Lectrosonics Keeps Audio In Check At Lee County Emergency Operations Center

Florida's Lee County Emergency Operations Center (EOC), is Ft. Meyers' official county warning point for natural or man-made hazards such as hurricanes, water shortages, and wildfires that may threaten the area. The EOC receives emergency information through the Emergency Dispatch Center (E-911) and reports serious emergencies to the State Watch Office located at the State EOC in Tallahassee, who then coordinates State and/or Federal involvement or assistance within the County. Lee County's EOC is a state-of-the-art facility that makes extensive use of audiovisual equipment -- and to ensure trouble free audio, the facility utilizes Aspen audio processing technology from Rio Rancho, New Mexico-based Lectrosonics.

Tampa, Florida-based Encore Broadcast Solutions is a professional broadcast audiovisual systems integrator providing AV solutions to the government, educational, and religious markets. Broadcast Solutions' sales manager Douglas Taylor was responsible for working with the Lee County Emergency Management design team to develop a cost-effective solution that met the requirements of the EOC. Additionally, he was responsible for the sales, on-site installation, training, and the project's continuing technical support program. Recognizing the importance of an audio infrastructure capable of handling the EOC's operations without requiring an on-site attendant, he deployed a Lectrosonics Aspen SPN1624 16 input / 24 output digital audio processor. He discussed the project and his reasons for deploying Lectrosonics.

"For this facility, the Aspen processor handles automixing, level, and muting control, some signal processing, and output matrixing," Taylor says. "The unit is installed in a dedicated AV equipment room outfitted with three racks necessary to hold all the equipment and, as part of the unattended system functionality, the Aspen processor is interfaced with an AMX NI-4100 NetLinx Integrated Controller through a LAN/Ethernet connection."

Discussing the attributes that made the Lectrosonics Aspen SPN1624 so well suited to the requirements of this project, Taylor stressed the system's intuitive operation and ease of configuration. "We've used numerous Lectrosonics AM- and DM- Series processors for many years," he says. "We have always appreciated the fundamental simplicity and versatility of Lectrosonics' designs. We selected the Aspen unit fully expecting the same level of positive experience we've had in the past with Lectrosonics equipment and were extremely pleased that the processor exceeded our expectations. The Lee County EOC is a mission critical operation, so we required equipment that is designed to operate in this type of environment. The Aspen processor delivered the goods."

Quality customer and technical support services are crucial if questions arise during the deployment of today's sophisticated AV equipment. In that regard, Taylor gives Lectrosonics high marks. "To be honest, we haven't needed support very often, as the equipment is really very easy to operate," he says. "To the limited degree that tech support has been required, Lectrosonics has always been very good. The company is both responsive and the support technicians are well trained."

The Lee County EOC's AV system went operational in July and, since that time, the Lectrosonics equipment has been performing well. "Since going live, our client reports the new equipment is really helping them be more effective," says Taylor. "The Aspen processor is another example of a well-thought-out Lectrosonics design and we look forward to the next opportunity to specify and install another Aspen system."