Joanna Hamer | Staff Writer
Have you ever wondered how the speaker?s voice gets from the microphone into your ears when you use the Amphitheater?s hearing enhancement system?
The sound travels on infrared waves sent out from two panels above the podium, written into the electromagnetic waves by modulating their frequency. Two ?eyes? on the front of the hearing enhancement devices catch the waves from the panels, or from bouncing off the reflective yellow paint of the Amp, and turn the waves back into words.
Infrared waves are the standard for hearing enhancement systems because of their many benefits.
?The cool thing about infrared is that it?s limited by line of sight,? said Chris Dahlie, head of sound for the Amp. ?If it was on a radio frequency, it would have to be allocated by the FCC, and there would be a limited number of those bands, and radio travels somewhat through structure.?
Infrared, however, has the advantage of a smaller broadcast area, so it does not overlap with other wavelengths or cause harmonics.
Yet, infrared waves also have drawbacks. At the beginning of every lecture, the audience is asked to refrain from flash photography, because a camera?s flash can cause a painfully loud popping sound to issue from the hearing devices.
?Flash photography, in addition to covering all the visual electromagnetic spectrum, also puts out some marginal stuff on either side: ultraviolet on the high-frequency side and infrared on the low-frequency side,? Dahlie said.
The effect is similar to what would happen if the speaker clapped right in front of the microphone ? except, he said, his audio system has limits to prevent those loud noises, but he has no control over infrared waves from other sources.
?It?s basically a full-blast pop of infrared radiation that can be picked up by those hearing aids,? Dahlie said, ?so you hear just a bang, as loud as the thing can receive.
?Infrared radiation is also put out by, of course, our friend the sun, so once you get out from under the shade of the Amp roof, those things immediately go to static, because the sun?s infrared radiation is a lot more wattage than my panels put out.?
The good news for hearing enhancement system users is that the sun also makes it bright enough in the Amp that the audience can take photos of the speaker without needing flash, to the relief of those listening by infrared waves.
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Source: http://chqdaily.com/2012/08/21/amps-infrared-hearing-enhancement-system-keeps-speakers-amplified/
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