Audio-Technica was recently selected as the wireless manufacturer of choice by Brighton, Michigan-based firm Sport View Technologies (SVT) for a massive new installation at Forest Hills Public Schools in the district of Forest Hills, Michigan (part of the Grand Rapids metropolitan area).
A total of 410 channels of Audio-Technica’s fourth-generation 3000 Series Frequency-agile True Diversity UHF Wireless was installed across 15+ schools (including elementary, middle and high schools),
making it the largest deployment of Audio-Technica wireless to date.
Filling out the audio setups are AtlasIED BlueBridge DSP units, power amplifiers and several hundred AtlasIED SM12CXT speakers.
SVT Solutions Architect Eric Pounds remarked, “Forest Hills Public Schools wanted to standardize all their audio setups and wireless systems, and they had some specific guidelines for what they were working toward. Audio-Technica seemed like a great fit, because of the reliability of the new generation 3000 Series, the durability of the microphones, and the overall manufacturer support they offer.”
At least three spaces in each school were outfitted with a system each, serving gymnasiums, music rooms, cafeterias, media centers and multipurpose rooms.
The majority of the systems needed to be installed during summer break, in order for the systems to be operational by the first week of school for teacher and staff meetings.
“They specified 6-12 wireless microphones per system, as a bulk of the systems were being used for Large Group Instruction,” noted Pounds. “They also wanted a mobile cart per building with the wireless mics and portable PA, so they could wheel around a system to address the staff and students for different uses throughout the facility.
They use Google products for just about everything, so controlling the system through a Chrome browser was key –
and that was a workflow that we could help them set up, and that was key to our success in this installation.”
Pounds noted how Audio-Technica’s support was fundamental: “A big part of our success in securing the bid and winning over the customer was having support from the manufacturer. We were able to contact A-T, use their expertise in selecting the right microphone system, and get the ball rolling that way. They helped us with of the design elements as far as configuring the antennas and selecting frequencies.”
The process has been smooth, and the school district is happy with the results. Pounds added,
“We focused on a certain number of rooms first, which ended up being a ‘phase one,’ and it was highly successful.
Additional funding was secured for a phase two, which filled in the list with all the rest of the systems that were deployed in the secondary gyms, band and choir rooms etc.
We’ve gotten nothing but positive reactions from the users. The systems suit their needs perfectly, and they’re configured in just the right way for their applications.”
