Fundraiser for the Lunduke Studio

It’s time to build a full, nice studio for my shows (including a new, nightly, radio show) — it’s going to be amazing — and I need your help to do it.

Progress Update (Nov 10th, 11:20pm)

Goal #1: $405 / $2,051

Goal #2: $0 / $1,367

Goal #3: $0 / $178

Contribute via Patreon — Contribute via PayPal using “Tip Jar” on the right

The Quick Version

The old recording PC that I’ve been using has died.  This is both sad (as I relied on it in order to produce videos and podcasts) and awesome (as it was old and crummy and I needed to build a new studio setup anyway).

I’m also now in a position to begin hosting a nightly radio show.  Yes.  Nightly.  On the radio.  I’ll be able to preach the good word of Free Software, Free Culture, open standards, & copyright reform to the masses.

But, of course, in order to do that I need to set up a dedicated studio in my home.  I have the room set aside — now I need to find a way to cover the costs of the gear… something that I simply cannot accomplish on my own.

That’s where all of you come in.  I’m asking everyone who enjoys what I do, if they are able, to pitch in a few bucks towards covering these costs.  If we are successful in raising the needed funds, we’ll be able to produce some amazing content, including:

Nightly tech radio show (also streamed online with video and downloadable as a podcast).
Video series documenting the building of a 100% Linux and Free Software powered studio.
Collaboration videos with some of the coolest people in the tech world.
High quality videos for all of my speeches and on-site events (including the next “Linux Sucks”).
Not to mention much higher audio quality for all podcasts that I take part in.

If we are not successful in raising the needed funds?  Well.  That means very little (if any) new audio or video content for quite some time (until I can find a way to cover the costs somewhere down the line).  Which would be a bummer.  I can create the content, but I simply don’t have the funds to cover production and equipment costs.

There are two ways you can contribute:

By going to my Patreon page and contributing there.  (This is the easiest for me and is easy for everyone to track progress there — if you only want to make a one-time donation to this cause, you can simply unsubscribe afterwards.)
By making a donation via PayPal using my “Tip Jar” which you’ll find on the right hand side of this page.

I will update the top of this post with the current progress (combining donations from both sources together).  I am also working with hardware manufacturers to try to drive the costs down — I want to stretch everyone’s donation as far as humanly possible.

I’ve broken this out into three distinct goals…

Goal #1 – The Recording / Editing PC – $2051

The main computer that records and edits all of my shows is going to need to be something beefy.  Something that can encode a whole batch of HD video faster than I can eat a donut.  This rig will, of course, need to be running Linux.  And it would be even more excellent if it were built by a company that focuses on Linux.

With that in mind, I’ve decided to go with a Wild Dog Pro from System76.

The Specs: i7-6700K CPU (water cooled to keep things in the studio nice and quiet), 32GB DDR4 RAM, GTX 750 2GB GPU, 500GB SSD main drive, 250GB SSD scratch drive, two 24″ 1080p monitors.

This is a beefy machine, no doubt about it.  Fast, quiet, and expandable in all the ways that matter for audio/video production.  A rig that will meet the studio needs for quite some time.

Goal #2 – New Audio/Video Gear – $1,367

Once the main PC is funded, it’s time to turn my attention to the necessary audio/video equipment.  For both producing podcasts and the radio show, as well as new videos (and video versions of the podcasts/radio show).  Up until now I have been filming my shows with low-quality cameras (webcams and the like).  It’s time for this to change.

After talking with a number of folks who do this for a living, here is the gear I’m looking at:

Microphone – Rode NT1-KIT

USB Audio Interface – Focusrite Scarlett 2i2

Camera – Panasonic G7

Video Capture – Magewell HDMI

Plus a handful of cables and stands.  The net result will be audio and video quality that is light-years better than anything I have ever recorded before.

Goal #3 – Making the Studio Awesome – $178

The final goal… is actually the smallest one.  By a lot.  Goals 1 and 2 provide everything necessary to produce a quality show — now it’s time to make the studio look (and sound) awesome.

Accoustic foam.  LED lighting panels.  Good sound, cool atmosphere.

How Do I Contribute Again?

Nice and easy:

By going to my Patreon page and contributing there.
By making a donation via PayPal using my “Tip Jar” which you’ll find on the right hand side of this page.

Are There Any Perks For Contributors?

Other than getting to enjoy a nightly show from yours truly — along with more videos at a higher quality?  Haven’t thought of any… but open to suggestions!