Andreas Bach behind the sapphire console. University Radio Aachen broadcasts at 99.1 MHz VHF from the top floor of the student’s dormitory and has done so for seven years. It recently added a Lawo sapphire digital mixing console with 12 faders and VXPanel.
Manned by volunteers from the decade old university radio club, the programming targets students and university staff.
When the University Radio club was founded about 10 years ago, there was essentially no budget for a mixing console. Private local station “Radio Energy” in Munich donated its old analog mixer to get the station started.
A decade later, the station chose the sapphire from Lawo after a group visited audio console manufacturers at several trade shows, gathering information and attending demonstrations. The sapphire’s modular system core, motorized faders and extensive configuration capabilities motivated the choice, says the company. The Visual Extension module and the option of Ravenna networking with a proposed second studio were also attractive, it said.
“Someone from the Lawo sales staff came to Aachen to clarifying on-site details, and the university team visited Lawo’s headquarters in Rastatt twice for training, and to set up configurations that can be used by ourselves,” said Andreas Bach, one of the members in this task force at the University Radio Aachen and a mechanical engineering major. He said the students installed the console themselves.
“Even though we are a very small radio broadcaster, we have been taken seriously as a customer by Lawo. In the pre-talks there was no attempt to sell us as much equipment as possible, but to find the best possible options for our radio and for our budget,” he said.
