Source: Radio World Buyer's Guide
March 2021
SANTIAGO, Chile — El Conquistador FM, one of the most important radio groups in Chile, began with one station in Santiago more than five decades ago and today is nationally established with 50 stations in the country.
Alejandro Noemi Hauck, a well-known radio engineer at El Conquistador FM, operates three Ecreso FM 1000W transmitters, broadcasting in three cities, each deployed with SmartFM technology and a five-band audio processor.
While staying on air with the highest quality audio is vital, as for all broadcasters, Hauck also said cost savings and limiting energy consumption are increasingly important.
Multiple factors play into this such as system efficiency, reliability and cost of maintenance. Hauck said their legacy transmitters were not optimal in terms of total cost of ownership, so he looked for a solution that would better fit their needs while lowering operating costs and improving the quality of the signal.
Hauck said he had good experience over four years with the Ecreso FM 1000W, for its efficiency and reliability, so he jumped on the opportunity to use the newly released SmartFM technology.
Manufacturer WorldCast Systems says SmartFM is a sophisticated innovation for FM radio that enables broadcasters to reduce energy costs by up to 40%. The software, in Hauck’s words, “is incredible to see operate automatically according to the program content.”
After testing on-air programs at the edge of the coverage zone, he said he was surprised by the results and that SmartFM does not affect the listening experience. For El Conquistador, this represents a step forward for radio at a time when energy is expensive and businesses need to limit their consumption.
“SmartFM is a breakthrough innovation every FM broadcaster should deploy,” he told the manufacturer, saying that the improvement, activated through a software upgrade, is significant.
In line with its objective to deliver great sound, the broadcaster also uses the built-in five-band sound processor. According to Hauck, he replaced processors he was using from a familiar brand with WorldCast Systems’ solution. No additional hardware is required, and the result is amazing sound that can be personalized for a station.
In addition to reliability and great audio, Hauck said, the group saw power consumption drop noticeably. While Ecreso FM 1000W provided efficiency of up to 72%, with SmartFM they reaped the benefits of even higher efficiency and savings.
“I would recommend Ecreso for the audio quality, the very good transmitter performance and especially SmartFM, which is an impressive innovation,” Hauck said.
