming positives and a few negatives.

First and foremost, its huge. It has a ton of artist entries. If a person sung or had anything to do with Christian music, you can find it in this book. I am a pretty varied fan of the genre and I found obscure bands and individuals for every taste.

I did find the intro to this book very funny. “Hey I took a years paid sabbatical to listen to music.”

He does give each entry a fairly good history,discography and basic biographical workup. That can be a huge task for some bands in the genre, who change members with every tour or don't exactly publish much information about themselves. His spade and information gathering is to be congratulated.

A few negatives persist. He is very opinionated about certain theological issues in the music. The one I bumped into, was his dislike of songs that mention military themes and victory. He also goes a long way in breaking down lyrics and discussing certain bands to the point of sheer board om. I found some entries more lyrical criticism than just a discussion of a band place in the world of CCM. The more minor the band was the more these discussions could be a waste of time. The last issue I have with the book is one that the writer can not control. With a 2002 publishing date this thing is dated. So much has happened in CCM since 2002. I hope somebody takes this franchise, shortens the editorials a little and makes it even more comprehensive.

Last and minor note. My CD got cracked either by me or on delivery. I did notice that it may be tough to run it on a modern machine. I would like to have tried it.

Lately I have been listening to a internet station at www.ChristianClassicRock.net They play classic Christian Rock from the 70s, 80s and 90s. This was the Christian hard rock that I grew up. Listening to the station is like a walk down memory lane for me. Thankfully growing up in Houston, we had good Christian rock radio, mainly on Saturday nights and some very good concerts like Petra, Resurrection Band, Steve Taylor and others. They play quite a lot of straight metal that’s pretty loud too. Take a listen, Christian rock has a 40 plus year heritage and this station seems to play them all. Also the station has places where you can listen to their other stations with power praise, hard rock, and Christian rock. As you switch to these other streams on the net you will get a website that has more about that stream. You can download their app to your android or i-phone. You can get the station on the Tune In app. You also have a choice of using almost any media player or just getting the mp3 stream to listen to. They really have a good site. This all belongs to a mother site called www.ChristianRock.net They are a non profit based in Springfield, Mo.

A Good Study of the the Growth of Pop Radio -- Amazon review

2014-01-07T15:17:00.001-08:00

This is a review of Ben Fong-Torres book The Hits Just Keep on Coming I wrote and published on Amazon. If you are a history of radio fan like me you may find this is worth picking up. I am honest about what works and does not work in this book.

I want to really like this book. I am a huge radio fan. I write a blog http://offaithandradio.blogspot.com/ on radio and faith issues. I have a job where I can listen to radio of my choosing for 8 hours or more a day. I have read several radio and TV history books. This review is part of trying to publish in this area. I am a fan. As much as I am a fan of radio, I wanted to be a fan of this book.

There are lots of reasons this book is a good reference book on a little written about topic. Fong-Torres gives his personal connection to top 40 radio. Like Fong-Torres, if you like radio you have played DJ with a hairbrush. I have. He then goes on to trace the early rise of DJ s. Pr-recorded music took awhile to get to radio. Records meant firing the orchestras many station used. Eventually DJ s playing popular records grew into what we call the Top 40 format.

Fong-Torres then takes you through the early days of Rock and and Roll. Alan Freed gets good mention. How a Top 40 was developed from record sales gets mentioned. The writer includes Top 40 charts from from 1947-1997. Ben Fong-Torres goes on to exhaustively list everyone of notoriety in this format. I was surprised how many I knew. Fong-Torres later takes up the subject of the transition to Fm from Am. You can barely hear music on Am anymore. HD radio could change that. He even touches on MTV. The book is too old to cover what I believes is the demise of Rock videos and the rise of the internet.

Fong-Torres even includes a cd of DJ samples. He has many of the masters on this CD with the magic of the “patter.” A DJ a good song and great audience could be an awesome thing to hear. Sadly, today we rarely hear more than song title announcement.

Still my big question. Why can't I love this book? It's a great study of a time and age of radio that still speaks to us today. It suffers from two problems. I feel Fong-Torres does not define Top 40 radio. Maybe you know it, when you hear it. He should have given it a try. Second this book is boring. By page 240 plus he has run out great stories. He does a lot of endless telling of where guys were and call sign. “He went from KILT in Houston to KXX in Nevada.” Wake me up when the listings stop. Maybe he could have discussed the rise of the format over and against its demise, but 1997 may have been early for this. As a reference this book gets an A, as interesting book it gets a C Plus.

Its Fall, Get a Real Radio and Have Fun

2013-10-24T05:48:00.004-07:00

I know this blog is about internet radio listening. I hope you have tried to listen to a station that has informed you, built your faith or just had good music. But in my bones I feel fall coming on. Its time to drag out a real radio. Yes a radio that picks up real broadcast and have some fun tuning in some stations that may be pretty distant. To be honest, this is best done late at night with a sensitive receiver like a car radio. Cars are really great places for radios when done right. Manufactures tend to make car radios pretty sensitive. Last night in Houston, Texas I picked up a news station in Atlanta, Georgia. I have only heard the station on standard radio from Texas once in my life.

The internet can play a role in this. If you really want some radio fun you go out to a car on top of a hill and start tuning through the dial. You will be surprised how many stations you will get from how far. As you hear call signs (example wwl, koa, kprc or wbbm) and dial locations (610am or 89.3fm) you can use the internet to get all kinds of info on the station. If you like a station you can all ways listen to it on the net when the atmosphere does not allow you to.

If the car on a hill does not work for you try a transistor radio with a bar antenna. You will know it has one because when you move around it will seem to change channels even though you have not moved the tuner. The bar antenna is very directional. I have pulled stations in Chicago, St Louis and Tennessee with an old Sony walkman that had a cassette and fairly good digital tuner in it.

Now for those who want to go deep in this. This is where I temp you to buy a short wave radio and have at it. Ok, I am an old Radio Shack guy. This type of radio is not dead yet. Many good religious broadcasters still use shortwave to get there message out to the world and parts of the world where shortwave is still the radio of choice over long distances and very little local radio. My only advice is to start off cheap. Small shortwave radios can give you a taste of what is on. Once again the internet is a radio's best friend. You can use this to buy a good radio or identify what you are are listening to. Also some good books and magazines are available on the subject. Spoiler alert. If what you are listening to is any good, usually you can get it on the net clearer and easier to hear or where you can dictate the time you listen to it. If you have strong urge to consider shortwave listening, drop me an email at scotttalbert1963@outlook.com

Also I have found that scanning also gets a little better with the coming of fall. This is a radio that tunes police, fire, and other things. I have been listening to a near by school districts bus drivers chatter. They think they are alone. Once again the net is a great short cut on scanning. You can Google or use Tune In to listen to public servants around the country.

Last of all, why care. As you know I come to the hobby of listening to broadcast as a Christian. Christians broadcasters tend to use all the media above, save scanning, (You can pray over what you hear on a scanner) to get their messages out. By playing with a radio you might hear an uplifting song or preacher or idea that God uses to change your life, that would be a great fall blessing. Yours in Jesus.

Ramadan Radio Update and our Prayer Burden

2013-07-30T13:55:00.002-07:00

This time of the year is very holy to our Muslim friends. They are celebrating Ramadan. As a Christian I am praying they will come to know the freedom and the purity only Christ can give them. When I see my Muslim friends in traditional dress I am prompted to pray for them. I urge you to do the same. While watching CNN, I saw a long form commercial for QFradio FM 91.7 add. This is a local radio station in the country of Qatar. They have an excellent streaming site at http://qfradio.com/player They play very contemporary Muslim oriented music. This should be a call to all Christians to pray for our Muslim friends to have visions of Christ and form relationships with caring Christians in foreign lands and right here at home. John 14:6 tells us that Jesus says “I am the road, also the truth, also the life. No one gets to the Father apart from me. If you really knew me, you would know my father as well... “ (The Message) The complete spiritual journey for our Muslim friends will start and finish with Christ as their Lord. In this special month let us pray for our Muslim friends, make Muslim friends and pray that many Muslims come to know Jesus as the way to God.

Great Christian Radio in Houston, Texas

2013-07-17T14:22:00.000-07:00

I think I have pointed out that I live in Houston, Texas, USA. This is a rich, deep religious part of the world. As a Christian media fan and user I benefit from a fine selection of local stations. We have a mix of network and originally programmed stations. If you live in a market lacking one of this kind of choices please use one of ours.

I like to do local band scans. Sometimes I just log the amount of radio stations I can get in one place. Its amazing whats available on just your car radio (best) or any radio. You can discover more choices every time you push the tuner button or wheel.

In big markets you can focus on a type of station. With the help of the net you can gain information about power and location. (Huge when listening to terrestrial stations) With the internet, you can also listen to stations that might be in your area, but are too weak to really hear well. I have done these for Austin Texas and Houston. Each time I discover new things about my local stations.

A practical thing about the list is the ability to use the text to link to those broadcasters and listen to some God honoring radio, though this new medium of computers.

For organizational reason I simply went across the FM band then the AM band. In most cases the “listen” button on the site will take you to audio of the station. If that was a problem, I gave you an alternative. When wanting to listen to one station in a place a website and a listen button usually solves most issues.

88.1 FM and AM 980 station is owned by Radio Aleluya.

There web site is found at http://radioaleluya.org/ The station plays Spanish Christian music and ministry. The website is not very mature yet. I found a site to stream audio http://streema.com/radios/Radio_Aleluya_KRTX This one may be a mystery for awhile. With 100,000 the max, the station's 700 watt ERP makes it very low power. The AM 980 signal is better on most days. They are also an HD3 some where on the FM dail. (103.3 KAMA, I believe)

American Family Radio on 88.3 is out of Conroe, Texas but comes in all over Houston. They are found at http://www.afa.net/Radio/ on the net. This signal is a clone of what is on the local channel if the channel is a full network station, which 88.3 is. This channel is mainly conservative Christian commentary on politics and other issues.

89.3fm, 96.9 fm (way west of town) KSBJ, now thirty years old. The station plays great contemporary Christian music. This is a nationally recognized station that is a favorite of many foreign listeners. The station is found at http://www.ksbj.org/ if you have trouble launching the

listening pop up, they have a link straight to their mp3 file. Lots of power, locally with a 100,000 Watt ERP.

NGEN 89.3hd2. You will need a HD radio to listen to this on radio. This station plays very youth oriented music for kids and the Christian rockers among us. The stations net address is

http://www.ngenradio.com/ This station has a large internet following and was rolled out to play on many media players. Like many stations “there is an app for that.”

KJIC 90.5fm from Santa Fe, Tx can mainly be heard South of Houston, Its letters stand for K Jesus is coming http://kjic.org/ The website is good to listen to along with a link to worship and praise. A 36,000 Watt ERP means this station is really a rimshot to Houston. This station was the town's Southern Gospel channel, but it has widened its music a little.

KKHT The Word at 100.7, This is a Salem broadcasting Network station with brokered Christian ministries. http://www.kkht.com/. You will find many mainsrteam ministries at this stations. Located East of Houston the station is weak on Houston's west side, despite its 100,000 watt ERP.

KMJQ hd2 praise houston, you will need a HD radio to get this one

http://praisehouston.com/ This is African American worship music. It was a station at 92.1 FM, but it was moved to 102.1 FM's hd2 slot. You can use the “listen” button to get to station audio. It will take awhile to load.

KHJK, 103.7fm was an old Jack format station that was bought by Air one. This is the Hot AC Christian station of the KLOVE national family of stations. They are a rimshot to Houston out of La Port, Texas. The station's network clone can be found at http://www.air1.com/

This is a national network that plays up tempo Christian music.

KHCB is Houston's oldest Christian broadcaster at 105.7, She has a great signal all over town.

They are found at http://www.khcb.org/ On their site you can get the station's various quality levels of internet signal. (Rare today.) This non political religious broadcaster plays mainly church music and features many preachers around town and the nation. They are well respected in the town. They have a great signal all over Houston.

KWWJ 1360am keep walking with Jesus, This is a 25 year old African American station.

They are found at http://www.kwwj.org/ The studio is found in Baytown, Texas.

They play Gospel music and some local preachers. With 5000 watt daytime, 1000 night time you can listen good during the day and not as much at night. This is where the web helps low power Am's.

Radio Amistad, Hispanic Religious Radio, sister to KHCB, 1400am, League City, Texas

The stations web page is found http://www.radioamistad.net/

You will need http://www.radioamistad.net/index.php option=com_content&view=article&id=19&Itemid=6 to listen live to various quality streams. 1000 watts daytime, 1000 watts night time means this station is really local to South Houston. This station was set up by KHCB and is broadcast into several Hispanic areas.

KSHJ 1430am EWTN Gaudelupe Radio network, Catholic Radio, This organizations owns stations based in various parts of the US.

The networks net address is http://grnonline.com/

Use http://tunein.com/radio/KSHJ-1430-s32115/ to get the local feed.

Part of EWTN global radio network. 5000 watts day time, 1000 watts night time.

If I have missed your favorite Houston Christian outlet contact me at scotttalbert1963@gmail.com

Radio, Disasters and Prayer

2013-06-13T14:40:00.003-07:00

Hello, its been a long time since I have been able to post on this blog. My work schedule has me very busy and tired. I have hoped to use this blog to discuss radio and faith. I have made internet a huge part of this because it allows a huge amount of radio for basically no cost. In the last months our hearts have been moved to pray for folks in Boston, Moore and West. Internet radio can be a blessing because it can get you close to the action and prayerful quickly.

When I heard about the bombing at the marathon my heart just sank. I found WBZ a 24 news station out of Boston on www.vtuner.com The day after the bombing the station went with “wall to wall” with coverage. This term means they went 24 hour in their coverage of the problems that ensued. Quickly we began to hear of whole communities on lock down. We also heard up to the minute reports of the capture of the suspects. With that data a person could be praying for the suspects, the victims, the community members and the police.

I have visited the tiny town of West, in central Texas. Its a great place to stop and get food. It is situated north of Waco, Texas. It does not have a real radio station. This year a plant that produces fertilizer blew up and destroyed many homes with the blast of a bomb. KWTX out of nearby Waco, Texas swung into action. They also went wall to wall for several days. They tried to coordinate

needs and offerings to this tiny community. The community was overwhelmed with rescue workers and gifts right after the blast. This station can be found on www.iheartradio.com Radio is a great tool in disasters of this kind. Praying was something a person far from the disaster could do. The stories alone made a person of prayer seek God for this small town many times.

Later we all heard of the massive tornadoes that struck Moore, OK. This huge town lost two schools and many homes were simply cleaned off their foundations. Once again the streets became clogged with folks who wanted to help and other folks who had lost everything. KYOK 1000am was on the ground in a heartbeat. You can also find them on www.iheartradio.com They also became a huge part of getting donors to the needs. They also did a good job of redirecting overflow giving to other effected communities nearby. The praying was easy. Needs, problems and complaints came out on the radio.

The bible tells us to be constant in prayer. This does not mean driving down the street with our eyes shut and hands raised. This does mean that we are in a place where we can speak to God as we hear needs around us. This may be at work, with friends or even listening to the radio. Also in all the above cases we were told how to give and who to give to in each situation.

What is the take away dear readers? When you hear about a big disaster in a far away place, you can prayerfully listen in though this gift of radio. Using local radio gets us close to the needs. When you hear the stories let your heart approach the throne of grace in intercession.

Some closing ideas. This was not available several years ago. If a big disaster happened you had to wait for blurbs on the national news. With internet radio you can have the same radio a local care provider is using. Yes the information is interesting, but add prayer to that and you can be doing your part in the recovery. Also to be constant in prayer you need to constantly maintain your relationship with the Lord. This may require a daily time with the Lord. As you do this you will be surprised how easy it is to fall into prayer as you hear needs.

Just a few technical notes.

Internet radio providers are getting plentiful. If you are new to this hobby. Try www.iheartradio.com. Www.vtunter.com, or Google Tune in Radio. I just found www.sky.fm with 40 plus free stations. Google internet radio and have fun. You can also just go to radio station' website and hit the “listen” button. Also internet radio has escaped from your computer speakers. Good free radio is available on Roku players and smart tvs. A roku is a box that streams audio and video to your tv. Smart tvs are beginning to come out that have apps for radio or music services. If you have the net, both are just a simple upgrade away. Your cell phone can also get many internet radio stations. Watch the data or be near a router when you do this. This is the new radio listening. No longer are we attached to radios with bad reception or no reception. Just Google and listen. I do not endorse any of the above websites for consideration. Oh did I mention Christian Radio. Preaching and all kinds of music are available to the listener who is willing to search. Try Googling Hip Hop Christian music.

Gospel Music from India

2013-01-18T05:14:00.001-08:00

This week I found a small set of internet radio stations called the verve network. You can find this network at http://radioverve.com/ When you go to this website you will be presented with a set of a dozen or so stations you can listen to. They offer everything from Rock, electronic to many local flavors of music. The information I could find about this site said it was on hiatus. The information also claimed the site was set up with open software and only featured unsigned musicians from India. I found the station with vutner.com and the gospel station has everything from hard rock, gospel to praise music. Most is in English and some sounds downright like Southern Gospel. Lots of it features a vocal lead and what is probably an electronic organ. Some of the music sounds very Indian and is in one of their many languages.

This station raises a great question for a Christian internet music fan. How much Christian music is being produced in India? Especially if this is a sample of the unsigned artist, I was impressed by the variety and quality of the music. I used this discovery as a chance to pray for Indian Christians and their music. I would also like to know the status of Christian music in India. This has caused me to want to research the whole issue of Christian music in the worlds largest English speaking democracy. I know that some parts of the country are comfortable with this expression and some parts of the country do not like the Christian faith.

If you read this and have something to contribute I will be happy to write some more on this topic. I have found other Indian outlets but this is the most interesting so far. The best information I found on the station seemed to be at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RadioVeRVe

New Radio toys for Christ

2012-12-30T14:40:00.001-08:00

I hope my handful of readers had a good Christmas and will have a great new year. This Christmas I got a Roku HD unit for my Christmas gift. This box allow streaming on most any TV. The TV in question can have a HDMI connection. This cord usually runs from a video item like a Blue-Ray player or a better cable box to your modern flat screen TV or monitor. Some computers have an HDMI out too. This allows the Roku HD to put out in 720p resolution. Most of what it streams is well below that. It can hook to an older screen with the old red, white and yellow cords that carry left and right audio and video. (I did not check that option out.) Once hooked up to power and TV, the box will automatically fire up. (No power switch.) The Roku is about the size of a thick sandwich and can sit by your TV. This box may (and I say may) be the future of TV. You do have to have a good high speed internet connection for this wireless device to work. This box displays various “channels” on your TV. Most people will use it to stream Netflix movies to their TVs. It will show films in 720p witch is an upgrade from a WII at 480p. (Best Netflix machine is probably a Sony Playstation 3 at 1080p) It also is easy to listen to the Pandora web based music service on this box too. With that program you just enter a person, band or type of music you like and it does the rest. Its very easy to use, but just music.

“Scott, Scott stop, what does this have to do with radio or faith?” Lots, As I stated the little box is streaming box. Several channel apps have been developed for radio. The Tune In radio app and Shoutcast (grand daddy of internet radio apps) work great on this little box. You pull up the Tune In channel, punch in call letters like my favorite KSBJ, and it will give you that station and its HD2 NGEN. Other search options are available to find Christians stations.

This device also can pull TV stations if the station has been made an available stream on Roku. For people of faith this is really cool. I found all the TBN TV stations and several more stations on offer. If you like those stations and do not want to pay a satellite bill to get them, this box is perfect for internet users. Air One has its own little channel that makes tuning to their fine Christian rock radio station a breeze. You just punch the channel and play. The artist is displayed while it plays. Many large churches and even some smaller ministries have also used the Roku to stream services live and put up clips. I found my own church sermon streaming on Viemo video channel.

I also found seprate channels for the BBC TV and audio, Fox audio and video clips. Like any internet item it can be used for porn and other media you may not want exposure to. You can control who adds channels with a pass code.

If you go out and buy one of these boxes you will find a very limited channel offering on their website (which you will need to set up an account on.) The fun of this thing is finding “private” channels. The Roku must be based on open source programming. Anyone can get the developers pack put up a channel and stream something. The developer is then responsible for promoting the channel and publishing a simple code so it can be activated from the Roku website. Some of the best Roku channels are private. You can find list and sites on the internet with a simple search. Start with picking channels off the Roku site. Those are “public” channels. Then look for “Private” channels and put in some codes.

This box for a one time fifty dollar payment is a must for internet radio fans. There are some services that want you to subscribe. You simply can choose not to load them. I did find a Christian network as a pay channel. The Roku people wil require a credit card number to hold, in case you charge a channel or buy a game. (Yep games too.) You can get the several versions of a Roku box. Most sites say this verson or an older LT box is fine. The better ones come with some neat upgrades including 1080p. Next time we will look at Windows 8. At first look it is making internet radio easier.

2012-10-16T13:26:00.002-07:00

A Christian station in Seattle Washington and Listening to the World to inform your faith

I have been busy with work. The great thing about my job is I can listen to terrestrial radio all night in the car. On a great radio e mail newsletter called RadioInfo.com, I noticed that they mentioned Spirit 105.3 KCMS in Seattle, Washington. The station just got a new programming person Matt Stockman, who was working in Christian radio consulting in Spain, Sweden and Nigeria. Sounds like missions to me. The newsletter is available to anyone who wants it and wants to keep up with the business of radio.

So I tuned in KCMS though the net. They seem to have a great play list and good on air personalities. Their internet signal must be fairly high quality. They are owned by Christa Broadcasting which is a part of Christa ministries. You can find them at www.spirit1053.com If you knock around a little you can also find a internet Christian rock station, a praise station, and a ministry station owned by them too. Personally I just like finding stations that are reaching major markets and Seattle/ Tacoma is a big place. I will be praying for this group of stations as they reach the North West. If you live in their town check out their concert and festival listings.

Now on to another positive thing about radio on the net. English is a great language. The British and the US to some extent have spread it far and wide. With internet radio you can listen to radio that originates in many places in the world that speak English with wonderful accents. You may ask the question why do I want to listen to music and news from Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, Britain (really good radio), Ghana, India, Australia, New Zealnd and the Philippines. There are more counties, that is just the ones I know I have listened to. The best way to find out about cultures is to listen to them talk to their own. This can be amazing stuff. As a Christian, I know many of the places I just named need constant prayer. A great way to be aware of what they are doing is to listen in with near perfect sound. I have heard Christian stations in most of these countries. The news from a place can be an eye opener. As a Christian called to minister to the world around us, this is a great way to listen to it. A great starter for a person wishing to expand their horizons is http://www.citifmonline.com/ This is citi fm's website. From their you can listen to this secular station and read news about this African Nation. One of my favorite non US Christian stations is Life FM out of New Zealand. http://www.lifefm.co.nz Their website looks like any Christian radio station out of the US. Their music is pretty upbeat. They also offer a worship stream if you wish. I urge you to listen to the main stream to get the flavor of the place. Another station that I have found is Two Oceans VibeRadio in Johannesburg, South Africa. They are an internet only stations aimed at a local market but available to the world. A few years ago, South Africa decided not to have a bloody revolution by getting rid of rules controlling the lives of the majority of their citizens. This has caused some problems and situations. This station probably a product of the present reality of this fine country at the tip of the world. There url is www.2oceansviberadio.com Another South African secular station is http://www.highveld.co.za Highveld radio. She is a terrestrial that has been around a long time. I just bumped into a fine DAB+ (Australian digital radio) Christian station called Inspire. You can find it at www.inspiredigitalradio.com

2012-09-14T07:10:00.000-07:00

How to be a child of God Video by David Howell

This is a video of an actual illustrated book that is being shared in prisons and rehabs. It really tells how to get saved, and grow in Christ. The artwork is compelling and the narration is beautiful. One could share it with unsaved friends or coworkers. It is about 20 minutes long and you should have a good internet connection as it is a video.

2012-09-05T10:29:00.001-07:00

What to do on churchless Sundays, a discovery and an update.

At this time I am excited to see that 368 people have viewed the page. Today I want to give an update about me, a good radio thing for people away from church on Sunday and a neat accidental discovery I made.

Things are looking up for me and the family as a church has finally expressed an interest in me being their pastor. This blog started when I between churches. This has been a time of relying on the Lord and learning. Your prayers are requested at this time for my career as a pastor to restart. I hope to keep up the blog as radio and faith are really my only two interest.

That post leads me to my next subject. While not pastoring I have been a security guard at a local Wal Mart. I drive a car around the parking lot and I am allowed to listen to the radio. On the occasion of working on a Sunday I decided not to let that totally take me out of worship. At 8AM I tuned in Joel Osteen, of Lakewood on KKDA, 99.1FM “Sunny” in Houston. I think it can be accessed on vtuner.com At 9:30 I tuned in Second Baptist with Ed Young and at 11 I tuned in First Baptist with Greg Matte. These where on KHCB, 105.7 FM, Houston, it can also be accessed through vtuner.com I am not a big fan of Osteen, but he has the largest church in town and is very positive. Ed is a prince of preachers in the US and was speaking on family. Greg Matte always has a good message and is ministering to thousands of young families with dynamic messages. This did not replace church. People are a huge part of church, but I was fed by God's word and in the last two I got to sing with the people as these are full service recordings for folks like me and shut ins. Thank God for old fashioned radio in Houston, Texas.

Next a simple discovery. I was playing with vtuner.com and found Hindi Christian Music at the top of the India listing. The music has a wonderful Hindi influenced sound. Some English is thrown in. The voice station ids are randomly thrown in and a little annoying, but I will trust the developer. Their website can be accessed at www.hindichristianmusic.com It did not do to well when I went to it. It refused my email and only some parts are functional. Who knows, Satan, time, or problems may be happening. It plays very well on a UM Player from vtuner.com and ok from their site. Great music. You may be tempted to swing, sway and worship our God who wants all to be saved.

Please write me and tell me if this stuff is informative or helpful. God Bless

scotttalbert1963@gmail.com.

2012-07-18T17:24:00.001-07:00

The land of blessing and Big Questions in Houston

I live in Houston. For years this has been a one contemporary Christian music town. Over thirty years ago KSBJ was born out of the prayers of believers who began to seek outlets for Christian music. Commercial stations had been tried and failed. Christian music does not have a great track record of commercial stations. An exceptions may be KLTY in Dallas. The Christian community in Houston has been blessed with this outlet for many years. (www.ksbj.org) With the advent of online and HD radio, KSBJ proudly introduced NGEN to the public last year. This station plays youth oriented music and plays a lot of music KSBJ does not chose to play. NGEN (www.ngenradio.com) came out about a year ago online and as an HD2 Station last year. Because KSBJ has acquired a new terrestrial (real analog fm station) and some translators (low power fm stations) NGEN is now an HD-2, internet, smart phone and translator station. She is gaining a regular audience spread out around the Houston area.

This story has a real interesting twist now. The guys at EMF (Educational Media Foundation), the owners of the national network KLOVE (www.klove.com) have brought their rock oriented AIR1(www.air1.org) to town on a terrestrial frequency. EMF is huge in the Christian music world. If your town does not have a locally run station, you probably have a klove outlet near by. If that has done well then a AIR1 may also be near by. These stations also do huge internet broadcasting and rank well in listened to hours.

The elephant in the room may be “Is Houston big enough for these two music ministries?” Houston all ready supports KHCB(www.khcb.org) a teaching station that is one of the oldest Christian stations in town. A couple of commercial teaching outlets, and an AFR station, and a few others. Like many Texas towns they are donor money rich and Houston is a huge town.

Now some of my ideas and my ideas alone.

KSBJ is a fine Christians station. She actively ministers in the community she has chosen to call home. She is well know and well respected. She has been about the number 4 station in our markets for years. She has tried to have a presence in this town and on the street for 30 years. She has a huge reach from the Louisiana border to Victoria, this is most the upper Texas Gulf Coast. She has been an internet broadcaster for a long time and has a great signal strength in town and through a newly acquired sister frequency. She does have a tightly controlled play list that makes her attractive to females and older listeners. She will not lose this audience any time soon. She and NGEN do have an absolute stranglehold on concerts in the area. You can try to promote a Christian concert, but she just has the best machinery to do this. I have to think this has built up some folks who are not happy about this. Buddy Holiday wanted a good premium powered station to minister to the town, they have it and will have it as long as God blesses it. To over simplify her sound is to say she is the light rock station of the Christian music world of Houston.

Air1's parent EMF has some positives too. Experience and lots of cash. They have bought a rim shot (Close by station) outlet that can be heard over most of Houston. They play a harder format than KSBJ or their parent KLOVE. Sadly, my experience of KLOVE in Austin and Midland is that they can not be too involved in the community. They headquarters in California. They do a local events calendar and sometimes concert promotions. I would be stunned to see them do much in Houston. Will they stay? Are they testing the water? I just bet we will see a few bumper stickers and that will be that. It does not cost a lot to run a station with a satellite and transmitter and no studios. Their format is comparable to a straight CHR station with rock and very little rap. They do produce good dj driven rock radio. It is very good with djs around the clock.

NGEN is great stuff if you are young and young at heart. She plays rap and some pretty hard rock. She plays little the big sister plays. KSBJ has bent over backward to promote NGEN. NGEN started as an HD2, internet and low power fm station. She has gained some more translator and is being heard by a larger terrestrial audience. (Lets face it, you have not heard of too many single station internet broadcasting giants, but this is changing.) She is gaining folks who listen to her. She is the most youth oriented of the bunch. Think of her as a little sister among a big sister and a new kid in town. She will and can win the youth vote. She has djs most of the time, except on the overnight.

So, is their a pink elephant in the room? Not really, if all concerned just stick to their game. The town can support three stations of varying formats. If one of the three gets greedy, things may change. The scriptures are good here too. In Mark 9:38-41the disciples saw another person ministering in Christ name. They really wanted to stop the competition. Jesus said if they where honoring His name and working with power, leave them alone. In Acts the Jewish church wishes Paul well as he ministered to whole different bunch. Both had a place in God's plan. First Corinthians 3:5-9 is good here too. Let each minister and build up the body. Its all about God, not radio stations. Houston is just a blessed place for Christian Music, just pray for the ministries that are doing it now.