The first Sturgis Rally, known as the Black Hills Classic, was held on 14 August, 1938 with a race of nine participants and a small audience. The Rally has since grown into an event that has drawn nearly 13m people since 1990, with another half-million expected to flood downtown Sturgis this year. The full schedule of activities and entertainment this year includes burnout drag competitions, extreme motorcycle stunts, half-mile races and live concerts from bands and artists including Bob Dylan, Motley Crue, Alice in Chains and Disturbed.
With a loud and lively downtown population that will far exceed the usual Sturgis population of 6,442, the city requires a powerful public address system that can elevate clear, intelligible speech over the crowd noise. The PA system features 16 Technomad weatherproof loudspeakers over a four-block area for outdoor public address and entertainment. The loudspeakers are otherwise being used this summer to simulcast programming from a local radio station, and will remain in place for future downtown events.
Local broadcaster KNKL Radio will simulcast its live programming over the PA system and also handle announcements, providing music and information around the clock from its downtown professional broadcast studio at The Knuckle Saloon. Pete Torino, owner and operator of KNKL Radio, works closely with the city to maintain and grow the PA system. Torino first replaced existing 70-volt horns throughout the downtown area with indoor speakers that required constant maintenance.
"The frequency response on the horns was like fingernails on a chalkboard, and I lost several of the speakers due to rain," said Torino. "I grew tired of running up ladders to cover speakers with plastic sacks. I started adding Technomad loudspeakers, and now cover a four-block area on both sides without trouble. They sound great and have the sufficient SPL levels to overcome 100,000 roaring motorcycles downtown."
The Technomad installation currently features eight Berlin and eight Noho loudspeakers as part of the multi-zone PA system. Each zone features a mini-headend with rack-mounted amplifiers and EQ equipment. The broadcast signal originates from the KNKL Radio studio, passing through a variety of signal processing and distribution equipment prior to reaching the local headends.
Torino expects to continue replacing older speakers with Technomad loudspeakers in the future, including possibly adding the company's compact Vernal loudspeakers in indoor zones.
(Jim Evans)
