WISYCOM TRANSFORMS WIRELESS WORKFLOW AT SUTTER HEALTH PAR...

Sacramento Production Services has completed a major wireless audio overhaul at Sutter Health Park, current home of the Athletics (A's) professional baseball team during its three year residency in Sacramento. By deploying a robust Wisycom antenna and fiber based RF distribution system, day to day operations have fundamentally changed for the stadium's production team. The upgrade, driven by the arrival of Major League Baseball (MLB) broadcasts and the increased RF congestion that accompanies national media, replaced the park's previous wireless setup with a fully integrated Wisycom solution designed for reliability, coverage and remote management across the entire facility.

The installation features a full suite of Wisycom RF components, including the brand's MAT244 RF combiners, LFA wideband antennas and ADFA active directional antennas, as well as BFL-T2 and BFL-R2 antenna over fiber links. In total, 10 Wisycom antennas now cover Sutter Health Park, including four antennas deployed in the outfield via fiber and six others positioned in three pairs across the home side stands, roof and concourse.

This was game changing for us, says Anthony Brown, Project Manager for Sacramento Production Services. We have wanted tools like this for years, and suddenly the technology caught up. The fact that the antennas have telemetry, remote control capabilities and built-in fiber links is excellent; it's all just there, ready to go.

Before the upgrade, the stadium's minor league era wireless system struggled under the demands of professional-caliber broadcasts. Numerous frequency scans, dropouts and unpredictable RF behavior were the norm, especially in the concourse, a notoriously difficult RF environment due to dense crowds and concrete pillars every 24 feet.

When the A's came in, it very quickly became clear that the existing wireless frequencies were a pretty bad choice, adds Keith Wackford, Sales and Production Manager at Sacramento Production Services. Minor league games never had the RF congestion that major league broadcasts bring. Things looked fine in rehearsal, but come game time, everything changed.

The outfield was an even bigger challenge. They told us, We want our wireless microphones to work in the outfield,' Wackford notes. That's about 460 feet from the nearest antenna. Without fiber, it would've been impossible.

Sacramento Production Services evaluated multiple wireless brands, but ultimately chose Wisycom for its bandwidth, filtering capabilities and antenna over fiber architecture. The team at Sound Devices introduced us to the Wisycom brand, Wackford explains. The Sound Devices design uses Wisycom antennas because the brand's bandwidth surpasses what others are doing. Once we spoke with the team, it was a no brainer. Even wireless competitors recommended Wisycom. That says a lot about the product.

One of the most impactful features has been Wisycom's remote antenna control and filtering. With the Wisycom antennas, we were able to narrow the bandwidth and lower the noise floor, adds Brown. That made the system bulletproof.

For Brian Webber, who led deployment and configuration, the networking capabilities were a revelation. The system is rock-solid all the way around the park. The coolest part is the networking. It blew my mind how easy it is to remotely manage all the antennas.

Wackford also emphasizes the operational impact: In a facility this size, remote control is a massive timesaver. It's a four or five minute walk to the outfield. In a football or soccer stadium, it would save thousands of steps. The production team really doesn't have to do anything anymore; they're off addressing other concerns.

The result is a wireless system that simply works. We went from wireless being a problem every other day to it not being an issue at all, says Brown. Producers and talent can move freely throughout the park, do interviews anywhere and focus on the production instead of the RF.

The team hopes more venues discover what Wisycom's antenna and fiber solutions can do. Some customers may think this is too expensive or out of their league, adds Brown. We encourage them to take a second look. The value is enormous.

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