With new equipment, all is sound at base auditorium

  • Published
  • By John Turner
  • 341st Missile Wing Public Affairs
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. --  The sound quality at the base auditorium is improved and movies have a crisper image, thanks to a recent upgrade to nearly all of the audiovisual equipment in the facility.

The days of microphones unexpectedly screeching and howling during an important commander's call, and of hapless executive officers wrestling with archaic technology compiled during the last millennium, are now in the past. The revamped auditorium boasts a new sound board, amplifiers, projector, screen and spotlights. The building was also rewired for the new system, and that in turn adds new capabilities that make the auditorium better suited for briefings, plays and concerts.

Tom Kiernan, 341st Force Support Squadron chief of Youth Programs, said that all of the old equipment that was replaced was more than 15 years old. He oversees the auditorium and has been at the forefront of the equipment upgrade.
"It definitely needed to be done," said Kiernan.

Perhaps the most easily noticeable change is the new, high-powered projector mounted in the upper-level control room instead of positioned on stage behind the screen. The new projector has two bulbs and is self-cooling, and replaces a rear projector that would overheat and flicker after several hours of use. Front projection provides a clearer picture as well as the classic movie theater experience, and having the projector collocated with audio controls and media players simplifies overall operation.

"Before you had to turn some things on up here (in the upstairs control room) and then go down behind the stage and click some buttons to make things work," said Kiernan. "Now everything is centrally located and labeled and easy for everybody to use."

A switch beside the projector remotely raises and lowers a new 20-by-22-foot screen suspended above the stage at the other end of the auditorium. The old screen was framed on four wheels and had to be pushed out of view before stage presentations.
"Before, you had to clear a side of the stage and manually move the screen around the curtains in the back," said Kiernan. "This is definitely more convenient."

The auditorium was also upgraded with new amplifiers and a sound board that can now control six microphones simultaneously on different channels. The old sound system was limited to only two microphones, and feedback was a constant problem. Additionally, the auditorium was rewired with longer cables so the sound board can be moved from the control room to the main floor. During special events like USO shows, technicians can now monitor sound and visuals at the same time.

Additional microphones can be plugged into the speakers on stage, Kiernan said.

An important benefit of the new system is that auditorium users can now run presentations from their own laptops at the stage, he said. Before, all presentations had to go through the auditorium's computer located in the control room.

"We also received two spotlights," Kiernan said. "And those are portable spotlights where you can go down the sides and if you want to beam on somebody you can turn it and beam."

The total cost of the upgrades was around $38,000 including the installation of the new screen, Kiernan said. The upgrades were funded through the Force Improvement Program, confirmed Lawrence Duncan, 341st FSS resource advisor.

Eventually the computer in the control room will be replaced by the 341st Communications Squadron, the computer's owner.  The new computer will allow presenters on stage to advance slides by remote control. Currently, someone has to sit in the control room and operate the presentation from the terminal. For example, if a commander is speaking to slides on stage, an assistant has to watch from the control room and advance each slide manually.

Kiernan has already noticed it is easier to train people to use the new equipment because now everything is now centralized, preset and operated by only a few buttons. Kiernan has already trained representatives from four squadrons, he said.