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Audio Accessibility at St. Laurence
The Facility Vision Statements that were adopted at our Annual General
Meeting in early 2007 included a description of the principle of
accessibility that would be part of the vision for the future St. Laurence
facility.
That description incorporated a desire for an up to date sound system
for those who are hearing impaired. St. Laurence has now taken a
significant step towards reaching that dream with the installation
of a sixteen
channel Yamaha audio mixer and a Telex Soundmate Personal Assistive
Listening system.
The Yamaha mixer, which is located in the choir loft, was added to
the sound system to provide greater flexibility in our existing sound
system setup
and to allow the addition of the Assistive Listening system (as well as
the possibility of future enhancements).
The Assistive Listening System includes several components:
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Base Station: This is essentially a low power FM
transmitter that broadcasts an FM signal inside the worship area
of the church. The base station is also located in the choir loft.
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Signal Source: The source of the sound signal that
is transmitted by the base station consists of all the microphones
that are used during the service the clip-on mics worn by the clergy,
the microphone on the lectern used by the readers, the microphone
used by the intercessor for the prayers of the people, and the
microphone(s) used for making announcements. The Yamaha mixer is
used to combine the sound signal from all these sources and send
it to the base station.
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Receivers: The small belt-pack FM receivers receive
the sound signal that is transmitted from the base station. Each
receiver has a standard mini-plug headphone jack and a volume control
so the individual user can control the volume of sound. St Laurence
currently has six receivers that are available to be borrowed during
a service.
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Earphone/Necklace: Either an earphone or a “telecoil
necklace” is plugged into the jack on the receiver. The earphone
is worn just like a standard earphone connected to a personal audio
device such as an iPod or a portable CD player. The telecoil necklace
is worn around the neck and used in conjunction with a hearing
aid that is equipped with a “Telecoil”. Using the telecoil
system eliminates the inconvenience of using earphones.
St. Laurence has six receivers, four earphones, and 5 telecoil
necklaces that are available to be borrowed for use during
a service. For hygienic reasons, it is strongly recommended that
users purchase their own earphones (approximately $30 in local audio
retail outlets) to use with the system.
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