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Great Platte River Road
Archway Monument |
Autumn 2000 |
A New
'Somewhere' for Travelers − So Effective It Actually Had
to Be Shut Off at First |
Up and running a week and a half before the Great Platte
River Road Archway Monument's grand opening, the new
information radio station actually had to be turned off
after its first day on the air, because it brought in
too many visitors from the Interstate – before staff was
ready to serve them. Even so, the Archway team is
pleased to have this new station, which is proving to be
a good draw for would-be passers-by on a fast track
through Nebraska. |
Vision and reality coalesced in Nebraska,
creating a new 'somewhere' for travelers.
"We had seen radio stations at other top attractions and
knew that an Information Station would be crucial for an
enroute tourism spot such as the Archway," recounts Jeff
Smith of the Great Platte River Road Archway Monument
Project, when asked where the idea for the station
originated. Now, with the Monument's new
Information Station in place, instead of being a
perplexing (albeit amazing) structure seemingly in the
middle of "nowhere," via the radio, the Archway
invitingly communicates personality and purpose to the
more-than 12,000 Interstate-80 motorists who pass
beneath the giant portal every day on their way
westward. I-80 is the primary route linking the US' east
and west coasts. That the Archway towers over this busy
highway symbolically presents it to motorists as the
Gateway to the West. The Archway station's broadcast
message invites and directs travelers to the Museum.
Many will understand and remember the encounter in years
to come; for the massive, 8-story-high structure houses
innovative experiential exhibits that, through
interactive audiovisuals, engages guests in the story of
the Great Platte River Road "from the days of the Oregon
Trail to the fiber-optic future of tomorrow" – and, in
the process, subtly metamorphosing a previously supposed
"nowhere" into "somewhere" for anyone interested.
Best-laid plans and coordination enabled
success.
Even though establishing a Travelers Information Station
(TIS) was thought by museum staff to be a good idea, how
does one actually go about implementing a radio station,
never having done it before? With a little help from
friends and associates; that's how.
"Funding was not really a problem," says Smith. "We
built anticipated cost into our owner-furnished
equipment budget, and when a foundation board member saw
the cost, he decided it would be a fitting donation to
make." This good fortune might seem lucky. But in
actuality, it more likely resulted from project
visionaries' having a well-defined and communicated plan
AND a well-coordinated effort behind the scenes, pulling
in the outside experts needed. This included local city
administrators and remote technical consultants.
Relates Smith, "On the recommendation of the Nebraska
Department of Roads, we contacted Information Station
Specialists, who had provided stations to other Nebraska
cities." Information Station Specialists president Bill
Baker immediately responded with consulting assistance,
equipment and integration services to bring the project
to fruition and help change the museum's vision into
reality. His assessment: "It was a pleasure to work on
a project with people who have such a clear idea of what
they are communicating and who their audience is. The
Archway developers have chosen the perfect medium –
information radio – to attract and inform motorists at
that exciting moment when they first see this awesome
structure."
Installation, testing, training and
communicating further ensured success.
Tom Coviak, the supplier's field technician on site,
instructed the installation team and museum staff how to
set up and use the equipment, leaving documentation with
team members for future reference. Coviak attributes "a
remarkably easy installation" to cooperative efforts
with Archway operations consultant Jerry Pospisil of JBP
Consulting (Orlando) and onsite museum maintenance
manager Ron Gregory. And behind the scenes, supplier
project manager Steve Whitcomb helped select the best
frequency for the new station, then obtained FCC
licensing – no small matter. Precision resources
(databases and maps) are required to locate open
frequencies, which are compared and tested for quality,
so the one ultimately chosen is not only legally open
but does not suffer from or cause interference to other
low-power or commercial broadcast stations.
To prepare their new broadcast, Archway staff, in
coordination with Kearney (a nearby city) administrators
and the Department of Roads, drafted a preliminary
message that Bill Baker edited and produced in an
engaging multi-voice, talk-radio presentation style.
See
today's Professional Recording options.
Now, that the Archway is open and the system turned on
for real, that recorded message (with alternative winter
and summer segments) loops all day. It can be heard
clearly a dozen miles around the Monument and, along
with billboards and brochures, lets travelers know about
the new "somewhere" in the Midwest, the
Great
Platte River Road Archway Monument. |
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© 1983-2021 • Information Station Specialists,
Inc. • All Rights Reserved
PO Box 51, Zeeland, Michigan, USA, 49464-0051, Phone
616.772.2300, Fax 616.772.2966,
Email the Editor
• • •
|
Information Radio Stations is a generic term
synonymous with Travelers Information Stations (TIS), Highway
Advisory Radio Stations (HAR) / Highway Information Systems &
Low Power Radio Stations (LPR). Operation of the stations is
governed by FCC Part 90.242 Rules. A FCC license is required.
Information Radio Stations may be fixed or portable.
Subcomponents may include transmitter, antenna and ground
system, digital voice player, wattmeter, cabinet with
conventional or Corbin locks, lightning arrestors for RF, power
and telephone lines, coaxial cable. Most stations employ black
maximized antennas to discourage ice accumulation and security
measures to prevent unauthorized program access. Options include
synchronization, battery backup, solar power, remote programming
by local, network or telco, multi-station audio distribution via
RF or LAN / WAN or wireless network. |