It really takes time to recover from a full-blown crash of the previous program automation system — and I can tell you, the resurrection has been anything but easy.
I made the decision to rebuild everything from scratch, tailoring the new system entirely to my own needs and wishes, putting all commercial software aside.
I knew this wouldn’t be an easy road, but still — in just one Sunday afternoon, I managed to cobble together a very simple jukebox-style automation that already handles both music playback and station IDs. It came together surprisingly well, and now the station can run in jukebox mode completely on its own, while I keep coding in the background with steam coming out of my ears. Not bad for a start.
The next challenge is figuring out how the actual show programming logic should work — and then building some kind of user interface with all the necessary options. Once that’s done, it’s time to code the final version of the automation’s “brains”.
All this nerding, tinkering, and coding takes time, so the original plan of launching scripted, themed shows is — well — significantly delayed.
But hey, we’ve got time. All the time in the universe. (See? Still sticking with the space theme!)
So no “Danger, Will Robinson!” here — this is more of a “Look at the size of that thing!” moment. 🤓