Author: karl

Technomad Upgrades Two Loudspeakers from its MP Series

BOSTON, January 9, 2008 – Technomad Associates, LLC, a leader in weatherproof outdoor loudspeakers and Turnkey PA systems, today announced that new versions of its popular Vienna 16 and Paris 616 weatherproof outdoor loudspeakers are now available and shipping. The Version8 models include upgrades that maximize the loudspeaker output while retaining the broad dispersion and clear audio that are hallmarks of Technomad loudspeakers.

Technomad Vienna 16 and Paris 616 loudspeakers are part of the company’s MP Series, a range of weatherproof loudspeakers designed for permanent installation, indoors and outdoors. Popular applications include city walkways, public spaces, tourist attractions, hockey and ice skating rinks, cruise ships, municipal swimming pools, and outdoor community amphitheaters.

The Version8 models add compression drivers that provide an added 3dB of maximum continuous SPL and an added 10dB of dynamic range, ensuring voice intelligibility and musical output at all volume levels. The upgrades also reflect the company’s preference for refining its established range of loudspeakers as opposed to flooding the market with new products.

These upgrades are targeted toward outdoor applications where background noise is more likely to adversely affect audio output. This includes open stadiums and other outdoor installations where wind becomes a factor, said Rodger von Kries, vice president of Technomad. The new compression driver and crossover networks increase the performance of these loudspeakers across the board. The result is a more articulate sounding loudspeaker with improved audio quality in the mid-to-upper frequency range.

Technomad Offers Outdoor Audio Tips for High Schools

The importance of quality audio at outdoor high school athletic fields is too often overlooked. Providing a sound system for a high school stadium comes with a long list of challenges, from weather to audio dispersion to the complaints of nearby residents, all of which are easier to address with proper planning.

Successful high school outdoor audio begins with good communication from the sound system provider to the Athletic Director. How the system is designed and installed will affect both the ease of use and the quality of the audio output. The sound system provider must thoroughly understand and be responsive to the needs of the school. The end users in high school venues are generally volunteers. Whether students, parents or faculty, it is likely that the end user will have limited audio experience. A responsible audio contractor will have this in mind and design and deliver an easy-to-use outdoor audio solution.

A variety of loudspeaker manufacturers offer weather-resistant products, but these enclosures can only withstand the elements for so long. A true weatherproof speaker will not keep the rain and snow from entering the loudspeaker; however, it will include provisions for managing moisture. This may include a higher-quality grill system or tiny exit holes for drainage. Neither the structural integrity of the outer shell nor the perceived audio should degrade over time from ordinary outdoor exposure.

The school’s budget will of course influence purchasing decisions, and the regional weather will dictate what kind of protection is needed to extend the life of the system. Paging horns are durable, and sound quality has improved over the years, but they are still primarily paging horns. Low-cost loudspeakers are yet another option, but their inability to withstand the elements will result in a very short life and create the need for regular replacement. Another way to extend the life of the loudspeakers is to remove them when not in use, although re-installation and repair to wiring and cabling become time consuming.

Location is key. While location brings loudspeaker placement to mind, the school’s geographical location is also important. The ability of the loudspeaker to withstand the elements, from the Arizona heat to the snow and wind in Upstate New York, must be considered. Location becomes a factor once again during installation. The typical high school outdoor audio system features several loudspeakers powered by a central PA rack. Where these systems are positioned in the stadium and how they are installed will be critical to the success of the installation.

The press box is by far the best initial choice for loudspeaker installation. The flat surface of the press box offers a smoother and more secure mounting surface than telephone or metallic light poles.

The main issue with loudspeaker installations on widely separated light poles is an echo that results from the near loudspeaker audio arriving prior to the audio from the far loudspeaker. This echo, which must be eliminated electronically, results in uneven sound that degrades speech clarity and music quality. Sound that is properly controlled is also easier to keep out of the yards of neighbors who might not want to hear it.

Sound coverage is a challenge as well. Loudspeakers directed toward the home bleachers leave the field and visiting bleachers uncovered. Lower quality loudspeakers will especially have trouble reproducing intelligible speech and music throughout the stadium. The press box installation, with loudspeakers pointing straight out and tilted slightly downward, helps minimizes echo by ensuring that attendees hear audio from only one loudspeaker. Loudspeakers with wide dispersion patterns optimize coverage, delivering a pleasant audio experience to all bleacher areas and the field. Loudspeakers will outperform traditional horn systems, which are well known for the inability to reproduce the deep bass and detailed highs that are common with high fidelity loudspeakers.

Sometimes, however, a press box is not an option. A recent Technomad installation on a new soccer field at a high school in Columbus, Ohio lacked a press box. The rack system was integrated within a cement shell that was wired for electricity. The installer ran cables under the field surface to the other side where the loudspeakers were installed on round light poles with specialty brackets. This situation is an example of how a smart installer using high quality products can provide excellent audio quality under less-than-ideal conditions.

Different fields require different sound systems. Baseball fields, for example, require an almost completely different approach due to the design of the field. In this case the backstop is a better mounting location than the press box or light poles. Loudspeakers with wide audio dispersion should be installed high enough on the backstop and angled so as to provide a single source to both home and visitor stands as well as the area behind home plate and into the field.

Regardless of the stadium in question, proper planning and a willingness to purchase better quality equipment right off the bat will give the school a great quality sound system and help eliminate headaches in the future.

Note: A modified version of this article was published in the November, 2007 on-line and printed editions of Christian School Products magazine.

Technomad Loudspeakers Installed at Club Med, Cancun

Club Med Cancun Goes High Tech w/Technomad Loudspeakers

Hurricane Wilma tore through the Gulf of Mexico in early fall, 2005, settling on top of the Yucatan Peninsula and barely moving for 48 hours. After making its exit, some of Mexico’s most famous resort areas, including the city of Cancun, were left battered and faced with a long period of rebuilding.

Club Med Cancun, with its shoreline location, was just one of many resorts that sustained heavy damage from winds, rain and an unrelenting storm surge. The club took the opportunity to rebuild its lighting and sound infrastructure along with much of its resort, favoring high-fidelity audio products and a lighting system that was easy to operate yet technically advanced enough to produce the right atmosphere in each room.

The Core Audio team, in cooperation with Whump Sound, a Los Angeles based dealer specializing in audio installations, led the systems integration. Technomad loudspeakers were selected for all open-air venues, partially due to the true weatherproof design of the loudspeakers. These venues include a mix of restaurants, bars and entertainment areas plus the valet greeting area in front of the resort.

According to Bill Weir of Core Audio, Many resorts of this size put budget over any other consideration when choosing equipment and the audio reproduction at the end point is anything but musical. Club Med Cancun uses a 24-bit distribution system that plays back high resolution audio files, and that fidelity is well represented in each zone due to the choice of loudspeakers … the range of products that can withstand the Cancun environment is very limited, and Technomad meets both the musical and environmental requirements.

The outdoor entertainment area, known as The Chispa, offers a movie theater and a performance area with an exceptional A/V and lighting system. The central kiosk area is peppered with palm trees that are lit using Color Kinetics color blasts. The LED fixtures for each palm tree are automated using a Martin Light Jockey control system, with 220 volt power lines providing juice to each palm tree. Like the Soluna, the lighting for this zone is customized to match the event, and can be manually operated on theme nights using a small 8-button switcher. Martin 250 Kryptons and Washes were also installed in the theater area.

The Chispa movie theater is perhaps the most unique aspect of the resort, and according to Weir, a one-of-its-kind system. The integration team painted one side of a three-story hotel building on the resort with retro-reflective, high-gain paint. Guests can sit on the beach or on bench seating in the pool area to watch movies projected onto the building.
DJs and performance groups can also take advantage of this outdoor entertainment area. A pair of Technomad Berlin loudspeakers was purchased for mobile events, and plug in to rack systems on the performance stage.

The remaining room-to-room breakdown of Technomad loudspeakers include: The Pergola, a beach bar that features four Noho-C Install loudspeakers hung 9 feet above the crowd and two Chicago 15/H Install subwoofers at two corners along the baseboards; eight Vernals 15’s in The Chispa and Las Velas, the pool bar; and Noho-C Install and Vernal 15 loudspeakers in the valet area, which play back low volume music as guests enter the resort. Crown DSI series amplifiers are used to power the audio in each of these zones, offering full parametric EQ, crossover functions and basic signal processing.

The Berlins were specifically chosen for mobile events because they are high quality, full range portable loudspeakers that can be used anywhere on the resort at a moment’s notice, said Weir. They offer a full range of sound with excellent bass response and a very nice tonal quality that is ideal for DJ sets. In the Pergola, the Nohos produce enough sound pressure levels at 1 a.m. so that people who want it loud can turn up the volume, but still produce a full, pleasing sound at lower volumes. This was the same idea we had for the Vernal 15 installation in the pollapa, with a higher emphasis on producing clearly audible sound at low levels for conversational situations.

Note: This article was originally published in a longer format in the October, 2007 printed and online editions of Lighting & Sound America.

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Team Installs Technomad Turnkey PA System at University of Louisville

Donated system plays role in Hughes family storyline for two-hour special in February

BOSTON, December 3, 2007 Technomad Associates, LLC, a leader in weatherproof outdoor loudspeakers and PA systems, today announced that the ABC-TV Extreme Makeover: Home Edition team has completed installation of a Technomad Turnkey PA System at the University of Louisville in Kentucky.

Technomad donated the system, featuring two weatherproof outdoor loudspeakers and a complete PA rack to power the loudspeakers, to the popular ABC series last week for a two-hour special scheduled to air in February 2008.

On November 7, Patricia and Patrick John Hughes family of Louisville, Kentucky, received word that Ty Pennington and the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition team would renovate their home into a safer and more accessible home for their blind and disabled son, Patrick Henry, age 19. The storyline also includes the renovation of a practice field at University of Louisville, where Patrick Henry marches in the University of Louisville School of Music Marching and Pep Band, maneuvering his wheelchair through the formations with assistance from his father.

On November 13, the renovated field was revealed to the Hughes family. A limousine transporting the family drove onto the field, which was surrounded by hundreds of University of Louisville students and local spectators. The University of Louisville School of Music Marching and Pep Band with band director were present on the field as the limo arrived.

Technomad delivered the system for installation by Super Home Systems of Louisville in the week following the Hughes family receiving the news. According to Phil Deddens, President of Super Home Systems, the system was easily set up in one day, requiring only simple cable runs and electrical connections. The University of Louisville’s practice field is the size and shape of a football field. Deddens and his team installed the two Technomad Noho C loudspeakers on a new light pole at the 50 yard line, each at opposite 45 degree angles to optimize audio coverage on the field.

The Technomad loudspeakers cover the field very well, and the complete PA system is an enormous improvement over the handheld megaphone that the band director had previously relied on, said Deddens. The show director was using the system to stage the band and the spectators prior to the reveal to the Hughes family, and the audio came through loud and clear.

The Technomad Noho C loudspeakers are installed nearby the tower where the band director gives his commands, allowing his voice to project out onto the practice field and reach the 220+ members as they are playing and practicing their formations. The PA rack, featuring an amplifier and six-channel mixer, is housed in this tower, close enough to allow a 20-foot microphone cable to easily reach the mixer input. The Turnkey PA system includes a microphone for the band director, loudspeaker brackets, and cables to connect all the components.

Patrick Henry and the entire University of Louisville School of Music Marching and Pep Band will benefit from the overall rebuild and retrofit of the practice field, said Diane Korman, Senior Producer for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Prior to this renovation, the band did not have a suitable place to practice their formations. While the home renovation is certainly the most important aspect, the practice field renovation with the Technomad donation is an essential chapter in a very uplifting story.

In addition to the PA system installation, the field renovations included six new 50-foot light poles, two storage buildings, a covered pavilion for viewing band practices, and a new archway at the entrance that includes the words Inspired by Patrick Henry Hughes. Super Home Systems was also involved in the home renovations, including a new stereo system, surround sound, phone and TV wiring, and security system installation.

About ABC-TVs Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” which has won back-to-back Emmy Awards as Best Reality Program (non-competitive), is in its 5th season on ABC. The program is produced by Endemol USA, a division of Endemol Holding. Denise Cramsey is the executive producer; and David Goldberg is the president of Endemol USA.

 

Technomad Loudspeakers Achieve IP56 Performance Rating

Technomad Loudspeakers Achieve Full Range IP56 Performance Rating from IEC for Protection against Hazardous Elements

BOSTON, November 28, 2007 – Technomad Associates, LLC, a leader in weatherproof outdoor loudspeakers and Turnkey PA systems, today announced that its complete line of loudspeakers and subwoofers are compliant with the International Electrotechnical Commission’s (IEC) IP56 rating under its IP Code. IP56 is a stringent standard for superior protection against hazardous parts and water ingression, and is an extremely rare rating for full-range outdoor loudspeakers. IEC provides international standards and conformity assessments for government, business and society for all electrical, electronic and related technologies.

The IP Code defined in IEC’s international standard 60529 classifies the level of protection provided against the intrusion of solid objects, dust, water and accidental contact. All Technomad products ranging from its 60-watt Vernal 15 loudspeaker to the 800-watt Chicago 15/12 subwoofer have an IP56 rating, reflecting the company’s philosophy for manufacturing rugged, reliable outdoor loudspeakers that also offer exceptional audio quality with clear voice intelligibility and outstanding musical output.

Following IP for International Protection or Ingress Protection rating, the first digit indicates the level of protection that the enclosure provides against access to hazardous parts and the ingress of solid foreign objects. The second digit indicates equipment protection levels inside the enclosure against harmful water ingression. Officially, a 5rating for the first digit means that dust ingression will not interfere with the operation of the equipment and offers complete protection against contact; a 6 rating for the second digital means that water projected in powerful jets against the enclosure from any direction results in no harmful effects.

Technomad loudspeakers are installed around the world in cruise ships, theme parks, sports stadiums, outdoor entertainment venues, and other harsh environment fixed system and mobile applications in military, government and private sectors. Many of these installations are reliant on Technomad’s IP56 rating due to constant exposure to dust, water and other harsh elements in booth indoor and outdoor environments. Recent examples include:

Tyco Fire & Building Products: Technomad Vernal 15 loudspeakers are consistently exposed to water and high humidity inside the new training and test facility in Cranston, Rhode Island. Six loudspeakers are installed on the perimeter of a concrete block spray distribution area featuring various sprinkler systems, hydraulics and spray patterns.

Club Med Cancun: Technomad loudspeakers are exposed year-round to sand, sea salt and rain outside on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.

National Training Center at Ft. Irwin: Technomad Military PA systems sit outside in the California desert all year, broadcasting Sunni and Shiite prayers in makeshift Iraqi villages as they are continually exposed to wind-blown sand and dust.

Technomad loudspeakers feature true integrated weatherproofing as opposed to weatherized or weather-resistant loudspeakers that compromise acoustic performance and have a short shelf life in unprotected outdoor installations, said David Meyer, Commercial Sales Manager for Technomad. We are pleased to announce that our products meet the superior IP56 rating from IEC, a highly respected international electrical standards organization.