The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 82, No. 15, Ed. 1 Friday, January 20, 1995 Page: 5 of 16
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NEWS
THE RICE THRESHER FRIDAY, JANUARY 20, 1995 5
KTRU goes off air to improve station broadcasting
by Gabrielle Frandsen
KTRU returned to the air Mon-
day after extensive renovations shut
down the station for a week.
KTRU engineers Cameron
Etezadi, Ian Gravagne and Russell
Adams began work on a complete
overhaul of the station wiring on
Jan. 9.
The new system will produce a
much clearer signal, with a "large
difference in sound," Gravagne said.
He says it will also be easier to re-
pair and maintain in the long run.
"Our goal was to redesign the
underworkings of the station, but
keep it the same for the operators,"
Gravagne said.
The need for a new wiring sys-
tem has increased as problems ac-
cumulated in the station.
Engineers were being called in
every week, sometimes at 2 a.m., to
deal with problems with the trans-
mitter.
KTRU DJ MattTenny said, "You
could jump on the floor in one part of
the studio, and speakers would turn
on somewhere else. It was just a
mess."
The old wiring was originally in-
tended to be a flexible system, but it
was poorly documented. With the
additions of upgraded equipment,
and removed parts, the system be-
came unusable.
Gravagne said, The station lay-
out was basically incomprehensible;
problems couldn't be traced; we
couldn't reliably fix things."
Problems with the sound in-
cluded an off-center stereo image,
an almost nonexistent separation and
a weaker signal compared to others
in the FM band. Listeners had to
turn up the volume when they
switched the radio station to KTRU.
The new wiring is "simple and
point to point," said Chief Engineer
Cameron Etezadi, resulting in a
"cleaned up audio system and a
clearer signal."
Etezadi, Gravagne and Adams
worked 16 to 18 hours daily all last
week, taking the station apart, re-
moving all old wiring, replacing it all
with a more organized system, as
well as adding a secondary broad-
casting studio.
Originally Gravagne's idea, the
renovation developed new special-
ties as the work went on. Complet-
ing the task for under $500, the reno-
vation was largely successful.
Gravagne said, "At first it will be
a little harder for the DJs. They will
have to adjust to the new system, but
basically for them, the work we did
will be transparent and they won't
need to relearn it all."
"The fact that Rice has a radio
station is very positive, and we need
to work to keep it running. It contrib-
utes to engineers and their growth
in the field, it contributes to the DJs
who work here, and in turn, contrib-
utes positively to the Houston com-
munity," Gravagne said.
News in brief
Paths receive facelift
Construction crews started work
earlier this month on three new
pebble paths located in front of
Anderson Biological Labs, alongside
the library and between Jones Col-
lege and Abercrombie Lab.
The paths have been on Facili-
ties and Engineering's list of re-
quested projects for about five years,
according to staff architect Bill
Tomlinson.
Due to limited budgets, the Build-
ings and Grounds board of the uni-
versity approves only a few of the
projects requested each year.
The path by the library, which
will connect Herring and Rayzor
Halls, was included in architect
Cesar Pelli's 1983 general plan for
the university. The path near Jones,
which will replace a dirt path, will
improve maintenance cart access to
that part of campus as well as to
provide a nicer walkway for Jones
and Brown College students. It will
include decorative streetlights.
The project is expected to be com-
pleted in three weeks.
Meanwhile, construction is un-
derway in the Engineering Quad to
lay cooling pipes to connect to the
planned Computational Engineering
Building.
Construction on the building it-
self should begin soon, according to
Tomlinson; it had been held up while
Rice waited for a building permit,
which he expected to be granted
this week.
With the permit granted, he said,
'They'd better be digging tomorrow
[Thursday]."
The building site, where Bonner
Lab once stood, has been cleared
since December 1994.
Rice authors honored
Meet Rice's authors on Wednes-
day in the Farnsworth Pavilion at
the Ley Student Center.
The presentation will be held at
7:30 p.m., with remarks by English
Professor Max Apple and Shepherd
School Professor George Burt.
Book signing tables will be pro-
vided for attending authors. For
more information, call 285-5157.
H
<- J* St
KTRU engineer Cameron Etezadi, left, with DJs Aline Cautis and Heather Busby run a show Wednesday afternoon.
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Hale, David. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 82, No. 15, Ed. 1 Friday, January 20, 1995, newspaper, January 20, 1995; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth246500/m1/5/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.