Alex Mathaba, managing director for Soundfusion Media, our local agent who installed the new two-studio facility, told us that UJFM 95.4 ranks up there with the best of them. “When people talk about student run radio here being better in many ways than commercial stations elsewhere, they think of UJFM,” he commented.
Alex introduced IP audio to South Africa starting with our early E Series WheatNet IP audio consoles, and has modernized countless studios over the years even as station budgets here have tightened. “Wheatstone is now a well-established brand in South Africa,” he said, owing our popularity in part to the IP-12 as an affordable, yet very capable alternative to the E consoles before it.
Here, community stations outnumber commercial stations seven to one and listenership is up among young people, which is clearly reflected in UJFM’s new studios.
Touchscreens are used with the IP-12 in the main and backup studios, making it intuitive for users accustomed to swiping on phones. Visual radio is also a major part of UJFM 95.4. This is where radio host Sindiswa Ndala of the UJFM Brunch youth show famously launched her social media channel LifeWithSinds, after all.
Cameras in the studios are controlled by WheatNet IP logic through our Automation Control Interface (ACI), which tracks to mic status, fader position, and audio levels to pan and turn on cameras automatically. That same ACI integration used to automate the studio cameras can be used to control studio lighting as well, which adds a professional touch to visual radio and gives presenters one less thing to worry about during a busy show.
Alex estimates he has installed more than 200 Wheatstone consoles at broadcast facilities across South Africa, including for Radio Turf, Voice of Wits, VUT FM, and uDubs Radio.
Company
600 Industrial Dr.
New Bern, NC 28562 USA
Main office +1 (252) 638-7000
Fax main office +1 (252) 637-1285
We are open Monday through Friday,
8:30 AM to 8:30 PM EST
Company
600 Industrial Dr.
New Bern, NC 28562 USA
Main office +1 (252) 638-7000
Fax main office +1 (252) 637-1285
We are open Monday through Friday,
9:00 AM to 5:30 PM EST