Bosch public address and emergency sound system goes on air in Paris
Major refurbishment work at Paris Roissy Charles de Gaulle Airport includes a new all-digital PA and emergency sound system.
Bosch Security Systems and the voice-data-image communication specialists Axians, based in France and part of Vinci Energies Group, cooperated closely to put together a highly cost-effective solution based around Bosch's Praesideo digital PA and Emergency Sound System.
The main point for the choise of Bosch's all-digital public address and emergency sound system was the fact that Praesideo perfectly met the needs of Terminal 1 and is far more cost-effective than would be possible with an analog system and the system is the only PA and emergency sound system that has been independently certified to the IEC 60849 safety standard.
The benefits of a networked system
Terminal 1, which handles the bulk of the international traffic of Paris' largest airport, presents special challenges for a PA installation. Managing the flights of around 60 airlines, the circular terminal covers seven floors and includes a central building and seven departure satellites to which passengers are conveyed through transparent tubes. In a terminal of this size, the installation of a traditional analog PA system in which every speaker is individually connected to a central control unit would require an enormous amount of re-cabling. Unlike traditional PA systems, the Praesideo uses a network configuration based on fiber optics. Since individual Praesideo systems easily interconnect with each other over a TCP/IP Ethernet network, the system offers virtually limitless multi-zone and networking possibilities and combines this with the superior sound quality that only digital audio processing can guarantee. Being a digital system, the Praesideo is also extremely easy to configure and maintain.
Based on the networking possibilities of the Praesideo system, Axians and Bosch proposed a decentralized solution with one main loop in the central part of the terminal and loops in each of the satellites. At the heart of each loop is a network controller that stores all control information. It also provides the Ethernet interface for connection to a PC to enable remote system configuration, diagnostics and logging functions.
Axians started the installation in 2004, after performing an acoustic study to check how many loudspeakers would be needed in each part of the terminal. The main control room was first installed in the central building, followed by smaller control rooms in each of the departure satellites. These were connected to the main control room by fiber-optic cabling - resulting in a total of 13 interconnected Praesideo PA systems and 12 emergency zones. Each of the satellite control rooms is connected to the main control room by just a single fiber-optic cable, which is a major saving in both cost and labor compared with an analog system. The resulting system comprised a total of 14 network controllers, 50 amplifiers and 90 call stations.
Smooth and seamless switchover
The heavy demands of international travel at Charles de Gaulle meant that the terminal had to remain open during the refurbishment. One of the challenges facing the installers, therefore, was maintaining the old analog PA system in operation during installation of the new digital system. That was no problem with the Praesideo configuration, which is fully able to interface with an analog system. This was another reason for choosing the Praesideo system. Once the new hardware was in place, we were able to hook this up to the old cabling and speakers while we installed the fiber-optic network, making the switchover from the old to the new PA system completely smooth and seamless."
The system is, in fact, currently operating with the original speakers which Axians is due to replace in phases, starting this year and ending in 2007. When complete, the system will boast 1000 Bosch MCS 3500 ceiling-mounted tri-cone loudspeakers and 50 XLA 3200 line-array column loudspeakers. Both these loudspeaker systems are renowned for their high-quality speech and music reproduction and both meet stringent emergency-evacuation (EVAC) standards. Even in its present configuration with the original loudspeakers, the sound quality of the Praesideo system is clearly superior to that of the old system.
For more information: www.boschsecuritysystems.com
Email: Erika.Goerge@de.bosch.com
