San Mateo Community College District gets loud with Technomad speakers

By Andrew Lippe

Technomad weatherproof loudspeakers have been installed on all three college campuses in the San Mateo Community College District in California, giving an audio boost to football, baseball, gymnastics and track and field events.

Rick McKinney, VP of Lloyd McKinney Associates, the integrator on the project, says, “Technomad speakers provide a full range of clean audio because they are 100% waterproof. They hold up well in foggy conditions.” That’s important given the quickly changing weather conditions in San Mateo.

The installation of the speakers has been a two-year undertaking and part of a larger move to improve the facilities that were originally built in the 1960s.

Five Technomad Noho C loudspeakers were installed in Bulldog Stadium, the football facility at the College of San Mateo, replacing aging horn systems that produced distorted, unintelligible audio. Three of the speakers are on the press box fa ade at the 50-yard line while two more are mounted on light poles on the other side of the field. Noho C loudspeakers were also placed around three baseball diamonds, at two soccer fields, and in the track field area.

Jim Petromilli, director of Instructional Technology at the San Mateo Community College District, requested an indoor demo of Technomad speakers after seeing how well the Technomad speakers held up in the football stadium. McKinney and Associates then installed 12 Technomad Vienna 16 loudspeakers at the basketball gymnasium at Skyline College.

The upgrade of the audio systems was part of large school project that included new field surfaces, PA systems and a new Fairplay scoreboard in the gym. The new scoreboard can do multiple sound effects, video messaging, and display instant replay. “Music and entertainment are part of the experience and the speakers greatly improve the fan experience,” adds Petromilli.