[BC] Doing remotes with Marti

Fri Apr 6 10:04:28 CDT 2007

Many years ago we had an older General Electric 455.050 two-way System mainly for news reporting.  It was also used for DA maintenance.

The base stations receiver was modified by tapping directly into the discriminator and a previous engineer had constructed a line amplifier with some added bass  and a h.f.  hiss roll off control.  The output was 600 Ohms and fed a 5 kHz. equalized line back to the studios.

The newsroom had the option of using audio from the two-way remote control console or the equalized line.  Some times they would use one source for one report and the equalized line for the next report just to make them sound different..

For most 30 or 60 second remotes from auto dealers, store openings etc.  the audio from the equalized line was used since is was better than normal 2-way and had a better telephone line.

As we began to do some remotes a complete DJ shows with all music played from the studios,  we added a Marti receiver at the base stations site and fed its audio back to the studios.  The Marti receiver had a better low end response and the newsroom liked the sound of their two-ways better on the Marti receiver.  We used a Marti transmitter for DJ shows and 30-60 second remote sites for the better sound.  The sound was so good using a regular microphone,  you could tell it was remote by hearing all the random noise at the site.

Dave Hultsman
Continental Electronics .
Birmingham, AL
Tel Toll Free (888) 822-1078
Fax (205) 822-6441

-----Original Message-----
From: Towers at mre.com
To: broadcast at radiolists.net
Sent: Thu, 5 Apr 2007 10:47 AM
Subject: Re: [BC] Doing remotes in 2007

There is a balance which can be found using both. 

We have in the past used narrow band Marti TX's in certain applications to give the remote the "real sound" of a remote. In others, we use the 50Khz channels for something better sounding. In the former, just turn up the fader a few dB. 

2-way can be made to sound good as well. But it takes work and an experienced tech who KNOWS that gear upside down and backwards to make it happen and not sound like crap. 

As others have mentioned, the use of DBX was a HUGE step up for the Marti system. At one station we used it, it added 10 miles to the usable distance of the remotes. We found with only 1-2 dB of Marti compression (just tickling the limiter), the audio sounded quite impressive at distances which would otherwise be marred by constant hiss or other artifacts. Close in, it sounded really good. Of course, hammering the limiter in the Marti was equally bad too. DBX failed horribly if the limiter was hit too hard. 

MM 

At 11:22 AM 4/5/2007 -0400, Dana Puopolo wrote 
>I'[ve seen this same thing happen with traffic reports. Four Boston stations 
>used to share a helicopter for traffic reports. Three of us used 2 way radios, 
>but one (3 letter call) had to sound better, so they put in a full blown UHF 
>Marti system. Problem was, they didn't sound like they were in a helicopter 
>any more-and it cost them credibility with listeners who thought they were 
>being deceived. They're back to the 2 way again. 
> 
>-D 
> 
>------ Original Message ------ 
>Received: 
>From: Barry Mishkind <barry at oldradio.com> 
>To: Broadcasters' Mailing List <broadcast at radiolists.net> 
>Subject: Re: [BC] Doing remotes in 2007 
> 
> 
> Goran, 
> It is interesting to me to see this sort of comment. 
> 
> Of course, there are many different types of "remote" 
> broadcasts, from drop-ins from the local car dealer to 
> a symphony hall concert. 
> 
> However, in many cases, there is a level of obsession that 
> goes beyond the level of balance. 
> 
> As has often been noted here, CONTENT is usually more 
> important to the listener than the absolute purity of sound. 
> 
> In fact, I've had more than one PD agree that if the 
> "marti shot" is too good, then how does the listener 
> know there really is a remote going on? 
> 
> Now, I do *not* advocate the bare cell phone remote. 
> They almost always sound horrid. In fact, I know 
> of some cancellations caused by lazy staff who would 
> rather not set up the remote gear, but use the cell 
> phone since "it was only two breaks" 
> 
> Just like a sports broadcast usually seeks to ADD 
> crowd noise instead of having the relative silence 
> of the booth back the play by play, many remotes 
> actually "benefit" from the audio being something 
> less than perfect. 
> 
> 
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