Using the Stream Deck as a Modern Cartwall

18 Jul 2024

When I began DJing at WBOR 91.1 FM we used iTunes (now Music.app) to play pre-recorded Public Service Announcements (PSAs). While it got the job done, the interface had shortcomings:

It took DJs time to locate and open the PSA folder
It took DJs time to clear or update their playback queue
Finally, DJs needed to ensure that after a PSA finished playing that the next track in the playlist didn’t accidentally also start (in many cases, a PSA would finish and then the first second or two of the next PSA in the queue would play until the DJ noticed and intervened).

Traditionally, professional radio stations have a dedicated touchscreen monitor with a specialized “cartwall” playout software for playing PSAs/Jingles/Station IDs/Idents. As a college station with non-technical volunteer DJs (and a constrained budget), a touchscreen was out of the picture.

While working at my school’s events production office, I became aware of the Bitfocus Companion Software for the Stream Deck. In a brief conversation with my boss, I realized that the Stream Deck could also be used for audio playout.

With 3D printing support from our campus Maker Space, I was able to get a Stream Deck tripod mount holder made. I then put this on an adjustable articulating arm meant for small monitors, attached to a quick release plate mounted to the desk. All together, we now had a semi-professional and programmable soundboard:

To configure the Stream Deck to our needs, I set up three pages:

Home
PSAs
SFX

The home page serves as the entry point when DJs arrive at the studio. It includes a button to open the PSAs and SFX folders as well as shortcuts to our station website, calendar, and the log-in to our backend logging software.

Inside each folder are a grid of buttons, each with an icon and label. In our case, the PSA labels match what is in our logging software for quick and convenient logging:

The Stream Deck software includes some basic audio processing to clean things up around the edges, such as fade in/out and gain adjustment to match unity on the audio console (and not blow a listener’s ears out!).

Both the PSA and SFX page are include a button to return to home, and will automatically go there after a minute of inactivity.

Hopefully other stations can find use out of this relatively inexpensive and easy to set up solution!