Space not an issue for BBC OB van

Peter Knowles of Total Audio Projects has worked with Simon Edwards, resource manager for BBC Radio Outside Broadcasts, to create an all-purpose mobile unit, suitable for all OB applications from concerts to talk shows, light entertainment to music festivals.

‘This vehicle offers a surprisingly spacious interior,' explains Knowles, ‘with a properly designed ‘producer position' and room for an audio editor to work.  The RSS M-400 digital console was introduced around the same time as the design of the truck, and made it much easier.  We have utilised the space a lot better than in comparable vehicles, and even had the room for a whole 19in rack of outboard (recording devices, distribution amps, etc) by the console's side.'

Total Audio Projects has provided sound insulation for the OBV, suitable for use at music festivals this summer.  With 48 channels available on the M-400 console, the truck carries a large 40-channel S-4000 Digital Snake multicore, as well as a S-0816 stage box.  The latter can be used for sound feeds to and from another area on a stage or to a second OBV.  Additionally, an S-1608 front-of-house unit is fitted on-board to provide extra inputs and outputs to the desk within the truck environment.

Custom fibre converters were also installed, which allow Roland's Ethernet Audio Communication (REAC) Cat5e protocol to carry audio and video to the OBV on a single fibre cable.  Other distinguishing features include 24-channel network switches, which allow the unit to supply a production with a network - supplying a split of REAC from the stage to a number of other destinations, (such as a multitrack recorder, to another Digital Snake on a different vehicle), or to feed a PA position via another Digital Snake stage box.

Total Audio Projects has supplied a RSS V-Mixing System to the BBC Radio Theatre and sixteen Digital Snake systems of different configurations to the Radio Resources department.