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JK Audio’s Universal Host Goes North

Telephone interface aids Quebec’s Le FM 98 at the studio, on the road

SAGUENAY, Quebec — Le FM 98 is a radio broadcaster in Saguenay, 130 miles north of Quebec City in Quebec. The station provides news and regional programming for the region.

Large portions of the programming include phones interviews that need to be prerecorded in the newsroom. Standard taps in the telephone systems were no longer satisfactory. Furthermore, the entire phone system will be replaced by a VoIP phone system in the future. So they were looking for a platform-independent system for the four news production positions in the newsroom.

My company, Transitron, is a radio and audio equipment contractor in the region. Le FM 98 contacted us and after much research we were leaning toward one of the JK Audio phone interfaces, with the ability to connect between the telephone handset and the phone base. That approach had the advantage to give Le FM 98 an interface that works with their current phone system as well as with their planned VoIP system.

We settled upon JK Audio’s Universal Host. The Universal Host provided excellent audio quality, separation and echo cancellation for both the recording and the caller by using built-in digital signal processing (DSP). The unit interfaced easily with Le FM 98’s newsroom mixers. Operation is straightforward. Internal and external options selectors allow it to interface with almost anything.

On a few occasions when Le FM 98 has needed to do broadcast remotes while the IP-based remote systems were occupied, they have been able to count on the JK Audio Universal Host’s built-in microphone preamp and headset amplifier. The USB audio interface made for easy interfacing with a laptop so staffers could play back prerecorded parts or record the actual interview.

One interesting feature of the USB interface is the capability to record the announcer on one track while recording the caller on another. When combined via an audio editor on the laptop we can correct level and cellphone problems. The JK Audio Universal Host is a versatile and useful unit. The price point is right and the users like it. We know what to look for in the future.

Bruno Pelltier is owner of Transitron.

For information, contact Joe Klinger at JK Audio in Illinois at (815) 786-2929 or visit www.jkaudio.com.

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