FCC AV Notes

Jan2017 - Terry Taylor
Daryl asked me to respond to your email exchange.
If I remember correctly, the front lighting all uses 375w bulbs and the stage down/backlighting uses 575w. Daryl may be able to verify from the drawings.
Your math is correct regarding the ULD-360 and its load rating. Even two 375w plus two 575w will trip the breaker on the unit.
Also, keep in mind that turning on high wattage incandescent lights have a large surge current when turned on at full with no fade time. Its good practice to turn fixtures on slowly to warm the bulbs. Hope this helps. Terry

04Jan2017 - Daryl Porter
Bulb life is dependent on the bulb selected. Here's what my LD says: " If it's an HPL 575/115 it's rated for 300 hours. If it's an HPL 575/115X it's rated for 2000 hrs." Absolutely SOA does lighting. We've had great success with an affordable LED leko out of China for three recent installations. While ETC versions are around $1,600 we've been selling these for under $400. Got several in a few local churches you can check out if you like. Highly recommended. 15Dec2015 - Daryl Porter
As far as the RF issue, if it is, in fact, one of the lines that were replaced, then the flaw may be in the pre-amp on that channel of the console. I would move the line to another channel to see if the problem follows. That will determine if the issue lies in the console, or with the line. If it is in the line, then a visual inspection of the connections at both ends to make sure there are no breaks, or evidence of a mouse chewing on the line would be the next step. Also, try the line with different microphones, to eliminate the possibility of the a mic being the problem. Keep me in the loop.

19Oct2015 - Daryl Porter
As far as headsets, I always recommend the DPA units. The d:fine series for speech, but they run between $700-$800, so not always practical. I don't have any issues with the Countryman as long as it has the 2mm cable and the dual ear setup. Even the Countryman will cost more than the Rode at between $300-$400. I have never used the Rode headset, nor do I know anyone who has, so I can't speak to how they perform. You'll be the first. As I mentioned, we no longer carry Rode because no one ever seems to want it, and there are minimum sales required with most manufacturers in order to keep and maintain the dealership. It may be amazing, I just don't know. It is the least expensive option, no doubt.

09Aug2015 - Daryl Porter
You could install these easily if you'd like. This quote is just that, a box sale.

If you want me to install them it would simply be a two hour service call at $85/hr ($170) plus parts or mic cables to connect them to your console, assuming you have the channels available.

Should you decide to upgrade your console, I recommend the Midas M32-R.
http://www.midasconsoles.com/products/index.php?M32R
I believe it will fit in your space, and it has 16 mic pre's, but will support 40 channels.
Sounds amazing, is intuitive and easy to operate. Cost about $2,500. There are a couple of other options we can discuss.

Web site for SmartFade lighting console. Includes instructional videos. www.etcconnect.com

Circuit Breaker #34 - controls the retractable video screen

Bodypack for Shure receiver: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/ULX1-J1/

03Feb2013
One of the countryman mics you purchased was on 3/21/11. Since we do a 2 year warranty, you should still be within that. The other one under the church account was in April 2011 so it should also still be within a warranty period. -Josh

22Mar2014 - Daryl Porter
Paul, You are correct, the Furman RS-2 switch, when disabled, has no effect. When enabled, the button can be pressed to start or stop the power sequence. The idea being that the key is set to Enabled and the button os pressed to power on the system, then the key is set to Disabled. This prevents unintended system shutdown should the button be pressed unintentionally. Then the key would be set to Enabled and the button pressed to power down the system, then the key set to Disabled to secure the system. While it's been four years since we put this in, as I recall we used several components that the church already owned. I believe that the system can also be powered up/down from the rack device, bypassing the RS-2 switch. My best, Daryl Porter

23Mar2014 - Terry
Terry says to put Archi wall unit in record mode, then set desired scene on console, then record it into Archie. Obvious?

20Apr2011 - John Shada
I am wondering now that we have had different LED lighting effects for about 2 months what peoples thoughts are. I've asked people and I generally get 2 very polarized responses: We like the ability to add some different color to I hate the "purple" organ. So there are the traditionalists: please don't change a thing, we like it as it is, to those that liked some of the new lighting effects we can do.

I think I've dipped into the lighting system the most. My spread sheet gives a hit and some of the issues: How maintainable is the current system. One item on the Punch List sheet was the apparent non-working status of one of the blue LED fixtures in the dome. After the 11am service I was programming some of the lighting for May 8th, and I noticed that it now looks like all the blue LED's in the dome work. This troubles me. I would call this a behavior in engineering: flaky. Not only flaky, but potentially expensive - the dome is largely inaccessible, AA, Berwick, the contractor, architect, FCUCC - everyone knows this. I've had a few emails with AA about this blue LED, and it seemed that were we left it was that it was broken. So all the infrastructure placed way up in the dome (or even at the mid point, organ LED, back lighting), needs to be absolutely bullet proof the higher the fixture is. I'm guessing that its a several hundred dollar event, possibly moving of pews, etc to get up there.

A working relationship. Folks we need to think about our future working relationship with AA. The new system, both sound and lighting is largely now out of the self-maintainability of the present media team. In all do respect to Paul, who as I understand has a professional studio at home, this new system has been designed and programmed and tuned by AA. The large black cabinets in the sacristy now contain largely (95%), non serviceable components with regard to FCUCC. Both boxes dominate the west wall of that room, and really there is nothing we need to switch on or off. ( I question that they even need to be in that room, or mounted in their present configuration on that wall ). About the only thing we might need to access periodically is the sound volume for the amp to the founders room, and even that can largely be left at a reasonable set point, or just turned off if whats being mixed for the sanctuary is completely inappropriate for amplification for the Founders Room. If there are other vendors that can be called to deal with maintenance issues, then we need to identify them, but I am doubtful about that. This is not like a hot-water heater where there are are hundreds of plumbers that can be called to fix it. So back to where I started: We need to have a long range plan (really for the expected life of this system) to have a good working relationship with AA or someone of similar abilities who we can call, hopefully only on a rare occasion for support, parts and maintenance issues. So we need to careful to not win the fight, but loose the long term!

Spotty fixes and no final plan on what the end game looks like. OK folks, as I write this I get a instant message from Richard, Dan Paur is apparently in the building and was trying to figure out the lights that are always turned on illuminating the southern rose window and the east window. Well Berwick picked a timer placed outside Panel C in the basement that apparently controls these lights. But I kid you not it was engineered by a planetarium geek. This is so programmable that its a huge over kill and needs a 10 page manual before attempting to change any settings. This again is a maintenance issue. Clearly we want to control the lights in the sanctuary, but here is a component that is controlled in the basement, and according to AA was installed outside the scope of their work. I'm sure this is all done in a spirit of trying to be helpful and wanting a good out come, but in project management is is the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing! This is design, without review.

Documentation: I mentioned in my Punch list something to the effect that we need a map, a document explaining how everything is all wired from the electrical Panel to the terminal points. We should not have to be in the basement by walkie-talkie, throwing breakers one by one to see what the effect is! We have a short, sometimes only 4 word description in the breaker box as to what a certain breaker controls. As the situation exists when something happens, as in how do we completely darken the sanctuary its quite an ordeal to walk through the panel. And its an inappropriate use of breakers to turn things on and off or even to "reset" DMX lighting controls, etc. Breakers are safety devices.

19Apr2011 - Daryl Porter
Hi Paul, Most theatrical lighting fixtures do create a small amount of noise, but it's the intelligent fixtures (moving yoke or mirror) that usually can be problematic.(You have none of these). However, these LEDs are extremely quiet. You can confirm this yourself by standing right under the up-light fixture at each side of the platform. You honestly cannot hear any sound at all coming from them. The problem is the ceiling structure up in the cupola. It is acting like a parabolic dish, combining and focusing the fan noise from all eight fixtures to a point right on the floor at the edge of the platform. Even with that amount of fan noise, most venues have a high enough noise floor, due to HVAC systems, that mask it. That is not the case in this room though.

As I mentioned before, we installed several dozen of these fixtures on a stage in a church in Tulsa with no audible noise at all. When I commissioned the audio system, there was a lot of other noise going on in the room due to other construction trades and the organ guy trying to complete their task, so that small amount of noise was actually masked. No one noticed it until the room was empty and quiet, and when Dan first called me about it, it took us a little while to determine the source.

When we first began this design, we did consider the more expensive fixture, but you had such a limited budget, plus we all wanted a small low profile fixture, and the other ones are larger. Like I said, it was the acoustical properties of the ceiling that took every one by surprise, as there has never been any noise up there before. I am still surprised that the noise is where it is, level-wise, and we suspect that the fans may be a little louder than normal due to all of the dust that was generated after we installed them in December. I was onsite in early January and there was so much dist in the air you could hardly see across the room. I mentioned my concerns to Dan at the time, as all of the equipment we installed required a dust free environment, but it was really too late at that point, so he said he would blow them off with compressed air. But since we can't access them, we can't really make that determination.

So we trying to create a solution that is amicable to all. The lights we installed are performing as designed, it's just the noise issue. The manufacturer will not take them back, as they have been installed for several months and the dust situation voids any warranty on the fixtures. So this is why AA agreed to credit the church and take them back at a loss to us. The new replacement fixtures are more expensive, so we offered them to the church at our cost to try to help resolve this. This is why I want to sit down and speak with Ruth and all parties concerned so that I can hear your expectations. In thirty plus years of performing design/builds, I have never had a client tell me they were disappointed, so I'm sure we just have a communication issue that email sometimes exacerbates.

19Apr2011 - Daryl Porter
1) I recall that you were controlling the founders room audio from a buss at the sound board, however they were not time aligned in that configuration. This led to lack of clarity in that room. This is why we designed the feed to route through the DSP, so it could be time aligned. There is not an additional line from the sound booth that could be used for this, and even if there were, there are not any additional inputs on the DSP to take that input, so if it were run like it was before, it would not be timed correctly as it would have to bypass the DSP. Once volume is set, I'm surprised it would need to be adjusted. Our assumption is that there would be times when you did not want to sanctuary feed to go to the Founders room, and then you would simply shut off that amplifier. 2) The Soundmate unit is an extremely low end device that inherently has a lot of noise. The antenna extension would in no way contribute to that. Realistically, replacement is the only good option.

We use and recommend Listen systems: http://www.listentech.com/assistive-listening/assitive-listening-sfm/ls-02.html

19Feb2016:
Dear Paul,
I know we've had some conversations about this before, but would it be possible to ask the person running sound for the 8:30 service to adopt the routine of checking in on the three Adult Education locations to see whether they are using A/V and, if so, whether they need any technical support?

What prompted this was that last Sunday's Forum presenter had intended to use a PowerPoint presentation and no one could get that working.

I suppose there are other solutions. Perhaps the Forum team needs an A/V-trained person on it (Bruce Latimer?) who would be able to troubleshoot any issues that arise.

Thoughts? Ben

Jerry White:
The current situation is that one could directly connect the VHS/DVD player or Blu Ray player video to the projector using the RCA cables on the cart. The Audio output device is a set of wireless stereo speakers, each requiring 110 V power. The wall wart power supplies are on the cart. There is a sending unit for the speakers on the cart. Input is via a 3.5 mm plug/jack, the cables are on the cart and the cable attached to the brass gender change at the rear or the projector is the current live connection, now wired to the VHD/DVD player. There are adapters for an RCA input/output as well as adapters for phono plugs as well as for an XLR plug/cable. There is a VGA cable on the cart. There are also two plastic boxes on the cart with a variety of cables and adapters.

John Rowe 330-9125

Dary Porter on Soundproofing:
It is a routine task to create a room that is isolated from sounds, both ways, from an adjoining room. To do so and have it portable however, is next to impossible.

We do sound proofing, but this may be an instance that might not be do-able. Below is the best method for sound proofing, which explains why a portable solution is impractical.

Aside from special seals to any doors and windows, you will need two key components in your soundproofing project:

-Mass Loaded Vinyl - A super dense rubber mat you lay beneath your carpet, ceiling and walls. This mat acts as a barrier for sound.
-Green Glue Adhesive - A state of the art visco-elastic adhesive you apply to new sheet rock panels in generous amounts and over existing walls and ceilings and helps isolate sheet rock by reducing vibration caused by sound.
-STC Rated Sheet Rock -Using high stc sheet rock adds effectiveness to your overall soundproofing project.

Here is a typical shared wall soundproofing scenario:

Typical deployments are done in two phases.

Application is as follows:

Vinyl to Wall Application.

Apply the mass loaded vinyl to your existing walls. If you are down to the bare studs, attach the vinyl to the studs, and be sure you have insulation loaded between the studs. For seams leave a small spacing (1/2 to 1/4 inch) and fill in the gap with soundproofing sealant.

Phase II - 2nd Sheet-Rock Layer

Apply soundproofing glue on the wall-facing plane of the new sheet rock, and attach the new sheet rock to the other side of the vinyl. Again, you'll need a few nails and screws to get it all done.

Be sure to leave some spacing between sheet segments and fill them with soundproofing sealant. You should be able to sand the sealant down once it hardens.

Paint the wall, give it about week for the glue to cure and the treatment to come into full effect.

If after you do this you can still hear outside sound, or your sound is still heard outside, to a level that is still unsatisfactory, you will need to repeat the process and keep repeating until you get to where you want to be.

Perhaps this information will help him understand the enormous undertaking a project like this would be.

Some possibilities for A/V help:

Travis Hunter - Ardith Hanson has connected with him about helping with sound during Forum travis.hunter@gmail.com

I met with Derric West of Second Opinion Audio today. It's not obvious why the left speaker is failing occasionally. There are some things to look for next time it happens. Hopefully it's not the speaker itself which may or may not be repairable.

We discovered that the sub-woofer amp is not working. Not sure how long it has been out. I will take the amp to SOA for evaluation, we may need to replace it if not repairable.

We talked about lighting. Instead of heading toward aimable LED fixtures ($$$$$) Derric suggested adding two more LED wash fixtures. Then we noticed that the current wash fixtures are not appropriately aimed, so possibly correctly aimed LED fixtures will solve any issues of dark spots on the chancel.

Paul

Brian, Travis: Here's what to look for. If the speaker goes quiet, see if there is power to it. The speaker can be rotated to see the back side where the electronics are located. If no power to the speaker, unplug and re-plug the speaker's power cord - the sequenced receptacle is located just behind the speaker. Does that fix the issue? If not, then cycle power to the whole system in the normal manner. That normally allows it to work again.

24Jun2018: Paul, if you want to replace the sub-woofer amp it would be $931 + shipping. It would be pretty much the same amp, just the series 2 of that model(newer model). You can look into Rosstronics to repair. Not sure what they would charge. Also you can send it directly to Crown for service. I would guess with either of those options you would pay half or more of the cost of a new one. Let me know how we can help you.

CROWN Technical Support
844-776-4899
support@crownaudio.com