First-year Drew Doggett actively uses Skype to chat with a fan of the WMSR RedHawk radio station on air Tuesday evening in Williams Hall. (THOMAS CALDWELL | The Miami Student)
The Miami University student-run radio station has been completely remodeled and updated for the school year.
WMSR, once filled with outdated equipment and a complex wiring system, invested in a new soundboard and other equipment in order to make the station more professional and attract more listeners.
"The biggest issue was the way the soundboard and equipment used to be wired, it was a whole mess of wires," General Manager Paul Sunderhaus said. "It was hard to trace down a problem in a reasonable amount of time."
Programming Director Chris Vazquez also said the wiring was an issue for the DJs and show hosts.
"There used to be a huge box that blocked people from walking in and it was hard for the DJs to see each other, which was hard because you use a lot of hand signals to coordinate with each other," he said.
This issue led to the installation of a new soundboard and a more efficient wiring system. The studio took the cheapest route possible, using a standard network cable that still carries good quality sound. Sunderhaus said the soundboard was priced at $3,600. WMSR is now providing a more consistent output and the station is more accessible. The station used to have to shut down for members to crawl through all the wires to figure out what the problem was, according to Vazquez.
"Now the moment you walk in the door, you can wee the whole studio, allowing more freedom for DJs to interact with each other, not something a listener would notice," Vazquez said.
A change listeners will notice is in the software. With a new program called RadioBOSS, students can now listen to the live stream through any media player. Last year, it was not so simple. Instead, students had to download a specific plug-in. People with Mac computers could not listen in, which was problematic due to the large number of students who use a Mac.
RadioBOSS also allows DJs to provide better delivery. They can see the songs that just played, allowing them to announce the names of the songs and artists. It also allows the station to time commercials better.
"New DJs can get a grasp on things a lot more quickly than new DJs in the past, the transition is happening a lot more quickly," Vazquez said.
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Another new feature DJs can utilize is taking calls via Skype instead of by phone. This allows DJs to screen calls and record them for playback.
"Everyone is already on their computers, the old phone system was very expensive and difficult for DJs to take calls and understand them with the old system," Sunderhaus said.
With the new wiring, programming, soundboard and microphone, the total cost of the renovations was approximately $8,000.
Danielle Fisher, host of On Air with Dani and Andy, an entertainment news show, said these renovations have greatly enhanced her experience at WMSR.
"I'm starting to like it more with updated equipment, now I know how to use newer technology and I feel like a real DJ," she said. "The renovations are bringing us closer to the listeners, making it possible to get connected with them. They can interact with the DJs and they'll want to listen to our show even more."
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