Purdue’s radio station relocates into new home

By Anna Herkamp
Summer Reporter

Purdue's WBAA radio station is about to move across the hall from its current location in the Elliott Hall of Music and into a new level of 21st century technology.

WBAA's current studios were built around the time the hall was built in the early 1940s. The radio technology has been updated since the building was built; however, the studios themselves have not.

The station has simply outgrown its space, said Dan Skinner, general manager of WBAA studios.

Radio today isn't what it was then, he said.

The technical facilities will be moved in two phases. The studio portion will be moved this week. Later, the old space will be demolished and rebuilt into office and library space for the station.

The move and renovation should be completed by September.

Anna Herkamp/Summer Reporter MOVIN OUT: The old control room of the WBAA radio station. The station was opened in the early 1940s and still has the out-dated acoustic technology of the 1930s radio station era.

President Martin Jischke's monthly radio address was put on hold this month because of the Fourth of July holiday, but his next address — in August — will be out of the new studios.

Eighty percent of the equipment the station will be using from now on will be brand new, said Skinner.

The rest of the equipment, such as microphones, recording devices and computer equipment will be moved from the old studios, he said.

Despite the move, programming on both the AM and FM frequencies will not stop, Skinner said.

Features of the new studio will be digital audio boards as opposed to the current analog boards. There will also be CD recorders and mini disc recorders.

For the FM station, which plays primarily classical music, music will be played from a computer hard drive instead of CDs.

Acoustically, the stations will be much more advanced than the old ones. The new studios will have the latest soundproof techniques available, said Michael Gay, manager of Engineering Services. The studios will be completely quiet for production, he said. The walls have soundproof material two feet thick.

There will be an additional voice studio and additional capacity to produce programming, said Skinner. Gay said programming will be done quicker and easier with the new equipment

In addition, there will be a new STL system, which transfers the information from the studio to the broadcasting tower allowing for less outside interference.

Gay said the new studio — which includes new furniture and fixtures — is better than any radio station in the West Lafayette area. Gay said some of the furniture manufacturers for the studio said the facility is better than some of the major studios in California or New York.

"After 60 years in the old studio, this will be a wonderful facility," Skinner said.

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