Night Lights - Download Possible?

[BeBop]

Is it possible to somehow 'store' the broadcasts from Night Lights. I've become a total addict, and I now have the flexibility in my life to carry a laptop or MP3 player from time to time. But I seldom have an internet connection, especially a high-speed one.

[Uncle Skid]

Short answer: yes.

Night Lights is indeed a great show! (Thanks, Ghost!)

Longer, technical answer: the archives are stored in real audio format. If you click on an archive link, it is a small (.ram) file. This file is just a (text) link to the actual full program, a real audio (.rm) file.

This .rm file can be saved to your hard drive, and then played without being connected to the internet: Right click on an archived program, and then save the link as a file. Open that file with a text editor (notepad, etc), and copy that link into your browser. Save the .rm file.

It is also possible to convert a real audio file to MP3.

[Peter Johnson]

It is also possible to convert a real audio file to MP3.

If you don't mind my asking, how?

I've been wanting to "save" night lights as well...

Thanks!

[couw]

this little freeware ditty seems to do the trick.

Get the link to the .rm file as described by Uncle Skid: save the .ram file from the archive list to your harddisk (Windows: right click > save link as), open it in a text editor (Windows: right click, [open with] > [Editor]) to find the address of the .rm file*. Copy this address to your clipboard (Windows: select with mouse and hit ctrl+c). Open the Free_RM_MP3_Converter programme and hit the [Add Files] button. Instead of browsing for a file, paste the web-address of the .rm file in the box (Windows: hit ctrl+v). The programme will download the .rm file to your harddisk (in the temporary internet files folder) and when it's done it will ask you for .mp3 settings. Select a proper place to save the .mp3 and hit the [start] button.

Twiddle your thumbs some while it finishes.

*actually this seems to be the same as the .ram file, but with .rm instead of .ram as extension

[Big Al]

Thank you! Thank you! THANK YOU!!!!!

[Uncle Skid]

couw's way looks pretty easy -- let us know if that worked.

I took a slightly longer route: under Linux, I wrote a script that 1) reads the .ram file, 2) downloads the .rm file, 3) converts the .rm to .wav, and finally 4) encodes the .wav to .mp3 (using LAME).

This is kind of a round about way of doing it, but it's nice to have the .wav files in case I ever need to burn a CD. In fact, a fellow board member was interested in hearing the Henry Grimes show, and the easiest thing to do was just burn a CD for him.

[.:.impossible]

I was sort of afraid of legal issues. Ghost, is this cool?

[BeBop]

I was sort of afraid of legal issues. Ghost, is this cool?

I guess I'd considered this, but dismissed it, perhaps prematurely. To me, it seems like the datastream is out there for public consumption. There aren't any real commercial considerations, that I see. It's a matter of choosing the device or means by which to listen.

Obviously, I've no commercial intentions. (I might let some local in Burkina Faso listen in )

I suppose I should pledge WFIU. (That'd be three public radio stations.)

Am I rationalizing?