Matakuliah
Tahun
: O0372 - Dasar-Dasar Produksi Siaran Radio
: 2010
THE CONSOLE
Book: “Modern Radio Production” by Hausman, Benoit,
Messere, & O’Donnell: Chapter 2
Pertemuan 2
FUNCTION of THE CONSOLE
• Whether Digital or Analog, the audio console is
simply a device for amplifying, routing, and mixing
audio signal.
• Sound is a vibration through air or another medium.
• Audio is the electrical signal used in reproducing or
transmitting the original sound
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FUNCTION of THE CONSOLE
•
Amplification is the boosting of a signal to a usable level. the
console gives the operator convenient control over the
volume of various signal sources such as microphones, turntables
(professional-quality record players), CDs and various playback units.
•
Routing; the console allows the producer to determine the
path of the signal or, in other words, to route it (in addition to
routing signals through the console, the operator can turn signals on and off).
•
Mixing; the console can put two signals out at once – the
announcer’s voice and music for example. The console also allows
the volume of both to be controlled separately, or mixed, so
that the music doesn’t drown out the announcer.
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UNDERSTANDING CONSOLE FUNCTION:
SOME HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLES
•
Hypothetical console A
•
•
Plays only one sound, the same disc over and over.
Consists of a CD Player and console
– Preamplifier: The signal from some input device is very
weak, so a device called a preamplifier (usually shortened to
preamp) boosts it to a more usable level.
– Potentiometer: a variable resistor; in nonspecialist’s terms,
it’s nothing more than a volume control. It’s almost
always referred to as the fader or a pot.
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UNDERSTANDING CONSOLE FUNCTION:
SOME HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLES
– Key or Routing Switch: The key is an on-off switch that puts the
signal out over the air when the key is pushed to program. The key is
thrown into program when it is moved to the right or, if it is a button,
when it is depressed.
– Volume-Unit Meter: usually called a VU meter, gives an objective
visual representation of loudness. Noise is always present in these
electrical components, and when there’s not enough signal volume, the noise
becomes much more apparent; this is known as an unacceptable signal-tonoise ratio. VU meter also indicates the percentage of modulation.
Modulation is a measure in percentage of voltage passing through the
console to a transmitter, or to a recording device.
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UNDERSTANDING CONSOLE FUNCTION:
SOME HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLES
•Hypothetical Console B
– Allows the operator to make smooth transitions between
selections by having another CD all set to go when one
ends. This will eliminate gaps in the program known in
the trade as dead air. Console B has several additions that
allow the operator to eliminate gaps and overlap music.
Both audition and program can be used independently.
– Multiple Input Channels: this console has two input
channels, CD1 and CD 2 Player. There will also be two
preamps and two program keys.
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UNDERSTANDING CONSOLE FUNCTION:
SOME HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLES
– The Audition Channel: Audition allows you to hear a disc,
tape, or other source without putting it over the air. The
audition channel routes the signal from a source to a
speaker in the control room.
– The Cue Channel: It plays over a small speaker located
within the console. To put the pot in cue, the operator
generally selects it by depressing the cue button.
Frequently, this will temporarily disengage the program
channel while the channel is in cue.
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UNDERSTANDING CONSOLE FUNCTION:
SOME HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLES
• Hypothetical Console C:
– The expanded capability of console B, can put the
microphone over the air and mix it with other sources.
– Muting System: it cuts the monitor (the loudspeaker that
lets the operator know what’s going over the air). It is
essential when a mic and a speaker are in the same room because,
without muting, the mic picks up the output of the speaker, feeds it
through the amplification system, the result is known as
feedback.
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UNDERSTANDING CONSOLE FUNCTION:
SOME HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLES
– Feedback is the same unpleasant phenomenon that occurs
when a rock singer gets careless with a microphone too
near a speaker.
– Headphones: a close seal over the operator’s ears,
preventing any possibility of feedback.
– Master Pot: it controls the entire output of the board.
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UNDERSTANDING CONSOLE FUNCTION:
SOME HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLES
•Hypothetical Console D:
– It’s offered a 10-minute telephone talk show, which starts
at 30 minutes after the hour.
– It allows the operator to choose the Network (Net) or the
telephone (Tel). It’s labeled as “remotes lines” because the
sources are located outside the studio.
– Delegation Switch: is often, but not always, immediately
above the pot. The operator has to be able to decide which
signal will be chosen, or delegated, to go onto the source
channel.
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ADVANTAGES of THE REAL CONSOLE
• SUBMIXING:
– A Submixer is nothing more than a miniature console that
combines or “gangs” a group of inputs; the output of the
submixer is fed into the radio console.
– Plug the mics into a submixer (which has several pots and
a VU meter, so that each mic level can be adjusted), and
run the output of the submixer (which is at line level) into
the console, where it ties up only one pot.
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ADVANTAGES of THE REAL CONSOLE
• PATCHING:
– It allows you to route a signal in a way different from that envisaged
when the board was wired together by station’s engineer.
– There are two ways to change the routing of audio signals:
• One way is to automate the process using a routing switcher, a
device that makes connections between the console and its input
and output sources at the touch of a button.
• Second way is to use a patchbay (patch panel). It performs the
same function as an old-time telephone switchboard, using
connectors (plug) to send a signal to a specific source.
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ADVANTAGES of THE REAL CONSOLE
• PATCHING:
– If something breaks down, the solution would be done
with a patchcord, which plugs into jacks on the patchbay.
Patchcord may be single- or double-pronged, depending on
their intended us or the configuration of the bay.
– A special jack in Patch panel is called a multiple. This
allows you to patch one source into the multiple and plug
in several patchcords that all carry the same output.
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WORKING COMBO
•
•
Means: Running your own console while performing
announcing duties.
Tips for Graceful combo announcing:
–
–
–
–
–
Don’t make mention or call attention to the fact that you are running
equipment.
Watch out for control room noise.
Think ahead.
Keep an emergency “life preserver” at hand-something you read or
play if you’re stuck and can’t figure out which button to push.
Communicate over the air first and foremost, run equipment second!
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