SIMPLE. NOT.

Wireless Audio Distribution on an Island

When you think of audio systems for an invitational fun run, most folk would think ‘speakers on sticks’ or a small line array setup. And while the audio component of a fun run on Sydney’s Cockatoo Island was just that, connecting a bunch of disparate speaker systems together across the 600m island, including a DJ on the back of a Jeep and a mobile Golf Buggy, is not your everyday gig.

The concept presented by Studio Messa, the client, was straightforward: “We want a DJ on the back of a Jeep Ute leading a group of around 600 invited runners along a course plotted across the island. And we want the DJ’s music to be heard at the start line and at seven other locations around the course.”

As the creative directors for the event, Studio Messa emphasised that the music had to be broadcast live from the DJ positioned on the back of the Ute.

Simple. Not. It turns out that the topology of the island was not sympathetic. Those who have been to the island will know that it has a large lump of Sydney Sandstone in the middle some 400m wide and 20m high. And the course runs around the rock. And naturally, the course also goes through the 200m tunnel cut through the rock.

But for The P.A. People’s Event Communications Team, wireless is their middle name.

The solution developed by Account Manager Andrew Rodd and Senior Engineer Andy Carson comprised a multi-stage, multi-technology wireless solution to check all the boxes.

The team decided that a networked solution based on ClearCom’s LQ series IP interfaces would be appropriate, given the wide bandwidth and low latency using the Opus codec. Once that decision had been taken the challenge was to develop a network design that suited the topography.

First cab off the rank, so to speak, was the solution for transmitting the audio from the DJ in the Jeep back to a mobile and fixed receive stations. A 4G Cellular PepLink based solution was chosen with transmission routed through our Datacentre facility. Three modems, each fitted with SIM cards from two carriers for resilience, were used – one to transmit the audio from the DJ on the Jeep, and two to receive the audio, one on a mobile golf cart with a small PA system, and the second at the main stage area. A VPN was established between the three modems through the Datacentre to route the audio.

Once the DJ audio had reached Audio Control at the main stage area, it was then distributed across the island via a combination of single mode fibre cables and a series of three 60GHz RF links to seven separate PA systems. Each system incorporated a ClearCom LQ device to decode the received audio.

Alongside the RF and systems engineering to distribute the DJ audio, the team from The P.A. People also provided the entire audio solution across the site. The systems variously comprised a Bose Professional ShowMatch line array system at the starting line, along with Celto 10” coaxial speakers, Community R 0.5 cabinets, Bose Professional AMM112 wedges and Tannoy DVS6s.

And while the event took place during some of Sydney’s worst weather this year, the fun run event went off without a hitch. “This was our first collaboration with The P.A. People, and it was clear we needed a specialist team to bring our vision to life,” said Oliver from Studio Messa. “The team at The P.A. People delivered a seamless audio solution that exceeded our expectations.”