Tag: football

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 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.”