Radio World Buyer’s Guide articles are testimonials intended to help readers understand why their colleagues chose particular products to solve various technical situations. This month’s articles focus on consoles and control surfaces.
WCOM(LP) 103.5 FM, licensed to Chapel Hill, N.C., recently celebrated its 20th anniversary as a low-power FM operation.
The station broadcasts under the umbrella of the Public Gallery of Carrboro, a nonprofit in a town directly west of Chapel Hill. Its November 2004 sign-on made it the first LPFM operation in the Tar Heel State.
But that was a long time ago, and two decades later the station showed many signs of wear. All of the equipment dated to the initial sign-on, and much of it hadn’t been new even then.
“One look at the old mess of punch-down blocks and the sea of wiring told us we would never wish to replicate that beast,” Board Member Dave Cottingham of Public Gallery of Carrboro said of the old studios.
It had no air conditioning nor heat, and windows leaked when it rained. DJs started bringing in their own space heaters during the winter, which would sometimes overload its power circuits, taking the station off the air.
Meanwhile, the town of Carrboro was constructing a library complex, and WCOM opted to pursue space in the facility. The station launched a fundraiser to perform a technical refresh during the transition. This was no small undertaking for a “hundred-watt wonder.”
Cottingham knew the station had no choice but to go digital. Its aspirations included multiple broadcast locations to achieve a live, local music and arts strategy in the community. But most of the gear it desired, Cottingham said, looked to be out of budget.
The station chose Arrakis Systems as a vendor to meet its requirements for a quality product on a short timeline. Arrakis’ technical support team, WCOM said, was an important factor. “They are easy to reach and provide expertise without a lot of tiers to get to the ‘smart guys,’” Cottingham said.
WCOM ordered a DARC S15 console with the accompanying DARC Virtual software. It also purchased Arrakis’ Apex automation platform.
Arrakis said it took a modular approach to WCOM’s system design, allowing it to scale as the operation grows.
Line cards under the table in short racks free up its studio space for other users, for example. A simple wiring plan, Cottingham said, was a joy compared to the prior analog system.
Now, remote broadcasts are a reality, and with on-demand support accessible through DARC, Cottingham and his team can provide show support without needing to travel to and from the studio.
Cottingham says the station now enjoys a pristine noise floor in its programming. “The days of chasing ground loop hum are over. And the studio that was boiling hot in the Carolina summer is a thing of the past.”
The library location, Cottingham said, has generated renewed interest with the community, engaging new shows and partnerships with other LPFM stations in the state, as well as local government.
“Ultimately, it’s all about helping create new ways to communicate with people,” Cottingham said.
Info: www.arrakissystems.com
