Bernie Naude, General Manager at Radio Rosestad, said, “South Africa is a very diverse country with 11 languages spoken and many communities in one area. The community radio concept recognises that they all have specific needs to address. When we identified that we needed to switch to an IP infrastructure, our systems integrator introduced us to the Calrec Type R for Radio. We were impressed by the technology and the Type R is such an easy-to-use system.

“We were up and running with multiple operators quickly and easily due to the flexibility of the consoles – operators have their own settings and they have access to exactly what they need. It means that even though the technology is so advanced, it remains easy to use.”

Naude also highlights Calrec’s free online training as a good grounding which meant “everyone started at the same level”. Within 10 minutes of the first show the station was running smoothly. “We’ve also been able to give guests the opportunity to use the equipment. We use an SSP as a second screen so a guest can adjust his/ her own headphone levels and use the cough button without interrupting the output; syncing the timer for them onscreen is great for guests too,” he added.

Radio Rosestad was established in 1994 by the local community. It is entirely in Afrikaans for the residents of Bloemfontein and surrounding areas and has a catchment area of 100km. It supports local charities (44 in 2021) with airtime to promote their programmes and encourages members of the community to get involved in broadcasting by training them in radio production.

Graham Murray, International Sales Manager, Calrec, said, “Working with community radio stations with limited budgets and minimal staff is rewarding because it shows the Type R’s versatility and range. Staff at Radio Rosestad can log in from home and monitor the system, which makes this setup hugely beneficial for a radio station that runs 24 hours a day.”