The Calgary Airport Authority felt that a paging system replacement was required because of concerns over long term system reliability, and bottlenecks in paging system access because of increased traffic through the facility. The original paging system was installed in 1974 and used a variety of obsolee products including a DEC PDP-11 computer for system control, and was in need of more current technology along with improved performance.
This project began in 1994 with preliminary design and budgeting of a paging system upgrade that would allow a switchover with minimal downtime and troubleshooting problems. The initial phase of the replacement paging system went out for tender in the fall of 1997. The new paging system utilized a state-of-the-art computer controlled switching and routing system, combined with digital message storage to eliminate blocked access to the system. The system also has continuous system test and monitoring capability, ambient noise sensing in high traffic zones, and automatic redundant amplifier switchover capability to minimize potential outages caused by equipment failures. The system also has permanent digital message playback and a FIDS (Flight Information Display System) interface.
The first upgrade made use of existing speakers and speaker cabling to keep the costs down, and to speed the change-over process. The replacement and upgrade of loudspeakers is part of the ongoing upgrade and expansion plan.
The Calgary Airport Authority's long term construction plan calls for significant expansion over the next 10 years to keep up with increased air traffic through the facility. We are continuing with design and specification of the paging system in the new facilities as they are scheduled for construction.
The sound contractor for this project is Emergent Systems Corporation from Burnaby, BC.
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