With its indoor location, the new facility makes it possible to control temperature and humidity. It eliminates wind problems and minimizes interference from outside noise sources. This allows Community engineers to accurately measure complex loudspeaker data and to gather polar data in precise 1-degree resolution. Measurements are automated with an ELF robotic rotator system controlled by EASERA software.
The new test facility follows in the footsteps of a long tradition of loudspeaker measurements at Community. Community's first test facility was a 32ft high tower built in 1975 on a southeast Pennsylvania hilltop which provided measurements that closely corresponded to anechoic chamber standards and established Community as an early leader in providing accurate loudspeaker specifications.
In 1981, Community built a semi-anechoic room in its factory to manually collect spherical propagation data of loudspeakers using Time Delay Spectrometry (TDS) technology developed by Richard Heyser and Gerald Stanley. In 1994, Community built a new outdoor test facility extending from the third floor of its factory building in Chester. At 40ft above the ground and with a microphone to loudspeaker distance of 39ft, this system is still utilised today and uses TDS software to collect far-field and free-space data and to minimize outdoor noise and reflections. The outdoor test system provides the ability to measure low-frequency loudspeakers in near-free-space conditions.
Regarding the new test facility, Community's director of technical services, Dave Howden said, "Community's outdoor measurement systems were an important resource for our TAG (Technical Applications Group) group as we worked with systems designers and end users. Now, this new indoor facility provides phase data and other new information for systems designers and will help Community's engineering team design the next generation of great loudspeakers."
(Jim Evans)
