Tieline ViA Takes Pole Position in Antarctica…
José Antonio Rodríguez González has been a special operations technician at Catalunya Ràdio (CCMA) since 1987. He recently embarked on a journey to the Spanish Antarctic bases to report on scientific work and what it is like working and living in such an isolated environment. Here is his report.
We didn’t have much time to prepare for our Antarctic trip as we discovered our CCMA project had been accepted by the Spanish Polar Committee in October, so preparations for travel moved very fast. We followed the recommended training proposed to us by the committee, which included scientific information and details on adequate clothing and footwear for working in Antarctica. The technical team prepared as well, considering factors affecting radio and television program production in a remote and often inhospitable environment with extremes of wind, rain and cold. We prioritised equipment that was as light and as versatile as possible, since the trip was long and warm clothes were already a significant load!
Apart from collecting sound materials to make a series of podcasts and creating an image bank for television in Catalonia, we did many live shows on both radio and television, from inside and outside the base – at various times and in a variety of conditions. Given the extreme environmental conditions, and the need to maximise versatility, the Tieline ViA was a perfect fit. The ViA codec allowed me to connect using IP, ISDN, or even through POTS/PSTN telephone operators in Argentina and Chile. That is to say, the versatility of the Tieline ViA allowed us to connect from very different places without needing other types of equipment.
The objective was to make direct connections from Antarctica over IP for all the programs of Catalunya Radio and Catalunya Informació, starting with the morning program with a large audience. We also connected for the afternoon magazine program, for information services, into sports programs, gastronomic shows, and even the night program. We also connected for TV3’s morning and afternoon magazine shows.
The Catalunya Ràdio team included a journalist and technician, and we connected live using the ViA from the Spanish Antarctic station BAE Juan Carlos, as well as the Oceanographic Research Vessel Hespérides. In addition to live connections, we did numerous interviews and recorded round tables with up to 3 people at a time.
At the base we could connect using their VSAT terminal, or mobility was provided by a BGAN and a Starlink antenna that we carried. VSAT provided a symmetrical 2 Mbps connection as it was shared with about 30 people at the station. Starlink provided a 180Mbps download and 40 Mbps upload. Due to the conditions, a redundant transmission strategy was not able to be used.
Managing Connections in a Challenging Environment
Challenges included the low temperatures and seeing how the battery performed. We found it worked very well, as did the codec data link provided by Starlink system. We weren’t sure initially if the location would allow optimal pointing to the Starlink satellite network, but first tests on the ground proved that it was the best way to obtain IP connectivity. The natural environment without buildings, trees or excessive slopes allowed the satellite to be mounted easily and obtain excellent coverage. The same system in a city may encounter some limitations based on the environment and obstacles that could interfere with good pointing to the satellite system.
Codec Setup Specifics
Sennheiser MD-431 handheld microphones and Sennheiser HD-26 headphones were attached to the codec for live interviews. We only transmitted voice content, so we connected using the Tieline Music PLUS algorithm in mono at 64kbps, with an estimated effective bit rate 80kbps. The MCR at the Catalunya Ràdio Production Center in Barcelona sent us a clean mix-minus feed via a Merlin PLUS codec at our studio for live bidirectional live interviews and this worked well. We customised the headphone mixes on the codec using the touchscreen Matrix Editor. We also used the built-in input compressors and equalizers. The touch screen and menus are easy to use and in general we find the codec easy to set up and operate.
The trip was an adventure and very successful for CCMA. I find the ViA codec very flexible because it allows me to record while connecting live. In a challenging environment like Antarctica, the ViA’s reliability, audio quality, latency, and overall performance was very good – it was a great part of our team.
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(“ViA Takes Pole Position” first published in RedTech Magazine, January/February 2024)
