South Africa’s Bosveld Stereo Transitions to IP with Calrec Type R for Radio

South African community radio station Bosveld Stereo, which broadcasts in Afrikaans across the North West Province, is the first station in South Africa to deploy Calrec’s IP-based Type R for Radio. The installation was overseen by Calrec’s recently appointed South African partner, Wild and Marr.

“Our existing studio mixers were reaching end-of-life and we wanted to take the opportunity to upgrade and move into an IP future: Type R was the answer,” says Graat Pelser, Chairperson at Bosveld Stereo. “We have found it very easy to adapt to and the configurability is a great help. We use it on a daily basis and we know that it’s easily expandable if required. We are grateful to Wild and Marr for their help through this process.”

Wild and Marr used Type R’s modular approach to create the ideal system for Bosveld Stereo’s needs: a Type R for Radio core plus two hardware fader panels and one large soft panel. The system can be accessed remotely, which is crucial in today’s Covid-19 environment. Using AoIP (Dante), the audio is transported to the transmitter.

“Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, myself and Broadcast Systems Engineer Dwaine Schreuder pre-commissioned Bosveld Stereo’s Type-R system off-site in a safe environment with all precautions taken,” says Anton van Wyk, Wild and Marr’s Technical Director. “By the time the unit was installed at Bosveld Stereo it was literally just plug and play. We believe that Type R for Radio has a very bright future across the African continent.”

Launched in 2008, Bosveld stereo is a community-oriented radio station that uses local talent to entertain its listeners. Everyone who currently works at Bosveld Stereo lives within the broadcasting footprint of the station and everyone also takes an active part in one or more of the community projects in which Bosveld Stereo is involved.

“We’re very pleased to see the first sale of our Type R for Radio technology in South Africa. We know that the overall broadcast market in the country is rapidly moving to IP. Type R for Radio has been designed to allow radio stations of all sizes to capitalise on IP’s inherent flexibility.”