Western Slope Pro Audio, Inc. Montrose, CO has completed installation of seven customized audio systems in the recently remodeled Museum of Western Colorado in Grand Junction. The new Museum of Western Colorado has "removed the glass" between you, the visitor, and museum artifacts, allowing you to walk in and fully experience the Placerville Post Office, an 1890’s school house, and a full size uranium mine. Or take a trip in their time traveling telephone booth.

Exhibits that received audio systems include the school house, telephone booth and uranium mine mentioned above, along with the Civil War, Fremont/Ute Hall, and Fire Engine exhibits. Beginning in the 1890’s School House a Stop & Listen motion sensor activates as you enter and a school Marm calls the children to class with the ringing of her school bell. A Stop & Listen Digital Message Repeater provides the recorded message and its internal power amplifier drives an Atlas Soundolier in ceiling speaker mounted in a painted surface mount enclosure to "hide" against the rooms black ceiling.

The Telephone Booth exhibit allows visitors to enter and hear recorded operator messages from a number of decades. A Stop & Listen Multi-Message Repeater was installed on the booth along with a custom push-button panel providing operator messages from three decades of telephone history. The output of the MMR was connected to the telephone and drives the ear-piece speaker on the telephone for added realism.

The Civil War exhibit is a diorama complete with a Fort Crawford Gatling Gun. Sound effects and message recording were produced by WSPA, Inc. and includes a Stop & Listen DMR, Peavey UA35T power amp, and a SoundTube FP633 focus point loudspeaker. Push-button activation along the railing of the exhibit triggers the announcement concluding in an actual Gatling gun firing effect.

The Fire Engine exhibit features a facade of an actual early Grand Junction Fire House and a 1921 La France fire truck. In addition to a pair of Stop & Listen DMR’s and SoundTube FP633’s providing historical information, WSPA, Inc. fabricated and installed a hand crank that activates a recording of the original siren, with playback coming from the engine compartment via a single RBH Model 53 speaker.

The Fremont/Ute Hall exhibit features a Stop & Listen DMR for interactive audio where you can learn the Ute language. Audio is again played through a SoundTube FP633 providing excellent directional control with sound directed at the visitor without overpowering adjacent displays.

A favorite with the kids, the full-size uranium mine features LA Rocker speakers along the length of the tunnel. Fed by a continuous-loop Stop & Listen DMR the rocks provide the sound of dripping water as you walk the mine. Utilizing the priority capability of a Peavey UA-35T mixer/amp the rock speakers are sent the signal from an actual mine drilling/explosion effect that is triggered by a Stop & Listen motion actuator at a "rift" location in the center of the tunnel. In the rift, visitors find a mine cart and a mannequin miner "operating" a pneumatic mine drill. When activated, the sound of drilling punctuated by an "explosion" not only rocks the rift area with a speaker hidden in the mine cart and the tunnel via the rock speakers, but shakes the plank flooring in front of the rift by way of two RBH FX80 motion actuators installed in the floor. The effect adds excitement to the "unknown", since visitors have no idea why or what has caused the effects. Rich Helm, Executive Director says "The Uranium Mine is the most popular exhibit, especially with kids, who will go through it three or four times".

Once you have exited the Uranium Mine, you may find yourself setting off a Geiger counter positioned on a Stop & Listen Podium display. Again a S & L motion sensor activates the DMR recording of a Geiger counter.

A "working" Geiger counter was installed on the podium and when activated a relay sends the meter flapping and you see and hear your "radioactive" body as you pass by. All sound effects for this exhibit were produced by WSPA, Inc. To allow easy updates and message changes WSPA, Inc. delivered a Sony MZ-R55CG portable mini-disc recorder and Sony ECM-957 stereo microphone in a Pelican Products watertight equipment case. This system provides a digital master storage archive in an extremely portable design, allowing for remote location recording and ease of transfer to the DMR’s.For additional information on the museum and their other attractions visit their web-site. www.wcmuseum.org.

WSPA, Inc. is the regions only full-service professional sound, video and control system design-build company, with over 36-years of combined industry experience.