If you’ve been eyeing a “radio studio equipment for sale” offer for quite some time, it’s important to know what you’re buying in to or the different components that would be part of the package. If you are just getting to know radio studio equipment, then the following information should be of considerable help.
Radio Station Exterior
A radio station could be at times housed in its own building. Quite a few, due to geographic considerations or financial reasons, could be located in strip malls, skyscrapers, and other similar locations. Due to budget considerations, when a company owns multiple radio stations in an area or city, it generally prefers to consolidate them into a single building. An Internet radio station usually doesn’t need a conventional radio station’s overhead and could be minimally run in a room – or a room’s corner. More committed or Internet radio stations working for profit would obviously need additional space for the staff and other things.
Receivers and Relays
Several radio stations don’t have their broadcast and transmitter tower located on studio property. A microwave tower sends a signal to a microwave receptor on ground where the tower and transmitter are. It’s later transformed into a signal that gets broadcasted to the public. It’s usually common for the studios of a radio station to be situated quite a few distance away from the tower and transmitter.
Satellite Dishes
Many radio stations have satellite dishes, particularly the ones that air-syndicate radio shows, and receive programs through satellite. The station’s control room gets the signal where it travels via a console, also referred to as a “board”. It’s later directed to the transmitter.
Audio Console, Microphone, and Computers
The modern radio station broadcast studio comprises microphones, a console, computers, and possibly a few older analog-based devices. Though the majority of radio stations switched over to pure digital operations, if you look harder, you may find a few old reel tape players/recorders sitting around. However, it’s unlikely those vinyl records or turntables are being used anymore.
Microphones
A radio station would usually have a collection of microphones. A few of them are particularly designed for on-air and voice work. Often, the microphones would have wind-screens atop them to keep extraneous sound to a minimum – for instance, breathing or popping sounds.
Software
As aforementioned, the majority of radio stations have gone digital. It’s not just commercials, music, and different sound elements getting digitally stored on hard drives, but modern software tools are also being used to ensure the station keeps running when there’s no individual manning things. There are several types of software tools that help achieve this.
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