Marquette TV - Remotes

Remotes

In the early days of MUTV, Big Fred and Little Fred were the remote trucks that enabled MUTV to go off and shoot events like Marquette Men's Basketball. The trucks were hand-built by the engineers and students and Big Fred, specifically, was a used bread truck. MUTV broadcasted Men's Basketball on a tape delay since a microwave transmitter was not available. 3/4" tape was driven from the Bradley Center to Johnston Hall. A microwave transmitter was eventually purchased, but it was almost immediately struck by lightning and rendered useless. The trucks were valuable assets to the program, though, were difficult to maintain. One day Big Fred and Little Fred were driven away and were never returned.

A remote fly-pack was built at the start of the 2006-2007 school year, utilizing equipment replaced during that summer's digital upgrade. The kit, see equipment list and description above, is a valuable tool for MUTV, allowing them to do remotes once again. The kit has traveled to the Al McGuire Center, Bradley Center, Weasler Auditorium, Varsity Theater, and Alumni Memorial Union to broadcast sporting events, political debates, and other events. The students utilize both the equipment in the fly-pack and equipment in the Johnston Hall control rooms (video and CG support) to make the broadcasts successful. Video is sent to Johnston Hall over a network of fiber optic converters placed in key buildings on the Marquette campus. A telephone link between intercom systems allows seamless communication between the remote and Johnston Hall.