Production, News & Radio Studio Renovation on a budget: Part I

Bob Burnham

Introduction....

Anyone who knows me beyond just a name in the trades knows my work is my play and my play is my work.  I live, breathe and probably would eat (if I could) anything radio, “techie” oriented or certain types of music.  With music, how it’s played (and I’m a player myself), how it’s recorded and broadcast and/or distributed are all of interest.  Yet…  I’m NOT a “techie” in the traditional sense. 

At the same time, computer hardware IS fascinating to me – as is vacuum tube technology of the past and I’ve done an extensive amount of work in both areas.  I’m a “hands on” type of engineer. I’ve re-built all-tube amplifiers from scratch, as well as computers. I’ve done the soldering, swapped microprocessors and burned up my share of components before I figured out how they worked.  I’ve also worked on high-powered broadcast transmitters (but never “burned up” one of those!).

The technical part, however, all started out for me as a means to and end.  Programming, and programming content both of the past and present is also a major interest to me.  I’ve studied it, I’ve listened to it, and I’ve done it myself.

My personal collection of program recordings ranges from the 1930’s to now and consists of something over 15,000 pieces. I’m not a specialist in any particular area.  I have a little of everything and a lot of the most popular shows, such as something over 800 “Suspense” shows that aired on CBS Radio from 1942 to 1962.  I offer many similar shows in a mail order catalog business I’ve operated my entire adult life.

I also have a more recent recordings such as the legendary CKLW jock, Ted “the Bear” Richards first show when he came back to Detroit a couple years ago for a too-short-lived drive time gig on WOMC, the CBS-owned oldies station in the market.  The version that is circulating around the internet is the version that was recorded and edited – by me.  But don’t ask me if I have an aircheck of so and so from such and such station.  As I said, I don’t “specialize” and that includes more recent radio.

Ted was, however, one of my major influences during one of the eras when I was doing my full time on-air work in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  My biggest influence during those years, however, was the late Jack Hood.  Hood hired me at Ann Arbor’s WAAM.  By the late 1970s, he had promoted me to full time status as Production Director and a Monday through Friday “jock,” back when regional AM radio was still popular and making money.

I have been Production Director, On-Air host and Chief Engineer at several stations since.  I never landed at any of the “big” jobs in broadcasting, but hundreds of small ones both on as contract projects and as a regular employee.  As a result, I have a very broad range of experience.

The role of Chief Engineer itself brings with it a requirement to know “everything about everything” (a phrase coined by one of my present day colleagues).  I wouldn’t put myself quite in that category.  Having a range of skills and knowledge, however, is a key component to how I survived in the industry when the on-air part of my career faded and AM radio became an outlet for satellite-fed programming and automation. 

On the techie side, I have built radio stations from the ground up.  A couple years ago I helped put a new FM station on the air in Charlotte, NC with a brand new 500’ tower.  I have owned and operated a business and studio that produced nationally syndicated talk shows from a facility in the Detroit area. I have produced and managed literally hundreds of elaborate remote broadcast events. 

Over the years, I have been lucky to have worked for and with people whom I consider to be programming geniuses.  I have also have worked with and for engineering types who are “on the other side,” are techie geniuses.  I have learned from them all and I hope they learned a few things from me in the process.

This background is also what I bring to my present day work at the Specs Howard School of Broadcast Arts in Southfield, Michigan.  2009 actually marks my 10-year anniversary at the school, and I can hardly believe it!   Yet the work, staff and students have all been a constant source of inspiration to me.  Without being in this rather pleasant niche, this (very) long series of articles would not have happened.   The articles I’ve already written (with more to come) are a culmination of the experiences mentioned, which stretches over a 30 year period.

Those pieces have appeared in Radio Guide, and a few in Radio World as well.  A lot of my unpublished “stuff” including commentary pieces can be found in my industry blog: http://bobburnham.weebly.com/

You can also learn more about the Specs Howard School of Broadcast Arts, one of the most respected facilities of its type at www.specshoward.edu.   We teach not just radio, television and video production but also the full range of graphic arts skills.  Whether it’s print media, website development, or being behind or in front of the camera (or microphone) at Specs, you can learn what you need to be employed in the field of your dreams while working with industry-standard equipment.

In the meantime, I don’t claim this to be a perfect world, and radio and television, where my roots are, are certainly not perfect industries either especially today, yet I remain optimistic, yet realistic.

I don’t know about you but I’m ready for whatever the future may bring to broadcasting… and I’m gonna write about it, too.

-Bob Burnham, Chief Engineer, Specs Howard School of Broadcast Arts


Production, News & Radio Studio Renovation on a budget: Part I

What kind of work can there possibly be at a broadcast SCHOOL for an engineer?  Ten years ago, that question may have been on my mind when I climbed aboard the Specs Howard School of Broadcast Arts in Southfield, Michigan.  For those of you who have read my various columns or blog site over the years, you know this has been my “day job” for some time.

Within my first couple years, I had carried more than 50 cart machines, cassette players, reel decks and similar obsolete technology to the dumpster.  In the process, we had upgraded 15 of the original  “practice” studios, four radio stations and added six completely new studios.  I handled the majority of the physical design and wiring personally.

This series of articles represents an overview of the latest renovations at the school which have been underway during 2008 and 2009.  A major phase will wrap up sometime summer 2009 as we replace CD players and Mini Discs with Enco Systems’ Digital Audio Delivery (“DAD”) system… in 21 “practice” studios.

The studios had last been upgraded over a period time with digital consoles from Audioarts (Wheatstone). The same model console (D-16) are installed in each of the studios, providing a consistent learning experience and simplifying maintenance, plus the studios are digital-ready. 

The Production and News studios’ “time” had finally come (again) and we were ready for another cycle of radio station renovations as well.

The answer to the first question about what my work at the school would consist of should be obvious:  My life has been a continuous cycle of upgrade projects and making sure the existing technology was behaving as expected AND that staff and students knew how to use it.

With a facility this large and comprehensive, another challenge has been keeping the technology CURRENT.  The school is situated in the Detroit area, and is not immune to the soft local economy.  Our relationship with many vendors and manufacturers, however, has helped to keep the budget under control.

My challenge is multi-fold:  It involves figuring out what capabilities we need in the studio.  Second, to select a combination of high quality industry standard equipment that falls within the budget.  Finally, collect quotes and see if the grand total is a number within our range.  If not, then substitutions or even design changes are made.  There was a lot of that going on with this project.

NEW CONSOLES:  OUT WITH MACKIE, IN WITH ARRAKIS 

Production was originally set up several years back with two Mackie 1402 mixers (which had replaced a REALLY old rotary console).  Two Enco DAD workstations and a couple racks of equipment were also part of the set-up. Those two Enco workstations were originally kept in service with updated displays, but the entire system was replaced during the Spring of 2009.

As for the mixers, no one really understands how to use a Mackie mixer who is merely trying to record a quick radio spot. There are more adjustments on a Mackie that can (and did) ruin audio in the hands of someone in a hurry or lacking the kind of detailed knowledge that it seems only engineers possess.   Also the out-in-the-open ¼” plugs on a Mackie encourage frequent re-patching by people who really have no clue of what they were doing.  

So the decision was made early on to replace the Mackies with small broadcast consoles. The project had to be planned within a tight budget, however, combined with space limitations.  So I couldn’t merely order a couple more digital consoles similar to those used in our practice studios:  They were way too expensive AND large and it was basically over-kill anyway.  The number of available small affordable consoles, however, had diminished. Manufacturers have focused more on their higher end digital products.

Elsewhere in the building, we use Audioarts and Radio Systems’ products quite extensively.  Obviously, both companies had options that would be suitable for Production, but with a two position, dual console environment and a limited budget we had to look elsewhere. 

OVERVIEW OF THE CONSOLES SELECTED FOR THE PRODUCTION STUDIO

At the time, Arrakis Systems’ new “ARC-10” series from seemed to be the best option for our application.  Seemingly designed for small-market broadcasters, these consoles however, sported a sleek, low profile modern appearance that rivals higher-end equipment, at least in appearance. This in itself was a major selling point as the studio being upgraded is in a prominent location adjacent to the front lobby prospective students see on a regular basis.

As a broadcast engineer, I am familiar with to almost every conceivable method of equipment  termination.  The ARC consoles are literally designed for plug and play.  The plugs, however, are out of harm’s way. 

The basic model is all RCA plugs with a couple of XLR connections.  I ordered the balanced audio version at a slightly higher price (Model ARC-10BP) whose balanced inputs were modular CAT 5 style plugs, (although there were still several RCA connections required).  I did not use most of the supplied RCA cables, preferring to make my own using metal Neutrik RCA plugs and the usual Belden 9451 cable. Arrakis supplies most of what you need with the console but I also ordered a few break-out cables terminated with XLR connectors.

The console also includes a USB connection that interfaces directly with Arrakis’ own automation software, “Digilink X-treme,” which is bundled with both the ARC-10BP and ARC-10UP models).   A channel is dedicated to the USB function although it can be easily switched to standard use.   Yet another Telephone-designated channel is fully balanced with in and out logic with the usual Mix-Minus capability.

The console truly is a self-contained Radio-Station-in-a-Box.  Adding a computer, microphones some source equipment and you are ready to go live.    As Arrakis states, it is specifically designed for “On-Air, internet radio and podcast applications.”  Production in an educational  environment such as ours, therefore, should not be a challenge. 

The real strength of this console, however, is the price.  We were able to purchase two consoles for the price of what we might have paid for one.

HAVE TO TAKE THE BAD WITH THE GOOD… 

There are drawbacks to this console.  Arrakis had to find areas it could cut costs.  

One area that is lacking is the control/logic functions of the console.   The logic is very “stripped down.”  For an extra fifty cents in parts, Arrakis could have done a better job rather than giving us a page of suggested “home-brew” circuits (such as for Start-Stop circuits).  For these functions (and an On-Air light) make sure you order a couple LogicConverters from Henry Engineering. If you are considering this console, make sure you allow for budgetary items such as these (unless you really want to build your own interface). 

In a typical environment, however, who has the time or patience anymore to cobble together a bunch of discrete transistors/diodes into a somewhat serviceable box?  We are also reminded in the manual that “improper connection to console logic can damage the console.”  So if you mess it up, it’s gonna cost ya’ !

Cosmetics.  As mentioned, the console’s appearance is a major plus.  On the negative side, the VU meters are only of average mechanical type (which are NOT lit).  Again, cuts need to be made somewhere and this one area Arrakis designers chose to economize.

CONSOLE MAINTENANCE & REPAIR CONSIDERATIONS 

Arrakis suggests a call to their tech support department before beginning any type of repair.  A few pages in the manual are devoted to a few troubleshooting basics. There was a major disappointment in this area:  The most common failure component in any console is the slide fader.  Arrakis notes the sliders on the ARC are soldered to the motherboard directly and the whole console must be returned to the factory for fader replacement.  The rotary faders, however, are field serviceable.  But save the shipping carton, just in case!

It is obviously my hope that the sliders are at least as durable as those in Mackie mixers that the console is replacing.

I did call Arrakis about this console regarding switching the USB input over to line level.  The manual implies there is some kind of secret magic that tech support will somehow convey to you in a phone call. 

There was no such magic, but the gang at Arrakis IS very friendly and helpful.  Take off the handful of screws on the bottom of the console and you have complete access to the motherboard.  There’s your “magic.”   Now make the changes or repairs without messing anything up!

Overall, I’d give the Arrakis consoles a thumbs up. Now that they’ve been in service taking use and abuse for the better part of a year, they are still working fine.  Absolutely no problems have been reported or observed.

The second part of this article outlines some preparation that was done for a larger chunk of the renovation, including demolishing the old studios.

No matter how much preparation and thought you put into a studio project, you can never do too much planning, but even the best laid plans will and do go south when unexpected problems arise. Although I did some of my pre-work, I had more than my share of truly unexpected “issues” with this project as we progressed.  Remember most of the physical assembly, design and wiring was done single-handedly by yours truly.  We did not have a crew expect for when we busted up the old studios, when it turned out I couldn’t be present.

PART 2 will have the details.

(Bob Burnham can be reached at bburnham@specshoward.edu)

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