How To Do a Call-In Radio Show Using Your Blast Box

There are lots of audio setups that will work, but below is one path you can take, focused on simple, affordable solutions that will all result in a professional-sounding interview. 

Another option would be to use the Blast Radio Desktop Broadcasting App for broadcasting a Call-in Radio Show from your computer/laptop. (See here: How To Do a Call-In Radio Show with Blast Radio Desktop Broadcasting App with sound isolation and How To Do a Call-In Radio Show with Blast Radio Desktop Broadcasting App without sound isolation)

Here’s what you’ll need: 

1. Your Blast Box 
2. A simple audio mixer/interface
3. A microphone 
4. Your phone 
5. 1 headphone-to-dual 1/8" cable for your phone (and a dongle if you use an iPhone) 
6. 1 cable to connect to your mixer/interface if you're planning on having background music

First, your audio interface/mixer:

The mixer allows you to route multiple audio sources to one central location. From there, you can connect the entire setup to your Blast Box. You likely already have a mixer, but if you don’t, even the most basic options have multiple inputs for different audio sources. 

• This guide fromThe Wire Realm has a variety of options ranging from $200-$1,000 
• Or you can go with something as simple as this Behringer mixer for $40 

Next, connect your mic to the mixer:

Your mic will likely have either an XLR output or an RCA output. Either of those will run into the mixer and allow you to control the levels on that channel. 

Next, connect any other audio sources:

You can go for a simple interview style broadcast but if you'd like to incorporate other audio sources in your call-in radio show suck as some background music using a computer, record player, or instrument, connect that to the mixer as well. A computer can be connected with either (1) a simple headphone-to-RCA cable into an RCA input like this one for $8 (2) or a headphone-to-dual 1/8" cable into an actual mixing channel like this one for $9.   

Next, connect your phone audio:

You can put your phone on speaker and hold it next to the microphone you're using, but that will likely result in poor audio quality, making it hard for your listeners to really understand your caller. The better option is to route your phone’s audio into your mixer. 

• For iPhone: Use a simple dongle like this one for $20 that will take the audio from your phone. Connect to the mixer with either a simple headphone-to-RCA cable into an RCA input like this one for $8ora headphone-to-dual 1/8" cable into an actual mixing channel - like this one for $9.
• For Android:Same as above, but you can probably skip the dongle and just go straight through the headphone out jack.  

This way, when you talk into your phone and and your guest’s responses will be channeled into the mixer. 

Finally, connect the mixer to your Blast Box

Blast Box has a simple RCA input that will let you connect any audio source to it. Use any basic RCA-to-RCA cable to connect the mixer to your Blast Box. 

That’s it - you’re ready. 

Do a few test runs by having friends call you while you’re in Sound Check mode. Play with your levels on the mixer until you get a sound you like. After that, you’re ready to host your own call-in show.