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Sound System - Paddington Station

paddington station

Case Study: Paddington Station Sound System

Optical Networks Limited (ONL) design high-integrity sound systems for railway stations. ONL were approached by Paddington Railway Station to develop its new sound system.

Why ONL Chose MLE
ONL knew that no off-the-shelf product could fulfil their requirements: they needed a bespoke solution. They chose to work with MLE because of our skills in high quality audio, computer communications interfacing and power supply management.

The Brief
MLE were tasked with designing and manufacturing an audio multiplexer and multiplexed pre-amp which would enable Paddington to direct specific sound signals to specific areas within the station.

paddington stationThe Challenges
The specification contained stringent safety-critical features in case of power deficiencies which required the system to include an uninterruptible and dual redundant power supply. The overall power management also had to be ultra-efficient to make the best use of its batteries. The system needed to be low-noise, however it contained switch mode power supply technology, which is not known for its low noise and can produce interference.....

The Solution
Due to the mixed nature of the design being digital and high-spec audio, MLE used a proprietary floating virtual audio ground; they also used a priority poling method to enable the hardware to override the system in the case of any software demise, such as in the event of a fire.

The product has a computer interface which allows a PC to configure it and a 24-channel equaliser on each of its 256 outputs which allows for better quality. Part of the system also had to fit into an existing space in an amplifier rack, which required miniaturisation and attention to power dissipation limits. MLE suggested using a modular approach using a 19" rack making the system flexible for future expansion.

Coupling power supply technology with sensitive instrumentation proved a challenge; however MLE are well practised in overcoming such difficulties. With over 60 years combined power technology experience and a technical director who spent 4 years as a BBC sound engineer, you could say this job was right up their track!

How It Actually Works
The product uses high-quality audio amplifiers and an internal RS485 communications system to interface with all the modules. A DSP equaliser does all of the digital sound processing.case study

Another important element of this project was that MLE were able to carry out both the design and manufacture of the system utilising their in-house manufacturing facilities.

The End Result
MLE designed, developed and manufactured a system that met all the exact requirements of a very tight specification, producing 60 input racks and 200 audio pre-amp modules for the sound system.

 

 

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