Client: Free FM 89, Hamilton (Real Community Radio)
Location: Hamilton, Waikato, New Zealand
Timeline: July – August 2025
Services: Studio redesign, podcast and video studio build, furniture advice, integration with the existing Wheatstone WheatNet-IP system
Overview
In 2018, Southern Broadcast moved Free FM from analogue to Wheatstone WheatNet-IP, refreshing the main on-air studio and Studio 2, the production studio. Read about the 2018 refresh.
Seven years on, Free FM wanted Studio 2 to do more. Community radio is now as much about podcasts and video as live radio, and the station wanted a space where its volunteers could record conversations on camera as well as produce radio.
Our solution
Studio 2 was redesigned as a combined production and podcast studio, turning a functional back room into a space guests actually want to sit in.
A new layout. Southern Broadcast advised on the new furniture, with timber desking for the production position and lounge seating around a round table for podcast guests.
Microphones, cameras and lighting. New microphones on boom arms for each podcast position, cameras covering the set, and studio lighting so video looks as good as the audio sounds.
Video production. A RØDECaster Video switches between camera angles and records the video side of each podcast, sitting alongside the station’s radio audio.
Still running on the 2018 system. The Wheatstone IP-12 console and WheatNet-IP network installed in 2018 remain at the heart of the studio. Because the original system was designed to grow, the podcast studio was added without replacing the audio infrastructure.
The result
Studio 2 is now a versatile production, podcast and video studio that Free FM’s volunteers can use for radio shows, recorded conversations and video content, all built on the WheatNet-IP system Southern Broadcast designed in 2018.
Key facts
- Studio 2 converted into a combined production, podcast and video studio
- New furniture layout, designed with Southern Broadcast’s advice
- New microphones, cameras and studio lighting
- RØDECaster Video for multi-camera video production
- Still running on the original 2018 Wheatstone IP-12 and WheatNet-IP system
Southern Broadcast Ltd is Wheatstone’s New Zealand partner and a broadcast engineering company providing studio, RF and transmission design, installation and support to broadcasters across New Zealand and the Pacific.
Thinking about a podcast or video studio? Talk to Southern Broadcast about adding one to your existing facility.