MAKHANDA, South Africa — Campus radio remains a powerful talent engine across Africa and is increasingly expected to cater to both the ear and the eye. That dual expectation shaped the studio refit brief for Rhodes Music Radio, a campus station in Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown), in South Africa’s Eastern Cape. RMR serves as a training ground for journalists and presenters and is a cultural voice for the region. “It provides practical experience for students, a platform for music and debate and a bridge between Rhodes University and the broader community,” said SoundFusion Managing Director Alex Mathaba.
SoundFusion, established in 1984, brought deep installation experience to the project. “We were the first fully black-owned manufacturer of professional broadcast equipment in Southern Africa,” said Mathaba. “We’ve built over 300 broadcast facilities from community and campus stations to commercial and national broadcasters.” The team’s portfolio includes more than 150 facilities backed by South Africa’s Media Development and Diversity Agency, a statutory body that supports community and small commercial media to broaden media access and diversity.
Visual brief, brand and acoustics
RMR’s ask was explicit: Create a modern, dual-purpose studio to support FM broadcasting, video podcasting and streaming. “The university wanted something bold, innovative and student-friendly,” Mathaba said.
The visual identity became a joint exercise. “The vibrant color scheme was a joint idea between SoundFusion and RMR,” said Mathaba. “We wanted a design that was bright, youthful, funky and unique.” The palette landed on saturated yellow and red to give the rooms an unmistakable look on camera and a recognizable signature in social feeds. The challenge was both technical and aesthetic. “Our challenge was to deliver this look while ensuring proper acoustic treatment and technical performance,” he said. SoundFusion specified color-matched, custom acoustic panels and broadcast-grade finishes so the rooms would read strikingly on video while behaving correctly acoustically.
“Every design decision prioritized maintaining pristine audio quality,” Mathaba said. To make visual radio work, the team installed a dedicated lighting grid and positioned fixtures to avoid shadows and reflections that could interfere with microphones. Camera positions were plotted to optimize presenter ergonomics and ensure clean sightlines, and IP-based streaming encoders were integrated for enhanced reliability. The glass and wall systems were treated to maintain isolation while preserving a visually clean appearance. In effect, the rooms look bold because the acoustic design allows them to, not despite it.
IP backbone
Under the surface, Wheatstone does the heavy lifting. The two studios are fully integrated using a Wheatstone WheatNet-IP audio-over-IP backbone. All inputs and outputs from each studio are available anywhere across the system via data-based audio streams. Every computer comes with IP audio drivers, allowing staff to access, share and route content without the need for traditional audio patching with dedicated point-to-point plugs and cables. The result is a facility that can quickly reconfigure for live shows, video podcasts or training sessions while remaining resilient for daily radio.
On the surface, RMR chose the Wheatstone IP-12. “It aligns with modern broadcast facilities and provides students with a familiar, presenter-friendly workflow,” Mathaba said. “This setup reflects the latest global broadcast technology standards, ensuring complete flexibility, operational resilience and a future-proof facility,” he added. “It enables RMR to operate like a professional broadcaster with shared resources and scalable workflows, and to integrate new studios or IP devices in the future without major infrastructure changes.”
The presenter chain follows the same logic: professional, robust, teachable. “We selected Thomann BC 500 broadcast microphones for clear voice capture, Yellowtec booms and monitor arms for on-camera ergonomics, KRK studio monitors for accurate feedback and Maestro GMP headphones for balanced monitoring,” said Mathaba. For playout, RMR standardized on mAirList automation software, which Mathaba described as reliable and widely used in European and African community and campus stations. “These choices ensure students work with technology that is professional, reliable and suited to both traditional FM and modern streaming workflows,” he said.
These choices ensure students work with technology that is professional, reliable
Alex Mathaba
and suited to both traditional FM and modern streaming workflows.
From constraints to impact
Real-world constraints shaped the engineering. “Space limitations and existing building constraints required careful planning for cabling and acoustic isolation,” Mathaba said. “Budget optimization was also a factor, but by using modular design and creative integration, we ensured no compromise on professional quality.” The layout was refined to shorten cable runs, and the furniture and treatment were modularized for easy maintenance and service. Service paths were kept clear for future upgrades.
The installation doubles as a teaching lab that reflects international best practices. The University of Houston contributed through collaboration and shared insights into multimedia teaching spaces. According to Mathaba, this broadened the project’s scope, ensuring RMR’s facilities were not just radio studios but hybrid learning environments, preparing students for a global media landscape by learning audio craft and on-camera production in the same room under live conditions.
For campus and community radio in Africa, the payoff is capability. “RMR is now one of the most advanced campus stations in South Africa,” Mathaba said. “The studios are multifunctional training spaces.” He frames the outcome as both a station upgrade and a regional signal. “For students, this means hands-on experience with industry-standard tools. For the university, it’s a showcase of innovation and for Makhanda, it ensures a stronger cultural and educational voice.”
Lessons for campus and community stations
Mathaba offered some lessons for campus and community stations across Africa. First, treat audio and video as parallel deliverables. “Write a brief that budgets for acoustic treatment and lighting together,” he said. “Decide early how the room must perform for microphones and cameras; it saves costly rework later.” Second, build on an AoIP backbone — this ensures studio sources and destinations are available anywhere. “Equip every machine with IP audio drivers, so your team can route and share without patch bays,” said Mathaba.
Third, choose presenter-friendly gear that works on camera, and, Mathaba adds, “Don’t chase exotic gear when proven tools make learning faster and daily use simpler.”
Fourth, plan lighting, cameras and streaming with the audio chain in mind. Position lights to avoid microphone shadows and reflections, select camera angles that align with operator workflows, and integrate IP-based streaming encoders. “Every visual decision should be checked against the audio requirement,” he said.
Finally, be frank about constraints — design modularly. “Space and budgets are real,” Mathaba said. “Get the backbone and furniture right, and you can add capability over time without starting again.”
For RMR, those decisions add up to a facility that behaves like a modern broadcaster while serving students first. “Studios today must be flexible, future-ready and capable of handling both audio and video platforms simultaneously,” Mathaba said. “We wanted rooms that look the part on camera and sound the part on air — and that is exactly what we delivered.”
This story originally appeared in the September/October 2025 edition of RedTech Magazine.
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