Educational screen & audio-visual guide (c1956-1971])

A Formula For The Conference Room htj Joseph }. Potjer, Jr. Lansing, Michigan z^J-^ A X RACTICALLY every organization, from school boards to large corporations holds board of director, staff, policy or general discussion meetings. Often, after the meetings, a question on some point of discussion arises. Someone wants to know what was said about a particular point, or even what went on during the entire meeting if they were absent. This was the problem our organization faced. Even though a secretary had always been present at our meetings to take short-hand notes, many times a specific point was missed or the notes were questioned. Recently it was decided to look into the possibilities of recording our meetings on tape. I tried many arrangements, including so-called conference recorders supposedly designed for this type of operation. All of them proved unsatisfactory until I hit upon the idea we consider the solution to our problem. Our requirements are that a satisfactory tape recording system must be capable of recording meetings held in a variety of rooms under many different acoustical conditions. One meeting may be held in a medium size room with no particular acoustical problem, another in a large room or hall with an air-conditioner or heating system producing low-level background noise that interferes and competes with the voices on the tape. Sitting in the room you may not hear these noises, because you are accustomed to them and your brain compensates. These low-level background noises, however, can produce rumbles and roars on the tape that will make high level sounds nearly inaudible. Finally, the meeting may be held in a long narrow room. Ordinarily this would mean that each individual would need a neck microphone. The cost of supplying forty people with microphones would be quite prohibitive. The best moderate cost system we have found consists of a WoUensak T-1500 tape recorder, a Harmon Kardon DPR-7 Mixer and Preamplifier, two Electrovoice Model 644 microphones, and assorted accessories, i. e. two microphone stands, extra cables, steno-graphic earphones, and the Wollensak foot control pedal for the recorder. The beauty of this system is its versatility. It can be arranged to meet almost any variety of conditions, yet it is completely stored and transported in a 4' x 3' x 10' case. The entire system can easily be set up by one person in less than fifteen minutes. The microphones can be placed as far as forty-five feet apart with no appreciable loss in audio quality. The heart of this system is the microphones. The microphones used are highly directional and extremely sensitive, yet they reduce a large part of the low frequency background noise that is the bane of most conference recorders. By using two Model 644 "mikes" through a Harmon Kardon mixer to the tape recorder, you are able to record a full Board meeting in a large room at a moderate volume level and still have the "mikes" unobtrusive. This mixer allows the simultaneous use of up to four microphones as well as providing a master control panel for the microphones and recorder. As an example, at a recent Board of Trastees meeting held in a long, narrow, sixty by twenty foot conference room, the board members were seated around a table nearly forty feet long. This was a new building. The acoustics were slightly better for speaking than I had expected, but paradoxically they were quite poor for recording. Soft, thick carpets and acoustical tile tended to minimize and soften voices. Ordinarily this room would give a sound engineer nightmares, unless he resorted to neck "mikes" for each member. With our system, I placed one "mike" about ten feet from each end of the table and back against the wall. By aiming them to slant diagonally across the table, I was able to utilize the directional characteristics of the microphones to record the entire discussion. The "mikes" were plugged into the first two mixer channels, and by quick experimentation— walking around the table slowly, counting in a normal voice— I was able to determine the best audio level. The results were phenomenal. Conversation and discussion, carried on in normal voices, were as understandable as if you were in the room. In fact, the secretary taking short-hand notes, reported that she was unable to hear certain people because of their low voices and by referring to the tape, was able to complete her notes. We have decided to discontinue having a secretary take short-hand notes at the majority of our meetings. Instead she will operate and supplement the recording system, taking down the names of those people who speak and recording their position on the tai>e by means of the built-in footage counter. This will enable those who missed part or the entire meeting to hear what went on and will eliminate the errors of short-hand notes. This system is truly one that can be used under a variety of conditions. It has proved itself "underfire." 652 Educational Screen and Audiovisual Guide — November, 1962