St James Church - Clapham

Scanaudio were asked to install a completely new sound reinforcement and induction loop system for St James Church, Clapham. The church was rebuilt in 1958 following the war with an early sound system installed in the mid 1960’s including the column speakers were still in use having seen some 51 years of service. Our brief was to provide a modern flexible system with touch screen control which could accommodate the the wide range of services and activities in the church.

The system was built around the Yamaha TF Rack digital mixer, 4-channel Cloud amplifier and TOA F-Series loudspeakers. Five Audio Technica 2000 series radio microphones and two AKG goosenecks were installed for the day to day use along with three Audio Technica AT8033 for the music group. Video and laptop audio were relayed to the system via Sennhesier XSW minijack transceivers. A perimeter induction loop was installed to cover the whole church powered by an Ampetronic ILD500 loop amplifier.

Sadlers Wells Auditorium and Lilian Baylis Studio

Scanaudio were approached to help design and install a low spill induction loop system to cover the main 1,500 seat auditorium space. The project was carried out over two summers as part of a major refurbishment project. This entailed the removal of all the seating and carpet to facilitate the installation of the copper tape arrays along the step edges. Ampetronic multiloop drivers were installed in the gantry area above the second circle with feeder cables run using Van Damme 4 x 2,5mm cable. Final commissioning was carried out in association with Ampetronic Ltd. 

Temple Farm Induction Loop

Temple Farm is a new 84-acre UK headquarters for the International Bible Students Association (IBSA) located near Chelmsford, Essex. The site has up to 1,000 volunteer workers per day alongside a small number of outside sub-contractors and is professionally managed and run by the organisation.

To provide equal access to sound for people with hearing loss and fulfil the requirements of IEC 60118-4 in a multipurpose auditorium, the Jehovah’s Witnesses organisation approached assistive listening system manufacturer Ampetronic to help.

Working through the requirements it quickly became apparent that spill control was required. As the complexity of the loop system grew Ampetronic recommended Scanaudio, chosen for its expert knowledge on projects of this size, to provide induction loop installation and integration with AV systems.

Scanaudio worked with the client regarding the practical installation of three phased arrays loops covering the 750 square metre multipurpose room. Amidst challenging floor conditions and concerns about tapes being cut, Scanaudio changed the system specification from flat copper tape to direct burial cable ensuring a robust system solution. The loop installation was completed in under five days.

Dee Couchman of Scanaudio said: “I can honestly say that it was a pleasure to work with JW.org. Their friendly professional approach was a real help to us working to a tight schedule to install the loop before the installation of the floor in the multipurpose room. This large space was available to us for the duration of the works and was the best prepared space we have worked during the last 25 years.”

The loop systems used were designed and checked by Ampetronic’s design engineers. MutliLoop phased arrays were installed directly on top of the concrete floor slab using 2.5mm direct burial cable (DBC), secured with an 8mm hammer in cable tie mounts using 200m reels to minimise the number of joins in the cable. Each phased array was driven by an Ampetronic D10-2 multiloop driver with program audio fed from the client’s AV system. Continuity sign-off tests were carried out to standard after installation of the arrays and then again following the application of foam floor insulation.

Portcullis House Ticket Office

We have recently completed the installation of new Ampetronic TalkPerfect and induction loop systems for the House of Commons tours ticket office in Portcullis House. Working closely with Ampetronic, four custom loops were installed above the ticket office windows. Talk perfect systems were installed at each desk position to provide greatly improved communication across the security windows for all visitors.

Charterhouse Memorial Chapel

Scanaudio have carried out a major upgrade to the sound reinforcement and induction systems in the  Memorial Chapel at Charterhouse during the Easter Holiday. The chapel was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott and consecrated in June 1927. It is the largest war memorial in England and dedicated to the Carthusians who gave their lives in the First and Second World Wars.

Our brief was to provide a sound system with improved speech intelligibility and full range music replay capability. The older induction loop system though operational, only covered around a third of the chapel so it was important in the new design to cover the whole of the Nave. An Ampetronic ILD1000G induction loop driver was installed along with a new perimeter loop covering all of the nave for hearing aid users.

Working within the constraints of a Grade 1 listed building was a challenge to find a loudspeaker system that was both effective and discreet. We chose to use 20 x custom RAL coloured K-array KV52's along the length of the Nave with a further 8 x KU44 sub bass loudspeakers installed underneath the rear row of pews. These were powered via a Powersoft Quattrocanalli 4-channel amplifier with DSP processing. The control system was based around a Yamaha TF rack mixer and a Windows 10 tablet running Yamaha Provisonnaire Control software.

We had previously upgraded the microphone system with Audio Technica ES935ML6 slimline gooseneck models for the principal reading locations around the Chapel, namely the Altar, Headmaster, Deputy Head and lectern. Two Sennheiser radio microphones were provided for the main celebrant along with an aerial distribution system installed at high level behind the organ canopy.

System commissioning was carried out using Neutrik test equipment and Fuzzmeasure measurement software

HERE East Olympic Park, Stratford

UCL has taken a 20 year lease out on 32,206sq ft of space (which equates to approximately 38 badminton courts) in the Olympic Park’s former Broadcasting Centre now known as Here East.

It will represent the first UCL presence on the Olympic Park, ahead of the proposed UCL East development. Scanaudio were appointed by Paragon Interiors to install the low spill induction loop in the large auditorium space. This is set over multiple levels with no formal seating and required a complex low spill design to provide even loop coverage throughout the space. A total of 800m of copper tape were required to installed the two low spill arrays. Working closely with Paragon and the flooring contractor the installation was handed over to the client in August 2017.

St Peter’s Church, Hever

St Peter’s church is the oldest of the three in the benefice, dating back to the 12th Century and worship has been held here for over 875 years. It contains the tomb of Sir Thomas Bullen, father of Anne Boleyn and grandfather of Queen Elizabeth the First.

Scanaudio were invited to submit proposals for updating the 20 year old sound and loop system for improved system performance and control with a clear upgrade path available for future integration with control and projection facilities. We installed a TOA F series loudspeaker system with additional coverage for the Bullen Chapel and a small sub bass to provide full range sound reproduction for music sources. A Yamaha TF Rack mount digital mixer was installed at the heart of the system to provide full control of all audio inputs and outputs. This powerful yet simple to use mixer has the option of being remotely controlled via the Yamaha stage mix app operating on an iPad to allow church members to control the system from anywhere in the church.

A Sennheiser 100 series radio microphone system was installed comprising 2 lapel and two lapel system fed from an aerial distribution system and two high level paddle aerials. Fixed Audio Technica engineering series condenser gooseneck microphone were fitted at the pulpit and lectern. A Tascam CD200 BT was provided for CD and playback of Bluetooth sources which are popular for wedding and other special occasions. A new perimeter loop was installed to cover the whole church powered via an Ampetronic ILD500 loop amplifier. All the control equipment was housed in a 19-inch rack sleeve with a custom oak cabinet supplied and built by members of the church congregation.

Young Epilepsy – Lingfield

Scanaudio have developed an audio monitoring system specifically tailored to the needs of professional carers working with persons with epilepsy and other related conditions where a clear indication of the onset of a seizure can be identified and appropriate actions swiftly taken. We have supplied, installed and maintaining epilepsy seizure monitor systems for Young Epilepsy since 2000. To date we have over 140 monitored rooms on site.

The system is designed around an audio digital signal processor (DSP) which is custom programmed and linked to a series of microphone installed in each client’s room. The DSP is linked to a Windows PC, monitor and a small powered loudspeaker.

A custom user control panel is provided to allow staff to rapidly assess a child’s condition via an easy to use on interface. This shows the audio activity picked up by the room microphone on a sensitive meter whilst listening to the audio via a local powered loudspeaker. Simple mouse clickable controls are used to adjust microphone volume, on/off status and which rooms are monitored.

A solo function enables the operator to instantly switch from monitoring a group of rooms to listening to a single room. This feature immediately removes any distracting background noise from other rooms allowing staff to rapidly assess the client’s condition and respond accordingly. The system is fully networkable and scalable from six rooms to several hundred rooms if required.

An existing CAT5e network between buildings can be employed to relay audio and control commands around a distributed site allowing monitoring to be carried out in multiple locations if required. The DSP can be interfaced with external devices such as PIR detectors, which are sometimes used to monitor if a person has left their room. Although the system is primarily designed as a listen in system, the DSP can be programmed to provide full intercom facilities as well.

Laura Trott Leisure System- Cheshunt

Scanaudio have maintained and updated the Cloud Electronics zoned PA system at the Laura Trott Leisure system for several years including the interfacing of the stand-alone music system in the various studios with the building fire alarm system.

Sadlers Wells Auditorium and Lilian Baylis Studio

Scanaudio were approached to help design and install a low spill induction loop system to cover the main 1,500 seat auditorium space. Working closely with theatre consultant Roger Spence, the project was carried out over two summers as part of a major refurbishment project. This entailed the removal of all the seating and carpet to facilitate the installation of the copper tape arrays along the step edges. Ampetronic multiloop amplifiers were installed in the gantry area above the second circle with feeder cables run using Van Damme 4 x 2.5mm cable. Final commissioning was carried out in with Ampetronic Ltd.

The system provided extensive standard compliant loop coverage around the three tiers of seating. We also installed a low spill loop system for the retractable bleacher seating in the Lilian Baylis Studio to replace a poorly working perimeter loop system.