I want to imagine this topic as being a version of the “Make Up a System (2.0)” topic that is meant for intercom, PA, and bell systems.
I’ll Start:
For this, I want to think about what will happen when my school district replaces the existing PA system in its middle school. It’s currently the only school in the district that does not have an Audio Enhancement EPIC system. Instead, it has the original Dukane StarCall system from 2008. The building has been expanded twice since then (in 2009, and in 2018), but the existing intercom system was just expanded each time. Bells have not been used for over 7 years due to the fact that this system is sort of messed up with the zones, and it is difficult to program.
Overview of Existing System:
2008-2009 Areas:
70v Intercom Speakers:
These can be found in almost every room in these areas. I’m honestly not sure what model they are, as I’m not too good at telling these speakers apart from each other. These provide sufficient audio quality and volume. In fact, some teachers in smaller rooms have put covers over the speakers because they were too loud. The bathrooms are especially loud because of their echoey nature. There is one hallway where the speakers do not work (presumably due to a disconnected wire), but the classroom speakers do still work.
These can be found in the Band and Choir rooms (but not the practice rooms or offices), and also the art room. They are hidden above the acoustical panels that are hanging a few feet below the exposed ceiling. The ones in the band and choir rooms are black, as that’s the color of the ceiling. The band and choir rooms also have blue LED strobes on that wall that let the teacher know when an announcement is happening, so that they can quiet everyone down to hear it.
The gymnasium and cafetorium have these speakers. The white ones are 70v speakers that are tied into the intercom system, and the black ones are the room’s sound system. Interestingly, when the main audio system (with the black speakers) is turned on, the intercom audio is fed through that (with priority over the main audio, but not over the fire alarm audio, which is also tied into the audio system), and the 70v speakers are cut off.
Classroom Audio Systems:
Most classrooms have a Lightspeed LES-820IR microphone and audio system. The general music room has an LES-860IR system. They are getting pretty worn out, and don’t work properly, so most teachers don’t use them anymore. They were designed to receive audio from the computers that were hooked up to projectors though VGA. The school district now uses Apple devices with Apple TVs and AirPlay, so they are no longer used. In fact, the amplifiers have been completely removed in some rooms where the table they were on was taking up too much space. These systems are not at all tied to the intercom system. They use these unknown 8-ohm ceiling speakers:
Although the systems are outdated, these speakers still provide excellent sound quality (much better than the TV/projector speakers that are now being used). The band and choir room have 8-ohm sound systems with proper PA speakers, mixers, and XLR inputs. The audio from the TVs is also connected to them.
2018 Areas:
The 2018 areas of the school have a similar, but modernized setup:
70v Intercom Speakers:
This area uses some unknown 70v 2x2 flat panel ceiling time speakers for all areas. They sound pretty good, but the ones in the classrooms are tapped far too low, and are barely audible. Oddly, the bathrooms have no speakers. Near the outdoor tennis court and bus loop/football field, there are Fourjay 100 series 70v horn speakers.
Classroom AV Systems:
The classrooms have Extron AV systems with 8-ohm 1x2 ceiling speakers and LG TVs. These systems are connected to the LG TVs though HDMI for the visual part, and they offer several HDMI, VGA, and analog audio inputs on the wall. The audio is meant to go though the Extron system, but the district’s IT department apparently didn’t know what they were doing, so they just hooked the Apple TVs directly up to the TVs, and completely bypassed the Extron systems. These systems also provide IR wireless microphones. The science classrooms do actually have the Apple TVs hooked to the Extron system because they have two TVs per classroom, and they both need to receive the Apple TVs signal. The fitness room has a similar Extron setup, but it has four Samsung TVs, and uses JBL pendant speakers and subwoofers on a separate amplifier. The intercom system is also tied into the amplifier, and there are no 70v speakers in this area.
New System:
Here’s where my imagination comes in.
The school receives an Audio Enhancement EPIC system to match the rest of the district.
All Classrooms:
Regardless of its exact setup or location in the building , every classroom receives an Audio Enhancement WPA-702 wall plate with an intercom microphone, call button, and an emergency button. All of the areas that use 8-ohm speakers powered off of the Audio Enhancement Optimum amps also receive WPA-03 audio input/output plates. The audio from the projectors/TVs is tied into one of the auxiliary inputs on the Audio Enhancement classroom systems.
2008-2009 Areas:
70v Speakers:
Most of these remain unchanged, but there are some differences. The speakers in the hallway that were not working are reconnected. The 70v speakers in all of the classrooms, in the gym/cafetorium, in the atrium, in the library, in the multi-purpose room, and in the common areas in the 2008 academic wing are disconnected (the intercom will now run through the 8-ohm speakers). Outdoors, Audio Enhancement SP-1091 70v outdoor horn speakers are installed to cover the perimeter of the school. The wiring is changed so that each hallway/section of the school is on a different amplifier channel. This allows for zoned paging and bells.
Room Audio Systems:
This is where things get complicated. All of the rooms with existing Lightspeed systems (regardless of whether or not the amp is still there) have an Audio Enhancement MS-600 Optimum Amplifier with Integrated XD Microphone Receiver mounted right where the Lightspeed amp used to connect. This spot conveniently has the both the required speaker hookups, and a POE Ethernet port right next to each other. The existing speakers are reused, as they are perfectly good.
The rooms and areas that do not have existing audio systems receive the same amplifier, but this time it is mounted on the drop ceiling. Audio Enhancement CS-12 8-ohm ceiling speakers are installed.
The gym, cafetorium, band, and choir rooms receive Audio Enhancement MS-300 Network Interfaces mounted inside the audio racks that are feeding directly into the amplifiers for the main audio systems. They use Extron prioritized audio switches that switch the signal from the main mixer, to the MS-300 when there is audio coming from it.
The band and choir rooms also receive Audio Enhancement CA-70 Sentinel Amplifiers with Integrated XD Microphone Receivers that are mounted on the side of the main audio racks that connect to the XD teacher microphones. They are connected to one of the inputs on the mixer. This separation allows the microphones to not take priority over other audio, which is an issue in the band and choir rooms of the district’s new high school. None of the CA-70 amplifiers actually have any 8-ohm speakers connected to them. Instead, they are just simply using the 3.5mm audio out connector.
The band and chior rooms, the gym, the cafetorium, the multi-purpose room, and the shop classroom all receive blue strobes that are connected to the I/O ports on the interfaces/amplifiers, and they are programmed to activate whenever there is paging or intercom going on in that room.
2018 Sections:
70v Speakers:
Much like the older section, the speakers in the classrooms are disconnected. The ones in the hallways receive the same rewiring treatment. The outdoor Fourjay horns remain, but more Audio Enhancement SP-1091 70v outdoor horn speakers are installed to fill in the areas that they do not cover.
Room Audio Systems:
The existing Extron systems are left in place, but they are disconnected from their speakers. The audio line outputs from them are tied into the line inputs of MS-600 Optimum Amplifiers, which are installed behind the TVs with the Extron equipment. The existing 8-ohm speakers are hooked to the new Audio Enhancement amplifiers. The microphones for the Extron systems are discarded, and they are replaced with the new XD microphones. The fitness room receives the same treatment as the band and choir rooms.
Bell Programming:
This new system is properly zoned, and is easy to program, so the school decides to start using audible bells again. The bells are set to ring at appropriate times. This school follows a schedule where the different grades are dismissed at different times. Due to this, each bell only sounds in the applicable area, but all bells sound outside, in the atrium, and in the office area. They also choose a different bell tone for each grade.
Wow, that was a lot. Don’t forget to continue this topic, and make up your own. Realistic ones like this are cool, but they don’t all have to be.