RADIO CONTROL ROOM EQUIPMENT

LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Identify the equipment in a radio control room.

Radio broadcasters find out early in their careers that broadcasting involves more than just announcing. Broadcasters working in the radio medium also must be proficient at operating radio control room equipment. In this section, we will cover the various pieces of equipment that make up a radio control room.

AUDIO CONSOLE

Even though all audio consoles are operated in the same basic manner and perform the same primary functions, their capabilities are not always the same. Differences among consoles are obvious from one model to the next, but even consoles of the same make and model often are locally engineered to perform various additional functions.

Before you operate your console for the first time, take the time to learn its various intricacies. Figure 13-7 shows atypical audio console.

The audio console connects the microphones, cartridge machines, reel-to-reel tape recorders/reproducers, remote lines, CD players and other audio equipment into one system.

In the following text we describe the controls on the audio console shown in figure 13-7:

l Microphone selector buttons. There are two identical controls for the operation of microphones on the audio console (charnels one and two).

l CD selector buttons. Charnels three and four control CD players one and two. Because everything is read from left to right, CD one is selected by depressing selector button number one on channel three. Selector button number two on channel four operates CD two.

l Reel-to-reel (tape) selector buttons. Tape one is programmed through selector button number one on channel five and tape two through selector button number two on charnel six.

l Cartridge selector buttons. Three cartridge machines are programmed through charnels seven, eight and nine.

l AFRTS/network selector buttons. Channel 10 receives audio originating from the AFRTS Broadcast Center (BC) and major radio networks.

o Output selector buttons. All 10 channels on this audio console have the following two output options: audition and program.

l Mode keys. This key has three positions. When a sound source is not being used, the key is maintained in the neutral (off) position. Pushing the key up into the audition/program buss places your sound source on the air. Moving the key into the cue position allows you to hear the source only in the studio and not on the air.

l Cue/intercom selector. This selector allows you to cue a sound source over the cue speaker or permits broadcasters to communicate between studios.

l Cue gain control. This control regulates the volume of the cue speaker.

l Headphone selector. This control is used to select the audio source that is heard through the headphones. The three positions are audition, program and cue.

Figure 13-8. - Audiotape cartridge and cartridge playbackmachine. l l l l

Headphone gain control. The headphone gain control is located immediately below the headphone selector. Set this level to hear your program sound source clearly, but not at a point where sounds within the studio are drowned out.

Monitor selector switch. The monitor selector switch is used to select which audio source is heard on the "air" monitor speakers located in the studio. The three positions are audition, program and air.

Monitor gain control. This control regulates the volume-of the monitor speakers.

Audition/program master gain controls. DO NOT ADJUST THESE CONTROLS! They control the output of the entire audio console and are set by the station engineers.

l VU meters. The VU meters give the only visual reference to sound loudness. As described previously, the correct meter readings are achieved" when average music and voice peaks fall between 80 and 100 percent. Allowing the meter to run constantly in the red, known as running "hot:' can create sound distortion and is never acceptable.

SLIDERS

Sound sources connected to your audio console are controlled by the use of pots, called sliders. The output selected above the sliders gives you the option of listening to the sound source in audition or program mode. Program is used only when a sound source is aired Audition allows you to listen to a sound source to make sure it is properly cued and the appropriate sound levels are set on the VU meter.