[BC] Re: LPB's Little "Blue" 5c Console

[Glen Kippel]

On Sun, Feb 8, 2009 at 7:14 PM, <wmroradio at bellsouth.net> wrote:

> It's an ego thing, the bigger the console used, they think they are getting
> out there to the world?
>
> ----------

Could be.  A big board with lots of lighted pushbuttons and meters is
impressive to all the non-radio visitors you may have.  And that could be a
good thing from a marketing aspect.

However, one might make the case that in some instances a board may not be
necessary at all.  When I first built KHCS, I didn't have a board -- I put
stuff on the air or to the record input of the automation via a Burk LX-1
switcher.  A very nice box, BTW.  Mic levels were adjusted by the output of
the mic processors -- that was sufficient.  Eventually I added a TASCAM
MM-200 mixer to add some EQ and BBE processing when needed, more than
anything.

In 1972 I built up a system at KAPX in San Clemente where we had a very good
announcer but who was all thumbs.  I made up a box with big, colored,
rectangular push buttons -- the top row primarily to select what he wanted
to listen to, and the bottom to select what was to be recorded or put on the
air.  The only pots were for the monitor and the reel-to-reel input.  This
box was just the control head for the electronics, which were located in a
pedestal.

And a few years ago I built a system for Beverly LaHaye (founder of
Concerned Women for America) to do her nationwide show via ISDM.  Again, a
mixer would just add extra cost and complexity, especially for someone who
is non-technical.  The outputs of the two AirCorp mic processors and the
Telos Zephyr were routed through an ATI MAA (Multiple Amplifier Array) to
provide a mix-minus so she could hear her foldback.  I built a little button
box so she could turn the mics on and off via the insert loop -- in this
case, hitting "insert" would insert nothing, thus turning the mic off.  She
could put the box on a table, on her lap, or wherever it was handy.  I got a
pair of Senneiser headsets so that she could do her show from anywhere in
the room -- even lying down if she didn't feel well.

My dad always told me "there's more than one way to skin a cat."

I hope nobody here brlongsto the SPCA.