Meetings & Announcements

Meeting Report – August 2011 – Symphony On The Prairie Tour & Concert

Posted on by Kylie-Grace Snyder

At this, the fourth of our meetings scheduled for the year which was held on August 6th, 2011 at 6pm, we were privileged to have Alan Alford speak to us about the makeup of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra’s sound reinforcement needs at Conner Prairie.

Alford discussed with the amply sized crowd the numerous challenges of the job, including the difficulties of respecting the neighboring living history museum while providing quality sound for the symphony.

Alan Alford speaking to members of the Central Indiana AES. Click for more pictures.

Additionally, Alan shared with us his off-season duties, tricks he utilizes throughout a typical concert, and also gave the section a tour of the concert setup.

The meeting was once again brought to us courtesy of Conner Prairie and The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Our thanks go out to them for being such gracious hosts.

With this meeting we’ve continued our initiative of recording events for archival purposes and to allow for participation from members unable to travel.

Click to view.

However, being an outdoor lecture and tour, the video’s audio quality suffered severely which we do apologize. But, if you’d like to see the tour first hand, the video at left is still a great resource.

Finally, we’d like to thank all who were in attendance. As always, those with questions or concerns are encouraged to contact us. To stay up to date on section activities, be sure to follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Symphony On The Prairie Meeting & Concert

Posted on by Kylie-Grace Snyder

The Central Indiana Section of the Audio Engineering Society is pleased to announce a much anticipated event, our August 6, 2011 meeting, which features a concert systems tour of Conner Prairie with P. Alan Alford followed by an optional concert featuring the Music of Billy Joel and Elton John. All members are encouraged to attend and bring guests!

Because this is such a popular event we ask that you please RSVP whether you intend to attend the talk and the concert, or just the talk.

Also, because Conner Prairie is a popular historical site there are several important details worth mentioning.

Click above for a map of Connor Prairie (pdf)

  • If you are interested in attending only the talk with Alan Alford no tickets are required and the parking area will be open. However, please RSVP. Simply tell anyone who asks that you’re meeting Alan Alford.

For those interested in staying for the concert as well…

  • “Blanket” seating will be available. This means bring blankets and/or folding-style lawn chairs. At this date table seating is sold out.
  • Bring your own food, beverages, etc.  Boy Scouts will be there to help carry heavy items.  Food is also available on-site, if desired.
  • Gates open and food is available beginning at 6:00pm.
  • Despite the 3 hours between the conclusion of the talk and the time the concert starts (8pm), it is not advisable to leave and return due to traffic.
  • Group tickets are available to us at $17/person.  The tickets will be available at the will call window beginning around 5:45pm.
  • General parking is free. Premier parking is $20 per carload and is accessible via the other gate.

To purchase tickets, call the main box office box office (317-639-4300) or Jeff Johnson (317-231-6788) who is the I.S.O. representative that deals in group sales. Simply give them the code 9690 which is set up to sell the tickets at $17 each. If anyone wishes to attend the concert but requires alternate payment or pickup arrangements, please call our Section Vice Chair Barrie Zimmerman (812-876-1133).

Meeting Information In Brief
Date: August 6, 2011
Time of Talk: 4:00pm
Time of Concert: 8:00pm
Location: Conner Prairie
13400 Allisonville Road, Fishers, IN 46038 (map)
Meeting Place: The lawn & table seating area in front of the pavilion. Please see the map above.

To stay up to date on section activities, be sure to follow us on Facebook or Twitter, and feel free to contact any member of the executive board to let us know your thoughts about the section.

Meeting Report: Dr. Uwe J. Hansen on Phase Considerations in Signal Processing

Posted on by Kylie-Grace Snyder

At this, the third of our meetings scheduled for the year which was held on May 12th, 2011 at 7pm, we were privileged to have Dr. Uwe J. Hansen speak on Phase Considerations in Signal Processing.

Dr. Hansen is Professor Emeritus of Physics at Indiana State University and a fellow of the Acoustical Society of America, among numerous other distinctions.

The meeting was held in the conference room of ESCO Communications Indianapolis office, where Dr. Hansen spoke before an enthusiastic crowd.

Dr. Hansen speaking to members of the Central Indiana AES. Click for more pictures.

In his presentation, Dr. Hansen discussed how phase comparison can be a powerful tool with countless real-world applications. The three specific applications of phase related signal processing techniques discussed were phase sensitive detection, optical holography, and modal analysis.

Dr. Hansen explained that the elements essential to describing a monochromatic wave are amplitude, frequency, wavelength, speed of propagation, polarization and phase.

Additionally, it was explained that phase identifies the location of a point along the propagating waves and that absolute phase measurements are not only difficult but generally not of interest.

Click to view.

The meeting was once again brought to us courtesy of ESCO Communications. Our thanks go out to them for the continued use of their facilities.

With this meeting we’ve continued our initiative of recording events for archival purposes and to allow for participation from members unable to travel. The video from this meeting is available at left for playback.

Finally, we’d like to thank all who were in attendance. As always, those with questions or concerns are encouraged to contact us. To stay up to date on section activities, be sure to follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Meeting Announcement: Dr. Uwe J. Hansen to Speak on Phase Considerations in Signal Processing

Posted on by Kylie-Grace Snyder

The Central Indiana Section of the Audio Engineering Society is pleased to announce that Dr. Uwe J. Hansen will speak on Phase Considerations in Signal Processing at our May 2011 meeting.

Dr. Hansen is Professor Emeritus of Physics at Indiana State University and a fellow of the Acoustical Society of America, among numerous other distinctions.

The meeting will be held in the conference room of ESCO Communications Indianapolis office. We also hope to offer a live web stream of the event, however, those able are encouraged to attend. To ensure an accurate count for the meeting, please RSVP below.

Live Stream Info
Due to a software issue, a live stream will not be available for this meeting, However, a video recording will be available online in short order. Please check back in the coming days. We appreciate the patience shown as we deal with a these technical issues.

Topic Abstract
The essential elements in describing a monochromatic wave are: amplitude, frequency, wavelength, speed of propagation, polarization and phase. Any interrelation between these characteristics is mostly determined by the interaction of the wave with the medium in which it travels. Thus dispersion relates to the frequency dependence of the propagation speed.

Amplitude, for example, is related to loudness in sound and brightness in light. Frequency or wavelength on the other hand relates to color in light and pitch in sound. Polarization considerations are limited to transverse waves such as electromagnetic waves or bending waves in structural vibrations. Phase identifies the location of a point along the propagating waves. Absolute phase measurements are not only difficult but generally not of interest.

Phase comparison, on the other hand is a powerful tool. The most obvious application is in active noise control, such as noise canceling head sets. Three applications of phase related signal processing techniques will be discussed: 1. Phase sensitive detection which is used to enhance signal to noise ratios in weak signals. 2. Optical holography, which relies entirely on phase comparison of coherent signals, and 3. Modal analysis, used to study normal mode vibration in structural systems.

About Dr. Hansen
With a Ph.D. in Low Temperature Solid State Physics from Brigham Young University, Dr. Uwe J. Hansen  joined the physics faculty at Indiana State University in 1968, after a post-doctoral fellowship at the US Naval Research Laboratory. Most of his work since then has been in the field of Musical Acoustics with emphasis on structural vibrations in musical instruments such as hand-bells, guitars, violins, piano sound boards, and Caribbean steel pans.

The tools he has used include holographic interferometry, modal analysis, and finite element analysis. He has lectured world-wide, has served as president of the Indiana Academy of Science, chairman of the Physics department at ISU and is currently serving as Executive Director of CSUI, and editor of the Proceedings of the IAS. As a fellow of the Acoustical Society of America he continues to do research and teach at ISU, though now retired.

To stay up to date on section activities, be sure to follow us on Facebook or Twitter, and feel free to contact any member of the executive board to let us know your thoughts about the section.

Meeting Report & Recording – March 2011 – John Murray And The 2010 NFPA 72 Fire Code

Posted on by Kylie-Grace Snyder

At this, the second of our meetings scheduled for the year which was held on March 17th, 2011 at 7pm, we were privileged to have John Murray speak on the new 2010 NFPA 72 fire code.

John has been an Audio Engineering Society member since 1980, is the principal and founder of Optimum System Solutions, and has seen a distinguished 30+ year career within the industry.

John Murray speaking to the Central Indiana AES. Click for more pictures.

A small but enthusiastic group was present at this meeting, which opened with brief introductions and announcements, moving directly to the presentation.

In his presentation, John discussed the new NFPA-72 regulations and how they relate to speech intelligibility and therefore to STI measurements. He explained how these measurements and the achievement of good speech intelligibility are necessary to meet the new regulations. John also demonstrated the process of measuring and evaluating STI in several spaces to show what is required and what measurements are required to pass the new code.

Another topic discussed were the various types of systems described within the code and what requirements regarding UL certified equipment and speech intelligibility would apply, and why this code change was an opportunity for contractors.

It was indicated that the new code imposes certain responsibilities upon those same contractors to design and install systems which would meet the new requirements. This means that the contractors will need to learn more about STI and testing in order to properly design and install projects to meet the new requirements.

The meeting was brought to us courtesy of Renkus-Heinz, Inc. and McFadden Sales., and our thanks go out to ESCO Communications for the continued use of their facilities.

With this meeting we’ve continued our initiative of recording events for archival purposes and to allow for participation from members unable to travel. The recording from this meeting is available below for playback. As well, those who are so inclined can also download the recording for playback in their audio program of choice. Our apologies in advance for the somewhat boomy nature of the recording.

We’d like to thank all who were in attendance. As always, those with questions or concerns are encouraged to contact us.