Tag: College

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 Joins Forces with Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to Assist Family in Need

Company provides outdoor PA system for football stadium renovation

BOSTON, November 7, 2007 – Technomad Associates, LLC, a leader in weatherproof outdoor loudspeakers and PA systems, today announced that it has donated a Turnkey PA system to ABCs Extreme Makeover: Home Edition for a show scheduled to air in February 2008. The Technomad system, featuring two weatherproof loudspeakers and a complete PA rack system to power the loudspeakers, is an integral part of a football stadium renovation that comprises a portion of the storyline for the two-hour special.

On November 7, the Hughes family of Louisville, Kentucky, received the thrilling news that Ty Pennington and the gang of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition will renovate their house into a safer and more accessible home for their blind and disabled son, Patrick Henry, age 19. The eldest son of Patricia and Patrick John Hughes, Patrick Henry was born blind and without the ability to fully straighten his arms and legs, leaving him unable to walk. Patrick John’s decision to remain home and take care of Patrick Henry’s needs has left the family with an enormous hole in their bank account and house repairs their last priority.

Patrick Henry has overcome numerous obstacles on his way to becoming an exceptional pianist, trumpet player, and vocalist. Patrick also marches in the University of Louisville School of Music Marching and Pep Band, tirelessly maneuvering his wheelchair through the formations with the other 220+ members with help from his father.

The Technomad donation will be installed by members of the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition team at the University of Louisville, vastly improving audio quality at the practice stadium where Patrick marches with the band.

The Extreme Makeover: Home Edition team is very excited to bring Technomad on board for this renovation, said Diane Korman, Senior Producer for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. With only one week to make a difference and finalize both the home and football stadium renovations, we have been able to rely on Technomad to deliver the right kind of outdoor PA system on time and communicate with our installation team for technical support.

We are thrilled to work with the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition team to assist the Hughes family in their time of need, said David Meyer, Commercial Sales Manager for Technomad. Patrick Henry’s story is truly an inspiration, and the opportunity to contribute to this unique renovation is an honor.

ABOUT ABC-TVs EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION

Technomad Loudspeakers Installed at Henderson State University

Henderson State University (Arkadelphia, AR) recently installed a total of eight Technomad loudspeakers for its football stadium, home of the Henderson State Reddies. The new loudspeakers, first used at the 2007 home opener, replace an antiquated horn system, bringing vastly improved voice and music intelligibility to the 10,000 seat stadium.

The university purchased six Technomad Berlin 15/H Install loudspeakers and two Technomad Paris 616 loudspeakers through Troxell Communications, along with two PA racks filled with new mixers, amplifiers and signal processors. Four of the Berlin 15/H Install loudspeakers were installed on the press box by the home bleachers, with the other two installed on poles next to the visitor bleachers. The Paris 616 loudspeakers were installed lengthwise on the ceiling of the press box overhang to provide a direct audio source to the alumni seats underneath.

The Berlin 15/H loudspeakers on the visitor side receive the signal from the main PA system via a wireless transmitter. A smaller PA rack in the visitor concession stand includes a wireless receiver, which feeds the signal to a delay processor before reaching the amplifier. The result is a perfectly blended live broadcast for everyone in the stadium.

Technomad Installed at the College of New Jersey Football Stadium

Ewing, New Jersey – The College of New Jersey recently installed a new, fully weather-resistant sound system in 9,000 seats New Jersey Lions Football Stadium. The system consists of eight 350 watt Technomad Noho/C loudspeakers powered by two QSC PLX amplifiers. The system is used for game announcements and pre-recorded music playback.

The College of New Jersey Lions Football Stadium is an all-purpose field used year-round for Soccer, Lacrosse, Field Hockey, and Football. The field also hosts Division 1 and 3 Conference teams. The field also plays host 13-15,000 guests and students for the College’s annual Graduation Ceremony.

The College of New Jersey’s Jon Bannan, oversaw the installation of the system. Jon is in charge of overseeing all upgrades to, as well as installations of, all of the school’s Sound Systems. Having never heard the Technomad loudspeakers before, Jon made the decision to purchase the Noho/C loudspeakers based upon the company’s reputation of producing mil-spec loudspeakers that can withstand all forms of in climate weather and abuse. Another important decision was the low-profile appearance of the Technomad Noho/C loudspeakers. Jon states, “I had looked into other weather-resistant loudspeakers, but they were big and unsightly and could not be mounted where they had to be positioned. Even if I could install the other loudspeakers where they had to go, they would have obstructed the sight-lines of too many seats.”

Jon notes, “It had to be a clean-looking, low profile system installation yet have the output I needed to cover 9,000 people. I didn’t want oversized, unsightly white or beige air raid horns or bulbous cannon-looking things hanging from all the light poles.” Jon ponders, “Air raid horns? The Cold War is over, and the latter option would look like the wind blew all the plastic garbage cans up onto the lampposts.” Jon continues, “The Technomads were also hundreds of dollars less per speaker.”

Jon states, “When the loudspeakers finally arrived, they appeared even smaller in real-life then what I had expected. I was starting to get worried that they were going to be too small in comparison to the overall size of the stadium.” Jon continues, “But, as soon as I powered up the amplifier rack and pumped some music through the system, I was very impressed. The Noho/Cs absolutely amazed me.”

The Stadium’s light poles were perfectly positioned for the installation of the eight Technomad Noho/Cs. “It’s as if someone had this speaker installation in mind when they installed the light poles,” Jon says. The poles are located halfway up the stadium seating, providing the perfect place where the Noho/C loudspeakers could provide complete sound coverage for all the seating, and not obstruct sight-lines. Jon states, “Installing two Noho/Cs per pole allowed me to provide the tightest, most accurate and even sound distribution.”

Jon adds, “The Nohos respond extremely well to my changes on EQ and I was able to dial-in the exact setting that made everyone on staff very happy. The Noho/Cs is extremely EQ compliant and offers me unrivaled control over every type of program material, regardless if it’s recorded music, spoken word or sound effects.” Jon notes, “A soundman can add lower end punch to the music program during half-time events with just a simple low-frequency EQ boost, and the crowd can actually hear and feel it!”

The two QSC PLX 1602 power amps, running in parallel, drive the Technomad loudspeakers. A Furman ASD 120 Power Sequencer, a DBX 266XL, a Rane dual31 band EQ, and Alesis 12R mixer make-up the signal processing equipment. To keep the processing gear free and clear of prying hands, the processing rack is located in a separate room. A Sony Tape Deck and CD player is located in the Press Box. Twelve wall-mounted mic jacks are also strategically installed in the Press Box. Jon notes, “All a tech has to do is plug in a mic and cue the commentator.” Jon points out, “The system is not constantly staffed by a tech, so I designed the system to be as turnkey as possible. All a tech or an announcer has to do is turn the key and they have power.”

“My boss, the Athletic department, the teams and the cheerleaders are very happy with the dramatic improvement in the sound quality and clarity the Noho’s produce,” Jon states proudly. “The wide dispersion and quick cut-off of the Noho’s 12″ coaxial driver is as equally impressive as the high-fidelity sound it produces.”

With the previous sound system, Jon continually experienced problems with ‘sound bleeding’ off the field into the surrounding neighborhood. “I don’t believe a lot of effort was put into the properly installing the previous speaker system,” Jon notes. “You could hear sound everywhere except on the field. Pedestrians and neighbors of the school could hear the announcer and music far off campus, unintelligibly and loudly I might add, which resulted in many complaints.” Jon quips, “I don’t think we would have received so many sound bleed complaints if the previous sound system just sounded halfway decent.”

Jon concludes, “As soon as the system was up-and-running, I walked the field and the seating and I could not find a single hot spot or dead spot. It’s complete, even distribution. Then I stepped outside of the complex for the most important test. The sound cut-off to more than acceptable levels as soon as I got out of the seating area. The best part, no complaints opening day and since then! Just compliments.”