[AG-TECH] Hursley AG Node - Room Design, please comment.

Leslie Arvin arvin at stat.purdue.edu
Thu Dec 12 10:06:51 CST 2002


Osland, CD (Chris) wrote:
> My only comment would be that having the equipment rack in the
> same room is going to give you significant background sound levels.
> You can only do so much with sound deadening - beyond that the
> temperature in the rack rises till the computer(s) switch themselves
> off!

Purdue University has the equipment rack in the same room and have not
had a problem with noise (while the rack is closed).  Nor have the
computers overheated and switched themselves off. The rack is sound
"proofed".  However, we were surprised when we first installed the
computers in the rack that the fans didn't propel the whole thing
out the door.

> Also on the sound point-of-view, think about the noise of the
> projectors, and see whether you can box the projectors in (and
> still ventilate them!) with a glass-fronted tunnel fitted to the
> ceiling.  75% of the noise in our room is from the projectors (which
> we chose to be as quiet as possible), 20% is the air conditioning
> (which was similarly specified) and 5% is residual sound from outside
> and from our equipment cupboard which has total hermetic seals
> to the room and is separately ventilated.

Our projectors are behind screen and the the screen dampens the sound.
The three screens fill the entire wall so sound can't escape around the
side.  Curtains hang below the screens.  We've not had complaints.  But
I'm usually an operator and in the back of the room away from the
projectors; maybe our audio people would disagree with me.

> You have specified a one-way mirror to surround the op; this will
> make it impossible for someone to op their own meeting unless you
> have the main op consoles up on the wall and, maybe, use a wireless
> keyboard and mouse or use VNC on a laptop to run the Display
> machine.  We find people self-op for perhaps 30% of our meetings.

We have a darkened glass screen to shield the ops and equipment.
This helps muffle any sound from the operator side, but it also
makes it harder for the operator to monitor the audio as the audience
hears it.  The glass blocks the audio enough we needed small speakers
behind the barrier so the operator can hear the presentations.  If
the room speakers are turned up enough so the operator can hear
clearly, the audio can be too loud for the audience.

The glass barrier does make it difficult to operate one's own meeting.
We don't yet have a camera ideally positioned to show the operator without
trying to penetrate the screen.  We have considered a wireless keyboard
and mouse, and/or other options to deal with this.

-- Leslie Arvin
    arvin at purdue.edu
    Programmer
    Purdue University Access Grid




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