A THESIS PROGRAM for KTXT-FM AND TELEVISION STUDIOS at TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY by JOHN NATHAN OWENS TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY Fall, 1972 I• í]> ^ i 1 j C [ TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Statement of Thesis Topic oo««ao*ooo*oo«ooa Current Facilities , ooooo*«oooaoooooo . 2 Projected Development ooooooooo . o • o o o 13 Space Requirements a a 0 e O . O 0 o . • o o o . o o 19 Site Analysis , . , o . o . O O 0 . , o o o o . o , 26 . 30 Financing , , , , o o o . o . o . O O 0 o . 33 LiOcies ,.•..,,. , , . O 0 . o o o o o o • o Appendix A • •wOOOO.OOOOOOO 0.0 . 42 Appendix B ,,00, ,0,0000000 , , , 0 , 44 . 49 Appendix C • •••oo,ooo,øoo . • . Sources • , . 55 ( • I I I STATEMENT OF THESIS TOPIC The project, a telecommunication center for Texas Tech University, will encompass F. M. broadcasting /acilities for KTXT-FM, the university student operated radio station, and following the established color trend, television facilities will include full color live and video tape television broadcasting, and facilities for the pre-recording of lectures for on and off campus use, The necessary administrative and functional facilities also will be part of the design considerations. Maximizing the effectiveness of faculty already employed by the university and area educational facilities will be the primary purpose of the lecture recording facilities, Lectures recorded here may be dispersed to the various departments on the university campus as well as the possibility of sharing these lectures with the area home owners via Channel 5 television. This method of correspondent education is already being utilized in more populus areas, KTXT-FM radio also sees educational programming in its future, becoming an additional source 2 of information and cultural events for the immediate surrounding area. These facilities will not only reach the university and surrounding area in a service rendering manner, but will provide invaluable experience to students interested in tele-communications, Staffed by students and the necessary professional technicians, both producing educational material, the facility will become both a means and an end to education. (I u p L < U CURRENT FACILITIES Radio The KTXT-FM radio studios are currently located in the speech building and are limited in the facilities available for use by students. The radio station moved into the speech building over a period of time, space by space until the present station development was reached. The spaces now include a newsroom, production manager's office, an engineer's work rooi one on-the-air studio, and two production studios. The newsroom houses two teletype machines, both connected to United Press International news wires, two typewriters for writing various news stories, two reel to reel and two cartridge type tape recorders for the production of news programs and a small control panel and microphone. The news room presently doubles as a news writing room and a production studio for the taping of news 'spots'. The on-the-air studio and the two production studios have basically the same equipment and each could be used for live broadcasting if the need arises, Each of the three studios have a control panel for the manipulating of the various pieces of equipment and microphones. Two turntables and storage for records are within easy reach of the operator. Taping equipment typically includes from one to two reel to reel tape recorders and at least two sources for cartridge tape play back and recording. The recording option is used primarily in the production studios. Sketches of the existing equipment with dimensions may be found in Appendix A, The production studios are used by student organizations for the production of announcements, and by tele-communications students for productions required by their classes, This causes the studios to be in great demand, Studios are used for approximately 30 productions per week and each production averages about 60 seconds of air time, however, the time required for production of the "spot" varies with the complexity required and the experience of the producer, Production time averages from one to two hours. This causes scheduling problems for the use of the production studios, Often times it prevents a 2 student from using the facility in their spare time between classes. Because of the small size of the production studios it is impossible to schedule any large or medium scale productions such as choral groups or group Instrumental productions. It is difficult to produce even the smallest program such as a two-man debate, Many of the tasks performed at the station by students can only be learned by participation and experience. The limited production-instructioi facilities makes it difficult for instructors to demonstrate the use of the various equipment controls used in production, Novice "disk jockeys" must be instructed, often by teaching assistants, while they are "on the air," simply because of the lack of adequate practice facilities. This causes the need for qualified instructors to be present while the station is in the hands of the lesser experienced students. Adequate practice and instructional facilities might allow the students to learn the use of turn tables, tape players, microphones, and other equipment within normal class hours, Many of the other "learning by doing" tasks, technical in nature, such as tape splicing, monitoring and editing tape are limited in the number of students that may be instructed at one time. There is currently no other space or equipment that can be used for this type of instruction. KTXT-FM services few people outside the immediate area of the campus. A diagram of the maximum radius of reception with good reception equipment is shown on the following page. The campus dormitories are reached by way of a carrier current. In other words, the dormitories are linked to the station by means of a transmission cable rather than the usual broadcasting method, The KTXT-FM transmitter is located at the existing KTXT television station, and is so located that it may also use the existing tower for its broadcast antenna, The transmitter is operated and utilized remotely from the speech building, however, an engineer must be on duty at the transmitter at all times, as required by F. C. C. regulations. The separation of the studios and transmitter seems to have caused few operational problems and allows the present studios to be located conveniently to pedestrian traffic from the interior of the campus. ítj^ -W«SN£V>»J ;V^J^5«»SSíS«S^^XS^«VV^^C«SS^V*i^>m^«««^ x> îíí'í^XXVW-'^iWIvx'VVWw^ Television The KTXT television studio and transmitter are presently located in a converted livestock pavilion on the west edge of the Texas Tech University campus, Administrative offices are in the remodeled living quarters above the studio. The television facilities moved into the building in 1962 and at that time added a mechanical room, In 1966 a transmitter room was added to the existing structure, These additions were made because of the lack of expansion space. The station has grown sufficiently that again there is no available space for expansion and this lack of ability for expansion, prevents the improvement and upgrading of equipment to accommodate color production and broadcast. The present station consists of one studio, one control room, one transmitter/engineer work room, and four administrative offices. The studio must serve multiple functions because it is the only one in the station. Any video production must be scheduled for the studio as well as any live broadcasting done by KTXT-TV. Every Monday and Wednesday afternoon the tele-communications department uses the studio and control room for educational instruction to its students. Any production by the department must be scheduled during this time. Existing studio facilities create scheduling problems because only one studio must serve in so many capacities. This scheduling problem should increase in magnitude as the enrollment in tele-communications increases to a projected 250 students in 1980. The studio itself imposes restrictions in flexibility and convenience The small size of the studio does not allow sets and properties used very often to remain in the studio while other productions are in progress. Size inadequacy prohibits large productions in which larger sets and larger numbers of people would appear. Height, also very important in the television studio, is a problem in the existing facilities. Having to fit the studio into a building that was not intended for this use, the headroom, or distance from the floor to the lighting grid, is inadequate and does not allow taller sets, or their movement in and out of the studio. Taller sets are needed because the field of vision through the standard studio camera, not only increases in width but in height as the camera is moved away from the subject. Greater height is needed for ease in maneuvering microphone booms in the studio without contacting the lighting grid or the suspended studio lighting fixtures. A maximum of five technicians will be in the studio at any given time during a production. These men are two cameramen, one prop man, if a boom microphone is used one man must be present for its operation, and one floor director is also present. Equipment needed in the studio includes a lighting grid near the ceiling from which the studio lighting fixtures are suspended for flexibility in lighting effects. Two television cameras and the necessary microphones required for any specific production. The control room, adjacent to and usually connected with the studio, is small, but efficient in that there is very little distance between functions and equipment that must be attended to by one person.