Projects >>Education >>Carmel Clay Schools >>CHS R-TV
Carmel High School Radio-TV Facilities upgrade
Carmel, IN
Carmel High School offers classes and hands-on experiences in both radio and television production and on-air operation.
The administration recognized that the equipment and facilities in both areas were dated and in much need of upgrade to contemporary standards. DSA was directed to review and upgrade program objective, to develop facilities renovation and equipment upgrade plans and to develop a budget for the entire project.
The plans included complete space renovations for the radio station and equipment upgrades for both radio and TV. Both operations were converted to digital operation
After budget approval, DSA was charged with developing architectural, acoustical, mechanical, electrical requirements as well as systems design and project management.
The new communications center for broadcasting at Carmel High School maintains the district’s objective to provide excellent educational opportunities for its students.
WHJE 91.3 Carmel High School Radio >>Full Photo Gallery
WHJE is one of the oldest High School on-air radio stations in the state. Operating with 25 year old analog equipment, the administration recognized that in order to offer their students valid preparation for a career in radio a significant upgrade was needed.
Existing studio space was gutted and six new production studios, a news studio, news gathering office, and a new on-air studio was designed by DSA. Staff engineer Bill Kolts designed the acoustical treatment for each studio. HVAC system additions and modifications to assure proper air flow with minimal noise were undertaken and new dimmable task lighting was added. A sound-lock corridor provides access to the six production studios and a separate sound-lock chamber isolates the on-air and news reader studio.
The on-air studio is located at the corner of two major corridors. Acoustically treated windows were added allowing students to see the operation without interference to the board operator whose back is to the windows. Further, a flat panel monitor and separate speakers were added to the corridors allowing the station to be heard continuously.
The complete production and on-air operation was converted from analog to IP using AXIA equipment and Cisco switches. A new TR (IDF) was created. In addition, the TR houses the digital storage for the new AVID TV classroom described later.
The radio classroom was remodeled and now features six mini-production areas, large screen projection, VCR/DVD player, Dolby® 5.1 digital surround sound audio, a document camera, and 1U classroom control of all devices. All studios and the news room are monitored with IP security cameras with the video recorded digitally. Access to the schools LAN and internet access is limited to selected workstations and a separate LAN supports the production and on-air equipment.
The radio station also streams content to the web for sports and community events.
CHTV Carmel High School Television >>Full Photo Gallery
CHTV provides training in production and on-air operation. The station maintains a channel on the local CATV. The television upgrade included new studio cameras, flat panel studio monitors, new studio lighting, new camera switch, new character generator, new on-air modulator and control hardware and software. The master control and production spaces were redesigned to accommodate the new equipment and student staffing. DSA also designed a new AVID digital editing classroom with 25 digital video editing bays with front of class monitoring and teaching lectern.
The support equipment for digital storage and retrieval for the classroom, production, and on-air access is located in the new TR.
Remote production equipment including cabled and wireless cameras, switcher, and recording devices was included in the project allowing students to record or go live with athletic games and community events. Fiber optic connection from the stadium provides the option of going live during football games.
