Africa-Based Dimension TV Facilities Relies on RTS in New OB6HD

“The OB6HD is the newest truck in our fleet – and was a bit of a challenge. We bought the chassis from a local company, took everything out and converted it into a state-of-the-art OB truck”, says Troy Chelin, Broadcast Audio Technician at Dimension. A decisive role in the new truck is played by the installed communication equipment. After quotes from a number of manufacturers, Dimension decided to go with RTS. According to Technical Manager Joshua Reynder the reasons were manifold: “We already have another truck with RTS equipment, so all our audio technicians are familiar with the system. Being industry standard and intuitive to use, freelancers also know how to operate the equipment. Additionally, we know that the system is incredibly reliable. The fact that the equipment is backwards compatible was also very convenient. If we need to upgrade the system, we can do this at any point.”

The heart of OB6HD’s communication system is a RTS ADAM-M mid-size modular intercom matrix with 64 AIO ports, one MADI-16 multichannel audio digital interface cards and two redundant MClle system controller cards as well as the new RJ-45 backcards. As keypanels, Dimension relies on 24 KP 12 CLD and six RP-1032 Color Display Keypanels equipped with microphones from the MCP series. Four RTS TIF-2000 telephone interfaces allow users to call in directly to Party Line or IFB. A DSI-2008 Digital System-to-System Adapter, a LCP-102 Multifunction Remote Assignment Panel, six RTS BP-325 2-Channel Portable Beltpack Station as well as five RTS PH-10R dual-sided headsets and eight single-sided headsets round off the installation and secure communications both inside and outside the rolling control room.

The OB6HD has already passed its first deployments with flying colors. Together with the local production house Sunshine Tour, OB6HD has recently completed five productions of the European Tour in South Africa. Joshua Reynders: “Our customer was very satisfied. They especially liked the functionality of the keypanels where you can gain the audio up and down for each individual port. This way, they are in absolute control of what they are doing.”