WE REMOTE IN, FLY IN AND JUMP IN

WE REMOTE IN, FLY IN AND JUMP IN
What is it about technical support lately that makes us think about paratroopers?

Maybe it’s that with fewer CEs these days, broadcasters are turning to tech support to swoop in via remote access to solve problems and get the job done.

Or maybe it’s because we manufacture the AoIP studio system that makes remoting in practical, or that we have a few brave paratroopers on the Wheatstone Tech Support team.

Trey Bryant, Paul Castro, John Davis, and Steve Walker remote in, fly in and jump into all types and manner of tech support issues today.

“We’re definitely seeing a [engineering] shortage out there but we’re also running into more and more situations where they’re keeping and maintaining those older consoles,” said Bryant, the newest member of the Wheat Tech Support team who was the CE for Curtis Media, and previously market CE for Cumulus, before joining Wheatstone in 2023.

All experienced broadcast engineers, the Wheatstone Tech Support team is the technical boots on the ground for a large installed base of Wheatstone and Audioarts consoles and networking gear dating back 30 years or more. Support situations range from the local CE who just inherited new WheatNet IP studios to the GM who wants to keep his Audioarts console on the air indefinitely.

The team is armed with a well-stocked inventory of OLEDs, faders, switches, and other parts that can wear over time, some specifically for consoles dating back to early models manufactured by Wheatstone. If a part still exists, we’ll stock it. It’s entirely possible that we have the only part of that kind available anywhere, sitting in our parts inventory, ready for use if a customer needs it.

We make these parts available to our customers through our online Wheatstone Store. “If you can take care of it, maintain it and get parts for it, you can keep those older consoles on the air almost indefinitely,” stated Bryant.

“Even if it’s a module for a console from 30 years ago, we have the technicians here who know it and can repair it to keep it on the air for another 30 years.”

The team works with factory technicians as well as our AoIP developers just down the hall to solve issues, in many cases by remoting into WheatNet IP audio networks onsite. “From a diagnostic standpoint, we have access to the WheatNet developers so if a customer has a configuration issue at their facility, for example, we can access their system a little bit more molecularly than anyone. We can get into the brains of the system,” said John Davis, who has more than 20 years’ experience in the industry supporting AoIP systems.

Often, our support techs consult on new WheatNet systems being pre-configured in the Wheatstone Lab before shipping to their final destinations as plug-in ready systems. Occasionally, a Wheat support tech will fly out to stations to commission a new studio system.

More recently, the team created the Wheatstone Support Center as a repository of support knowledge and technical information that GMs, PDs, CEs and integrators can access directly. This is in addition to email and telephone support, as well as a technical forum for scripting and logic support specifically for WheatNet IP systems.

Trey Bryant

Trey Bryant

Paul Castro

Paul Castro

Steve Walker

Steve Walker

John Davis

John Davis

Bryant, previously CE for Curtis Media and market CE for Cumulus; Castro, previously assistant CE for Univision; Steve Walker, previously assistant CE for Radio One; and Davis, with more than 20 years of AoIP experience, make up the Wheatstone Technical Support team.

HOW TO REACH
WHEAT SUPPORT

Contact Wheatstone Tech Support during regular business hours or 24/7 during off-air emergencies:

For ordering Wheatstone, Audioarts, and VoxPro parts directly, click on the Wheatstone Store

For helpful tips, videos, and product information, check out the Wheatstone Support Center

And, for AoIP scripting and logic tips and information, join our Logic and Scripting Forum

More recently, the team created the Wheatstone Support Center as a repository of support knowledge and technical information that GMs, PDs, CEs and integrators can access directly. This is in addition to email and telephone support, as well as a technical forum for scripting and logic support specifically for WheatNet IP systems.

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