low volume in chapel for all broadcasts

[hendo2-p40]

I was just wondering if anyone is having the same issue as we are experiencing in two separate building in our stake.

The issue we are seeing is with getting very low volume during all broadcasts in the chapel (young woman, relief society, conference, priesthood session, etc.), but if we turn up the chapel amp in the a/v closet more then 3/4 of the way then you get feedback through the chapel speakers, but even at that level the volume is still low. The volume knob for satellite broadcasts on the chapel stand is turned up, so no issue there, the volume is just low and if someone coughs or talks at a low level you can hardly hear the broadcast.

A work around: I would turn the satellite broadcast audio knob off on the chapel stand and then use the coax output connector on the chapel stage to go into a vcr (set to channel 3) then use the audio out of the vcr to go into the portable audio box and then from the audio box to the mic input connector in the chapel which then gets pumped through the chapel speakers and the audio is very loud now.

If anyone has had this issue how did you get it resolved or any trouble shooting ideas?

Thanks in advance...

Joel (Manteca Stake, CA)

[russellhltn]

The first thing that troubles me is that you're able to get into the PA rack. Those are supposed to be locked to keep well-intentioned people from messing with them. It's all to easy to fix one problem and introduce another.

The problem may or may not be in the PA system. Has there been any modifications done to the equipment in the satellite rack? Someone could have changed things there so that the feed to the PA system is too low. Since the system is balanced audio, someone adding an additional recording device could have messed things up.

There are any number of issues that could be going on. It might be messed up settings, it might be a device is malfunctioning. I'm not sure what to suggest except asking the FM group to send out a repair person to look over the system and see where things have gone wrong. I certainly doubt that it was that way when the audio system was installed and turned over to the local group.

[hendo2-p40]

When I was called 3 months ago, they gave me a ring of keys and it included the keys to the PA racks. I wouldn't say that I'm a well-intentioned person, I have a BS in ISM (Information Systems Management).

I talked with the brother who had the calling before me and this issue has always been around for him too, but he never escalated it as he used a different work around too.

I don't know if there has been any modifications done to the equipment in the satellite rack, but I'll inform the stake clerk that we may want the FM group to send out a repair person to look over the system.

Thanks...

[rogerscr-p40]

I have run into a similar issue but in reverse... The audio was turned up so high it was bleeding into recordings we made of conference and other broadcasts.

If you open the rack you will see that the satellite receiver has an L and R output for audio. Generally each one is a different language. Which ever channel is used for your local language is fed out to a distribution amplifier and from there it is sent to the FM modulator for TVs around the building and the sound system. Sometimes they are well labeled and sometimes they are not. If you can trace them first check for a loose or bad connection. If not then look on the front of the distribution amp. There are small holes with recessed gain knobs with arrows on them. If you look at the back you may be able to determine which knob to adjust. Just take note of the original position and return the knob back to the original position if there is no change or a bad change.

For our case I just went one by one turning them down and returning them until I found the one. Once I turned it down our recordings don't get fuzzy every time someone talks loud or there is white letters on the screen.

[techgy]

As Russell mentioned it's generally not the job of anyone in the stake to have access to the PA cabinets. They're under the care of the local FM group and they - when necessary - can call out a sound tech to trace problems and insure that things are properly configured.

I would recommend that you contact your Stake Physical Facilities Rep - usually a member of the High Council - and work with him on having the FM group handle this.

Although you might get lucky - you may also find yourself in hot water and repairs that would otherwise be a simple adjustment could turn into something much worse.

[lajackson]

Once I turned it down our recordings don't get fuzzy every time someone talks loud or there is white letters on the screen.

Techgy has given some wise counsel, especially since in this last paragraph you have described a video level problem, not an audio problem.

You may wish to have your FM group check out the entire system.

[russellhltn]

For our case I just went one by one turning them down and returning them until I found the one. Once I turned it down our recordings don't get fuzzy every time someone talks loud or there is white letters on the screen.

I see a couple of different issues. When you talk about odd sounds when there is white letters on the screen, that's video over modulation on the RF modulators. If you are getting your sound from the RF feed, you could also be seeing audio over modulation.

As far as distorted audio in recordings, that could be due to a "hot" line-level audio level that frequently comes out of "pro" equipment being fed to a "consumer" grade equipment. (A rather substantial change in level.)

I'm not sure what to suggest since I can't advocate tinkering with settings, but at the same time I've not seen evidence in our stake that the guys who set up the satellite rack were doing any careful adjusting. (The audio rack is a different story. That's very carefully adjusted. I wouldn't dream of touching that.)

[heyring]

The FM group has the contacts, experience and budget to fix your building audio and/or video issues.

My FM group would have this fixed in less than 2 weeks. It sounds like it has been an issue for a lot longer than that.

A phone call couldn't hurt :rolleyes: