The newly opened Kroc Center (also known as the Ray and Joan Kroc Community Center) is one of thirty-one planned community centers now built or proposed for construction across the United States.
Operated by The Salvation Army and funded by a $1.5 billion donation from the estate of the late Joan Kroc (widow of McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc), the Kroc Center is a community center where children and families are to be exposed to different people, activities, and arts that would otherwise be beyond their reach.
As part of the audio-visual / sound reinforcement infrastructure that enables community center staffers and others to communicate with those who participate in the facility’s various programs, the Dayton Kroc Center is equipped with wireless microphone technology from Lectrosonics.
Dayton, OH based Copp Systems, Inc was contracted to provide audio-visual / sound reinforcement capability at the new facility. Copp Systems’ Scott Morgan, AV Systems Design Engineer oversaw the design, project management, installation, and end-user training of the Kroc Center’s new audio-visual equipment, and described the project’s challenges.
“The Kroc Center is a community resource and outreach center,” said Morgan. “Serving the lower income segments of the Dayton community, the center serves as a conference, recreational, educational, and general religious facility.”
“In order to support a wide range of activities in the center’s sanctuary, we decided to equip the building with wireless microphones so that users would have the freedom to move about without being encumbered by cables. Equally significant, the Kroc Center is located in a congested RF area, so we needed to find a wireless system capable of functioning well in this type of environment that also conformed to the FCC’s new requirements for wireless communications.”
Morgan selected a 14-channel wireless microphone system consisting of three Lectrosonics VRMWB receiver chassis containing Lectrosonics VRS receiver modules. This setup takes up only three rack spaces while offering expandability. Two Lectrosonics ALP500 directional antennas boost reception capabilities.
For transmitters, the Dayton Kroc Center is equipped with eight Lectrosonics LMa beltpack transmitters and six HM series plug-on transmitters. This combination of products affords users the opportunity to work with lavaliere or earset microphones in addition to having six handheld microphones.
The Dayton Kroc Center broke ground in late 2008 and opened its doors early this year. Morgan offered the following, in rergards to the projects completion.
“The Lectrosonics wireless microphone setup is an unparalleled system when it comes to functionality, quality, and ease of use. Our customer is extremely pleased, and I’m happy to report that a number of additions to the system are currently in the installation phase.”
“These additions will further enhance the overall capability of their system. The bottom line is this: they couldn’t be happier with its performance.”