Media Realm recently had the privilege of working with community radio station 2GLF to replace their aging Lawo Crystal studios and rack room with brand new Axia iQx consoles. We also installed a new CallerOne phone system, VClock displays, and backup uMPX studio-transmitter-link (STL) and program fail system.
Ian and Chris approached me in early 2024 to design and install their two new Axia studios. They had decided to go with Axia, and selected us as their preferred installer given our extensive experience with the Axia ecosystem. The new system was replacing an end-of-life Lawo Crystal system.
2024 has been the year for studio installs. As luck would have it, I also ended up building 11 radio studios for ABC Parramatta with OnAir Solutions. I might have the chance to write about that job one day, but today I want to share the decisions we made and problems we solved at 2GLF.
Studios
We selected the Axia iQx consoles and two Axia xNodes for each studio. This provided ample I/O and mixing capability, and the matrix in the xNodes would allow us to create an intercom between studios and the producer’s area. We chose the standard Axia iQx with the user-button expansion frame, giving us 10 programmable buttons for custom functions and statuses on the console.
Existing studio equipment and furniture was reused wherever possible to save costs. CD Players, Microphones, StudioHub guest panels, and some PCs were re-used. All in-studio cabling was replaced, and dutifully labeled with SharpMark cable labels. Existing Cat6 to the rack-room was re-terminated and documented.
We installed new MSI Cubi PCs in the Rack Room, and extended these to the studios with TESmart IP KVMs. These provides a cost-effective and reliable way to keep PCs out of the studios. Some PCs were split to multiple monitors, and this was easy with this IP KVM solution. The MSI Cubi is a nifty replacement for the now-discontinued Intel NUC range. This MSI option has dual ethernet ports, which is very handy for PCs that need to span two separate networks.
Existing Simian PCs were kept, and connected via the Axia IP Audio Driver. Lindy USB Over Cat6 extenders allow presenters to connect their own USB Storage devices to the Production PC in each studio. I am generally suspicious of USB Extenders, but these ones have proved to be reliable.
A PowerShield Defender 1600VA UPS in each studio provided silent power filtering and backup power. These line-interactive UPSes protect the Axia equipment and other sensitive studio equipment. We selected larger rack-mount models for the rack room.
Clocks & Logic
We selected Voceware VClock to provide clock and studio status indicators, as well as act as a cheaper alternative to Pathfinder. VClock not only acts as a studio display, but also provides a powerful logic builder. VClock handles all studio delegation (offer/accept), intercom (matrix crosspoint switching), on-air light GPIO mapping, and other utility logic functions.
I had heard of VClock before but never used it. While the logic builder is convoluted at first glance, it does connect to a wide range of systems and gave us all the logic options we need. I was quite proud of offering a Offer/Accept studio delegation system, push-to-talk intercom to producer & other studio, and profanity delay remote control directly from the programmable buttons on the iQx expansion frame.
The lack of in-built logic in Axia devices, and expense of Pathfinder, is often a barrier for smaller stations to getting the most out of their Axia iQ, iQx and Radius consoles. VClock fills a gap here, if you are willing to spend the time programming it.
Intercom
Two intercom buttons are present in each studio:
- Talk Studio 1/2
- Talk Producer
Pressing and holding these buttons activates cross-points in the xNode Matrix, using logic in VClock to do so. The Matrix mixes the intercom audio into the external preview, allowing the mic to be heard in the headphones and cue speaker.
Basic intercom mics (from Altronics) in the Producer’s area have in-built on/off switches, so logic isn’t required here. These mics are always mixed into the correct studio’s external preview.
Studio Delegation
Each studio has two buttons to allow for studio switching – Offer & Accept. They also have a third ‘button’ as an indicator (‘Studio Active’).
The active studio can press ‘Offer’, which makes the other studio’s ‘Accept’ button light up. Pressing Accept takes the studio to air immediately. It changes the various routes, including the delay input and on-hold music input.
Backup studio delegation is offered via a StreamDeck in the rack room. This StreamDeck is connected to Companion. We have written a custom Companion module for Axia LWRP devices, which allows us to control Audio Routes and GPIO. We hope to release this module to the world later this year so more people can take advantage of it.
A 3D Printed rack mount for the StreamDeck XL allowed us to rack mount this neatly in the rack room. Perhaps if we were doing this again we’d select the new StreamDeck Studio!
Audio Delay
The station’s existing Symetrix Airtools 6100 audio profanity delay was connected, and the logic made available in each studio. Start, Exit and Dump buttons on the console provide easy operator control.
One disappointment overall was our inability to find someone to do custom chemical etching on the programmable console buttons. We settled for clear printed labels, but the finish isn’t as nice as the etched buttons from the factory.
Callers, Contributors and OBs
Broadcast Bionics CallerOne was chosen to replace their old Comrex Stac VIP system. One hybrid is available per studio, Grandstream handsets are available for call screening in studio, and a USB headset is used in the producer’s area for call screening.
CallerOne is a lightweight version of PhoneBox / Bionic Talkshow. I was pleased it can run in a web browser. The behaviour of the recommended Grandstream handsets is clunky (not as seamless as the old Cisco and Avaya handsets with PhoneBox), but the touchscreen on the Grandstream handset means CallerOne doesn’t need to occupy a full monitor in the studio.
Some contributors dial in via the free Sonobus software. This app runs 24/7 on a PC in the rack room, allowing contributors to ‘dial in’ via their PC or Smartphone. Presenters can bring this fader up in either studio. Multiple contributors can connect at once, allowing for a party-line style system. Contributors receive the backfeed mix-minus audio from the studio, and talkback works via the console as well.
The station’s existing Comrex Access NX was also connected, allowing easy remote audio contribution for outside broadcasts.
Network
We designed and implemented a new network to support all the broadcast and other IT systems. Cisco CBS350 series switches were selected. One 8-port silent switch lives in each studio, and two 24-port switches live in the rack room. Each switch has dual uplinks, with spanning tree configured. You can loose one switch without loosing the entire network (most critical devices have dual paths onto the network).
Mikrotik L009UiGS-RM routers were used at the studio and transmitter sites, providing firewalling, routing and VPN termination. I have been using these routers in a few locations over the last year or so, and I am very pleased with their power and flexibility. Being ARM-based, they have a wider range of add-on modules than some older Mikrotik models.
Audio and Office traffic has been segregated onto separate VLANs, with strict firewall rules providing access to the correct services. Colour-coded patch leads make it easy to identify which network a specific device is connected to.
Transmitter Site
The main path to the transmitter site is an existing 850Mhz link, which we retained. We installed a backup path and program fail switcher using StereoTool uMPX (Micro MPX).
StereoTool encodes uMPX at the studios on a PC, and pushes it via the VPN to a 2wcom MPX-1c. A Deva DB8009-MPX switches between the primary and secondary MPX, and also has in-built emergency audio with a basic stereo generator.
An upcoming project will be to add RDS to the primary MPX source, as this is on-air the majority of the time. Switching from a primary link with no RDS, to secondary and emergency links with RDS has confused some observant DXers 😉
Timeline & Handover
The project was completed in stages. The first studio and initial rack room changes were installed in April with Media Realm’s team of three installers. Training and testing was progressively undertaken and the studios were on-air full time in June. Studio 1 and Transmitter Site upgrades were undertaken in July, and the final tasks (including decommission the remaining analog equipment and wiring) were completed across August and September.
The final handover consisted of a technical training session, showing the team through common tasks and troubleshooting of Axia equipment. A 41-page handover manual was supplied. This included:
- System overview
- How-to guides for common technical tasks
- Audio schematics
- Axia stream address listing
- Network IP Address listings
- Device passwords
- Cable Schedule
- Config backups for all hardware
- Maintenance schedule
- User manuals & warranty
Overall, we are very happy to have delivered an affordable studio upgrade for 2GLF. My hope is that this new technology foundation opens up more opportunities to connect with their community, and frees the team up from technical troubleshooting. We look forward to working with 2GLF on further projects and ongoing maintenance.