This job, carried out in the middle of Africa, entailed the special construction of 100 loudspeaker cabinets, due to punative importation duties and restrictions prevailing at the time.

It was cheaper for the client to pay for the construction locally, though this entailed a 3 week production line at the PAA workshops.

Each cabinet was constructed from 19mm marine ply by a local furniture company. Boxes were then given a glass reinforced plastic overcoat, belt sanded flat and cubed, then painted with a poly-acrythane single coating.

Once mounted the transformer and water-resistant loudspeaker was then covered by a mesh front.

Westgate Shopping Precinct - Harare, Zimbabwe

Pro-Active Audio was awarded the contract to supply and install a precinct-wide sound system for 350 shops at the Westgate shopping precinct just outside Harare, Zimbabwe, by Old Mutual Holdings.

The shops are laid out in a mediterranean style, running from courtyard to courtyard, and on 2 levels. System control was in the main precinct office and consisted of a rack with ARX Mixxmaster for the Denon carousel CD, MP3 player, a PTT microphone in the office and from roving handheld AKG microphones around the courtyards. The whole area was covered by a series of 100v transformer-driven 4" weather-resistant Electro-Voice drivers in 150 x 150 x 150mm waterproof enclosures. Amplification was from Crown CT series.

Such a system had never been envisaged at planning stage, so it was necessary to establish cable paths mostly in the loft spaces above the upper storey shops, and dropping down at each loudspeaker position. This entailed drilling through over 300 party walls. Not a happy task for our operatives when already 30 degrees outside.

Production:av


Cheltenham Stage Services

Rainbow Music Company (Zimbabwe)

Sales and installation