I stopped by the National Conference for Media Reform in Boston Saturday, and attended some panels on local journalism that made a difference and how established, magazine-style organizations are making waves on the web.
I also learned how audio cables work — and how to make one — from the folks at the Prometheus Radio Project, a non-profit organization committed to literally building community radio stations from the ground up.
They started us off with our own lengths of 3 conductor audio cable, two mini 1/8 inch (3.5mm) plugs and some razors and wire strippers. It was as simple as connecting the red wire, black wire and ground wire to their appropriate conductors, after which we would solder them together nice and clean. Which is to say it wasn’t as simple as it sounded. Turns out it takes some practice and a lot of patience to strip the wires clean, and to make sure all the connections are snug and that none of the wires are crossed.
That’s mine up top there, and as you can see I didn’t get around to soldering it together in the time I had, but they let me take it home with me. One of my roommates is an electrical engineer and has his own soldering kit, so I’ll post the results when he’s around to make sure I don’t burn the house down.
In the meantime, I tried my Frankenstein stereo cable out by hooking my phone up to the Zoom H2. You see those audio levels on the Zoom? It lives!
Thanks to the fine folks at Free Press for putting on the conference, and Prometheus for trusting me with sharp things.
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