RCF brings acoustics to the Fort Nelson museum parade ground

To replace the old installation, composed of a speaker PA system and a power amplifier mixer 100 V has opted for the P series of RCF, which with its IP65 rating is weather resistant.

Sound solutions RCF have allowed us to respond to the needs of the national artillery museum of the Royal Armouries Fort Nelson and provide coverage to its different areas.

Fort Nelson is a fully restored Victorian fort located on the outskirts of Portsmouth (United Kingdom), and has high walls, original fortifications, a huge parade ground, Underground tunnels and stunning panoramic views of the city from the top of Portsdown Hill.

Home of the National Artillery Collection, It was originally built in the 1970s. 1860 to resist a possible invasion by the French that never materialized. At the moment, houses the art installation 'Standing With Giants’ commemorating the Falklands conflict, in which the city played an important role.

The only thing that did not meet the needs of the Royal Armories facility was the quality of its sound reinforcement, which provided inadequate coverage and clarity in major areas, like the parade ground and artillery.

Local specialists Sound Advice AV Installations (RECEIVING) The contract was awarded after multiple quotes. The director and project manager, Chris Tait, opted for RCF's P series, IP65 rated and weather resistant.

They are versatile enough to deliver music across the full dynamic range and reproduce speech with clarity and intelligibility., in a compact and lightweight cabinet, easy to manipulate.

“They had an old speaker PA system and a line amp mixer. 100 V, but only one of the five speakers seemed to be working. With a large parade ground for old artillery demonstrations they wanted a system that would cover the area evenly and more than just a line PA. 100 V”, explains Chris Tait.

Explain how after having implemented the P series from RCF previously, I knew that he P3115T (with woofer 15 “and 3 voice coil”) would fit well with its IP65 rating, RMS power of 300 W and 90 coverage×60 degrees.

A Strength Nelson, SAAV installed four speakers in two pairs, each group mounted on a T-bar, each assigned to different areas of the boomerang-shaped ceiling, forming part of an overall three-zone system design. These are accompanied by some smaller filler box speakers.

To ensure multiple use, for both BGM and spoken word, wrapped in a player, as well as in the newly supplied handheld radio and headphone systems, Tait also provided a four-zone mixer for the front.

Across the parade ground is a separate artillery demonstration area which required separate cover. Since it is a listed building, which prevents direct fixation, they inserted a standing quadruple truss post, riding a couple of transductores RCF P2110T LF of 10 inches smaller to cover that area, combined with separate radio microphones for commentary to accompany the firing of the guns.

Finally, on the other side of the building next to the museum entrance, there is a P1108T of 8 inches for visitors entering the museum.

“The previous system was obsolete and we needed better coverage of the parade ground. The task was to guarantee microphone coverage throughout the parade ground, with the additional facility of being able to use a headset on the western walls with a specific speaker for this area”, states Lizzie Puddick, Royal Armories Public Engagement Manager.

The result is a “great improvement” in the previous system. “The coverage of the parade is as requested. “We can divide the sound into zones and the clarity of the material is much clearer.”, adds Puddick..

Led by partners Chris Tait and Richard Hollis, SAAV has been specifying RCF systems for over 20 years. “We have been using their speakers for practically everything”, said Tait. This ranges from newly built schools to town halls and theaters., and includes equipment from its line of 100 V, commercial audio, public address and voice evacuation.

“In the case of the Fort Nelson museum, for the price, the P series is unbeatable. We were able to cover the parade ground area with the minimum number of speakers, which was the ideal approach, since we didn't want to present many speakers and then have problems with time delays. It can also be run at 129 dB(A) at most, since there are no problems with sound leakage or overflow: There are no neighbors and the area is surrounded by grass banks and dry ditches.”, Lizzie concludes..