Wellington Access Radio: A Studio Refit Built Around Volunteers

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The main on-air studio, with its Wheatstone IP-12 console, operator position and guest microphones
Wellington Access Radio logo

Client: Wellington Access Radio (106.1 FM)
Location: Ghuznee Street, Te Aro, Wellington
Timeline: Planned 2019; installed November 2020, on air from the new studios in early December 2020
Services: Studio design, Wheatstone WheatNet-IP systems, equipment supply, furniture layout, installation and commissioning

Overview

Wellington Access Radio gives the capital’s communities a voice on 106.1 FM, with a wide range of volunteer-made programmes from groups across the city. Its studios on Ghuznee Street had served the station well, but the equipment and layout were due for a complete refresh.

Southern Broadcast was engaged to design and deliver the refit: new digital consoles and audio-over-IP infrastructure, new studio furniture, and a studio layout that works for the many different volunteers who use it every week.

The main on-air studio, with its Wheatstone IP-12 console, operator position and guest microphones
The main on-air studio, with its Wheatstone IP-12 console, operator position and guest microphones

The challenge

  • Planned in 2019, delivered in 2020. The equipment was specified and ordered in 2019, then COVID-19 lockdowns pushed the install back well into 2020.
  • A short shutdown. The station closed its studios for just two weeks: one for strip-out, redecorating and new carpet, and one for our installation.
  • Many users, many skill levels. Studios used by a steady stream of volunteer presenters need to be simple and consistent, whichever room they are in.
  • Keeping what still worked. The station’s existing CD players and turntables were to be integrated into the new system rather than replaced.

Our solution

Southern Broadcast designed the studios around Wheatstone’s WheatNet-IP audio-over-IP system, with a Wheatstone IP-12 digital console in both the main on-air studio and the production studio. Audio, microphones and control all run over the network, so any source can be made available in any studio.

It is the same proven package we use in all of the access radio stations we build or refit: Wheatstone IP-12 consoles on air, Wheatstone M4IP-USB four-channel microphone processing for consistent, broadcast-quality voices from every presenter, Electro-Voice RE320 microphones, and a Wheatstone Aura8-IP multi-channel audio processing Blade in the technical area. Standardising on one proven package keeps costs down, makes training simple, and means our support team always knows exactly what it is working with.

The on-air studio IP-12, with operator and guest microphones
The on-air studio IP-12, with operator and guest microphones
WheatNet-IP Blades, including the M4IP-USB microphone processing Blade, housed in the desk
WheatNet-IP Blades, including the M4IP-USB microphone processing Blade, housed in the desk

Three connected spaces. Between the on-air and production studios sits a talks studio built around a large round table, visible from both. It is used for guests and panel discussions, and the operator in either studio can talk to the people inside at the press of a button.

Studio furniture that fits the job. We set out the desk layouts and requirements, with space for the console, microphones, screens, CD players and turntables, and equipment housed in ventilated racks under the desks. The furniture was then built by local Wellington joiners.

The production studio, with its own IP-12, turntable and the station's existing CD players integrated into the new system
The production studio, with its own IP-12, turntable and the station’s existing CD players integrated into the new system

Clear signals. Illuminated Sonifex RECORD and MIC LIVE signs outside each studio door and above the talks studio window show at a glance when a room is in use.

Sonifex RECORD signs outside each studio door
Sonifex RECORD signs outside each studio door
The talks studio, looking through to the production studio
The talks studio, looking through to the production studio

Delivered in about a week and a half. Southern Broadcast carried out the full technical installation and commissioning in late November 2020, from racking and wiring through to configuring the WheatNet-IP system, consoles and studio signalling.

The result

Wellington Access Radio went back on air from its new studios in early December 2020, with a new on-air studio, a matching production studio, a shared talks studio and a networked system that Southern Broadcast can support remotely.

Key facts

  • Complete studio refit for Wellington Access Radio, 106.1 FM
  • Wheatstone WheatNet-IP audio-over-IP, with a Wheatstone IP-12 console in the on-air and production studios
  • Wheatstone M4IP-USB microphone processing, Electro-Voice RE320 microphones and a Wheatstone Aura8-IP processing Blade
  • Talks studio between the two, with talkback from either studio
  • New studio furniture built to our layouts, and illuminated Sonifex signs for every room
  • Installed in about a week and a half in November 2020, after a COVID-delayed start

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.

Planning a studio refit? Talk to Southern Broadcast about design, supply, integration and commissioning.

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Posted on

December 15, 2020