Student Job Shadows as an Acoustical Engineer
Many high school students have never heard of the “acoustical engineering” field so when local student Jordan Van Buskirk  (a Senior at Western Michigan Christian High School) asked his teacher about jobs that have to do with acoustics, it was a first for the school. After being contacted by Joyce Workman, Director of Advancement at WMCHS, Acoustics By Design proposed a project centered around a problematic space for the school. By working with an existing space, both Jordan and the school would benefit from the job shadow opportunity; Jordan was even able to get credit for a physics class by completing the project. Jordan worked with Tim Koldenhoven of Acoustics By Design and identified the gymnasium as a space that needed improvements. Not knowing what to expect, Jordan showed up on time and ready to learn. (more)
Acoustical Solutions for Cafetoriums and Gymnatoria
Multi-use school facilities (such as “cafetoriums” – cafeterias that double as auditoriums) are popping up all over Michigan because they save space and save money. But many schools are finding that they are not well-suited to serve multiple purposes. So how can multi-use facilities be optimized for both utility (think cafeteria) and performance (think auditorium)? (more)
IPTV –When it Makes Sense & Save Cents
One of the transitions that we are watching closely in the audio-visual Industry is the evolution of audio and video delivery over networks instead of through dedicated distribution systems. In the consumer world you may have noticed that some TV networks are starting to stream things like major sporting events from their websites, or you may have signed up for a service like Netflix or Hulu Plus to stream movies to your TV. These are examples of TV delivered over the Internet – commonly called IPTV. (more)
Apples, Oranges, and Sharp Pencils
In the world of sales idioms, you never want to compare “apples with oranges”, but you always want the salesperson to “sharpen their pencil.” You don’t want to compare two unlike things, but you do want to make sure you get the best possible price. So, in the world of audio-video design, how do you know that you are comparing apples with apples and making the right purchase for the right price? (more)
How Today’s Teachers Use Classroom Display Technology
Kids today have it all: the cell phone, the iPod, the iPad, the internet, digital cameras, video games, laptops – ahhh!!! With all this stimuli, teachers have to battle to win the ever-decreasing attention spans of their students. And any teacher knows the statistics of how students learn: most of what they get their hands on (tactile learning), some of what they see (visual learning), and little of what they hear (aural learning). The good news is that new classroom display technology enables teaches to fire on all cylinders and teach fluidly while using all three methods of communication. So, how are teachers doing it? (more)
Football Stadium Sound System Design | How to Control the Friday Night Roar
It’s 7pm on Friday night in the middle of September. You’re sitting down with your significant other to a nice refreshing beverage on your back porch. All is calm. It’s a beautiful evening. Suddenly a not-so-distant voice floats through your backyard let you know that #58 has just tackled #23 on the 35 yard line. You are, once again, thankful that your peaceful and idyllic life has been interrupted by the sound system from the local High School football game. No…you wish there was some way to contain that sound to the stadium where it’s supposed to be (NOT in my backyard)! (more)
American Disabilities Act to Accommodate Hearing-Impaired Students
The phrase “Equal Access” might not be very exciting, but it represents what many perceive to be a fundamental right of modern society. Every building built in the last 20 years has personified “Equal Access” by including doors wide enough for a wheelchair, elevator signage with braille lettering for blind persons, and auditoriums with hearing assist systems for those hard of hearing. While children in wheelchairs have “Equal Access to Learning” in school classrooms today, those with hearing difficulties are denied the same opportunity. In many classrooms, the students cannot hear the teacher due to the loud mechanical system or the nearby airport. And, if they can’t hear, they can’t learn. But that’s all about to change. (more)
Not All Acoustical Surfaces Are Created Equal
The orchestra that I play in used to perform at local public schools. The high school auditoria that we regularly used were so-so for acoustics, but we learned to appreciate them when a scheduling conflict bumped us to a junior high school for one concert. This auditorium ceiling was treated with a spray-on absorbing material that made it feel like we were playing into a sonic black hole. After we finished, it sounded like twenty people were clapping, which I hope there were more…maybe not if they couldn’t hear us. (more)
Naturally Ventilated Buildings and Loud Noisy Acoustics
The LEED® green building certification program gives out points for naturally ventilating buildings, and it also gives out points for acoustics – especially for low levels of background noise levels. As the industry is finding out, naturally ventilated buildings create more opportunities for buildings to be penetrated by exterior noises, thus creating unintended loud background noise levels. I was interviewed by Buildings Magazine for their article, Fresh Air Creates Fresh Acoustical Concerns. Read the whole article here… http://www.buildings.com/ArticleDetails/tabid/3321/ArticleID/10021/Default.aspx
Reflections at Little Beaver Lake
On a beautiful autumn day a long time ago, I was on a glorious backpacking trip to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. One still morning while rinsing off in Little Beaver Lake, I was alarmed to hear voices that sounded very near, as I was sporting my birthday suit. After quickly sinking into the water up to my neck, I searched for the people and to my relief found them on the opposite shore of the small lake, out of “detailed sight” range. That was a memorable lesson in how well water reflects sound. (more)
Collaboration – The New Buzzword in University Acoustics
The education methods used in today’s universities are rapidly changing, and as the methods change, so does the architecture. The big buzz right now is creating “collaborative spaces for learning“. Traditional push down models of teacher-to-student lectures are being supplemented by a new focus on interactivity and, there’s that buzz word again, collaboration. So what are the acoustical challenges inherent in the new system? (more)
Gymnasium Acoustics | The Multi-Use Problem
Gymnasiums often end up being multi-use spaces. Of course, they are used for competitive sporting events, for team practice, recreation, and for Phys Ed classes. But they are also used for school addresses, commencement ceremonies, band and choir concerts, and more. Those with stages are used for musicals, plays, and speaking events. I have been asked to help mitigate acoustical problems more often in gymnasiums than in any other type of school space; possibly more often than in any other type of space, period. And there are almost always two complaints that I hear… (more)
Why Your Conference Room Technology May Soon Be Obsolete: Part II
As the VGA connector continues its rapid transition towards obsolescence (referred to in Part I of this post) many people simply assume that using adapters (such as HDMI to VGA) will solve the digital-to-analog connectivity problem. While this may work in the short term, it ignores the looming problem of DRM (Digital Rights Management), a way of encrypting new media to protect against copyright infringement. DRM uses something called HDCP (High Bandwidth Digital Content Protection) to control which devices are allowed to receive the video signal. So how will you know if you’re using digitally protected content? Well, for starters, your adapter will just stop working. (more)
Psychoacoustics: Transient Noise Grabs Attention
Have you ever noticed how some sounds catch your attention and others do not? For example, you are driving down the road thinking of your plans for the day and all of a sudden you hear a squeak in the dashboard. It draws your attention immediately, while the air conditioning fan likely does not. The squeak is intermittent (and likely tonal, but that’s a topic for another blog) and therefore stands out over the more constant sound of the fan. This reaction is similar to vision, where our attention is drawn by moving objects much more so than stationary ones. (more)
Why Techies Buy Audio-Video Gear Online
My church recently decided to upgrade from our old analog mixing board to a brand new digital mixing console. The interesting part of this process was that they did not buy it through a local AV contractor. They purchased the sound board online through a company that specializes in phone and internet box sales. This got me thinking about the trend over the past few years in which more and more Audio Visual end-users purchase equipment from online sources instead of the local dealer or shop. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? And why is this becoming the norm? (more)
The Speaker Shootout at High Noon
Question: How do you assure your client that they are getting the best possible speakers for their Auditorium or Fine Arts Center? Answer: You hold a “speaker shootout”. Recently one of our clients was in this exact situation, so we did just that. We invited several manufacturers of line array speakers to show up, all on the same day, so we could let our client hear the differences in sound quality back and forth in the exact same auditorium they would be installed in. Three different manufacturers arrived, speakers in tow, to hang their line arrays for the shootout. As the client’s AV Consulting Firm, we were there to moderate the shootout and ensure that each manufacturer got a fair shake (clean signal, volume levels, sound power levels, and so on). And then we began. The client had arranged for a group of about 20 listeners and key decision makers to join us for the shootout as a virtual “jury” to help decide which speakers to purchase. May the best speakers win! (more)
Why Your Conference Room Technology May Soon Be Obsolete
You can’t get away from the digital age. It seems like digital technology is everywhere. As Audio-Video designers, the march towards all things digital is having an impact on display technologies as well. Meanwhile, flying under the radar, there is a subtle shift happening in how the average person shows information from a computer onto a projector or display. (more)
The Problem with Pulpers | Noise and Vibration Control
We were recently called in to assist in addressing a noise issue that was the result of a university’s desire to be more “green”. In this case, we were asked to assess the noise produced in the dish wash room of a university student union. This blog is the second of a two-part post about student union acoustics, and you may want to read the first blog on College Campuses and Student Union Acoustics before continuing. (more)
If It Sounds Like Noise to You, It May Be “Esion”
Fundamentally, sound is “that which we hear”. What we hear at any given time can greatly influence us. We use sound to communicate, to express warning, fear, pleasure and excitement. Some sounds can relax us and help us fall asleep, while other sounds can distract us and make it more difficult to perform simple tasks. Different sounds can be soothing and pleasing or annoying and irritating. Accordingly, determining “What is sound?” and “What is noise?” can become a highly subjective task. As engineers and scientists, it’s our job to generate generalized models that have a high level of correlation to humans (or to specific populations). (more)
Space Savers | Acoustical Engineering for Gymnatoriums and Cafetoriums
It certainly isn’t a new idea… How do we maximize our space and minimize our cost without the loss of function? Surely this is the major driver behind ideas like the gymnatorium or the cafetorium. We’ve all seen them, most likely they were in the schools that we attended. They consist of a stage at one end of the room or tucked away in the corner. So, do these budget savers really work like they are supposed to? (more)
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