I want to switch on the news at the right time in automation

For more details on setting up running orders, you should consult the AutoTrack documentation, the latest version of which can be downloaded from http://www.psquared.net/support

In simple terms, taking news at the top of an hour is done in two phases. Firstly the end of the Running Order / Clock for the hour that is coming to the end is responsible for backtiming to the correct time, playing the news in jingle and switching on the IRN hardware control. The example below assumes that the news is at the top of the hour and that hardware line 17
turns IRN on and off.


Item Type: Cart
Action: 10
Description: News In Jingle

Item Type: Ab Time
Action: 59:59:50
Description: Time Marker

Item Type: Hrdw 17
Action: Set
Description: Set News Hardware Swicth


This will then backtime Cart number 10 such that the Extro occurs at 59min, 59 seconds and 50 hundredths of a second in to the hour (the end in other words). Finally, it will 'set' hardware line 17 which is wired in to the IRN audio switcher which will in turn switch the news on.

The second section of the overall job is done by the start of the Running Order / Clock of the next hour in the Schedule. It's job is to wait for the duration of the News, then turn it off and carry on with the audio in the hour. To do that, the start of the next Running Order should look something like this:

Item Type: Ab Time
Action: 02:00:00
Description: Time Marker

Item Type: Hrdw 17
Action: Clear
Description: Clear News Hardware Swicth

Item Type: Song
Action: A-List
Description: First Song In Hour


This will make the system wait for 2 minutes exactly before clearing hardware line 17 to turn off IRN before playing the first song or jingle in the hour (in this case a Song from the A-List).

The above example is designed as a guide on how you should set out your Running Order only. For specific information on how to do this in AutoTrack, please refer to the AutoTrack documentation.

You can also use a Cart on the Audio Wall that has harwdare marks attached to specific points in the Cart to switch the news on and off. See Alternative News Cart method in this FAQ.


Search key words: IRN, INN, Sky News, automation, news, harwdare, external source, absolute time, back timed, top of hour.

Liam Burke - Broadcast Radio Ltd

Email: liamb@broadcastradio.com

Telephone: +44 1482 383700