Our Ref: - 080722/797 Reverend Nicola Brown Email: rectorcottingham@icloud.com
Date: - 8[th] July 2022
Estimate for the supply & installation of audio equipment
The Parish Church of Saint Mary the Virgin - Cottingham - East Yorkshire
It was good to meet with you all last month at Saint Mary’s Parish Church to discuss the issues you are experiencing with the current sound and loop system. As you are aware there are numerous issues and although I would like to be able to offer a low cost single fix remedy the issues experienced are caused by a combination of equipment failure, damage to equipment and in my opinion poor design of the system and particularly choice of loudspeaker and their limited number and location within the nave and chancel.
During our meeting we agreed that a possible way forward would be to make some initial improvements to the current system with a view to replacing the system (apart from the loop system) at a later date should funding be available. With this in mind the equipment quoted for can be integrated with the current system as well as a new digital system if this comes to fruition in the future.
One particular issue is that the radio microphones (some of which are damaged or now obsolete) suffer from signal dropout and poor pick-up and this could be improved by replacing the radio microphones and the aerial amplification system that appears to be under performing. Although the nave and chancel of Saint Mary’s Church are vast we have installed these radio microphones within much larger churches and therefore I am very confident that the equipment quoted for will achieve good radio reception throughout the church enabling the radio microphones to be used anywhere. Hand held, lapel and cheek worn versions have been quoted for and you are welcome to sample these on the new system before making a decision on which versions you would like to purchase.
During our visit we adjusted the tone of the CD player through the system to give music more bass and body so a little improvement has been made there but improvement to the sound coverage throughout the church and particularly within the nave will be difficult to improve without installing additional loudspeakers which are not at the height of the existing units. Rather than going down the route of trying to adapt and add to the existing system, if funds can be made available, it would more sense to start from scratch and to design a new system that meets the requirements of modern worship in 2022 with the equipment quoted for below and the existing induction loop system integrated with it.
We have put together the necessary information and have much pleasure in presenting our estimate for the proposed improvements along the lines we talked about, we have listed each section which will enable you to evaluate the cost effectiveness of individual items.
If after reading the document, you have any points which need further clarification please contact us on any of the contact numbers to the right of this page, alternatively we would be pleased to call and discuss it in person.
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To supplying and installing the following: -
(a) Lapel (radio microphone) -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Supplying and installing 1 x Sennheiser lapel (clip on) radio microphone complete with all associated cabling to connect to the existing audio mixer. The radio receiver(s) will be installed together with the other system components in the security cabinet, these receiver(s) will be connected to an aerial amplification system (option d) which will enable the radio microphones (lapel, cheek and hand held) to be used throughout the church. Labour and materials per unit £550.83
(b)
Cheek (radio microphone) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Supplying and installing 1 x Sennheiser cheek radio microphone complete with all associated cabling to connect to the existing audio mixer. The radio receiver(s) will be installed together with the other system components in the security cabinet, these receiver(s) will be connected to an aerial amplification system (option d) which will enable the radio microphones (lapel, cheek and hand held) to be used throughout the church. Labour and materials per unit £660.35 (c) Hand held (radio microphone) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Supplying and installing 1 x Sennheiser hand held radio microphone complete with all associated cabling to connect to the existing audio mixer. The radio receiver(s) will be installed together with the other system components in the security cabinet, these receiver(s) will be connected to an aerial amplification system (option d) which will enable the radio microphones (lapel, cheek and hand held) to be used throughout the church.
These wireless units could be supplied as either a channel 70 (license free), channel 65 (licensed) or channel 38 (licensed). I would recommend channel 70 (license free units) as these can be tuned down to the licensed band (channel 65), giving the possibility to use either licensed or unlicensed frequencies without needing to replace the physical units themselves. Labour and materials per unit £579.63
------------------------------------------------------- (d) Radio microphone (aerials and amplifiers) amplification system
Supplying and installing a dual diversity R. F. aerial amplification system with 2 remote aerials which will enable the hand held, cheek and/or lapel radio microphones outlined above to be used throughout the church. These 2 remote aerials will replace the existing remote aerials which are not effective and do not provide signal coverage throughout the church. Because the location of the existing remote aerials is good (within the central cell of the church, 1 in the nave and 1 in the chancel) I would suggest that the existing aerial cables could be used and integrated with the new equipment and will therefore reduce installation costs. This aerial amplification system will be required if a lapel, cheek or hand held microphone listed above are installed (options a, b and/or c). This amplifier is able to relay up to 4 radio microphones.
Labour (including travelling costs) and materials
£445.23
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----------------------------------------------------------------------- (e) Radio microphone (re-cabling) amplification system
Supplying and installing aerial cabling to replace the existing aerial cabling. Unless there is damage to the existing aerial cabling (which there does not appear to be) I would suggest that this option will not be required and should be viewed as a worst case scenario.
Labour (including travelling costs) and materials £450.84
Please Note: - This estimate is valid for a period of three months from the letter date and does not include VAT ; therefore if VAT is applicable 20% must be added to the above prices.
Payment Terms:
We offer interest free payments over a maximum period of 24 months : by dividing the total net figure (less VAT) by four and making payment as follows: -
Example of a system costing £10,000+ VAT @ 20%. Initial payment upon receipt of invoice would be £2,500 + £2,000 VAT ** (if applicable) £4,500.00 2[nd] payment due after a further six month interval £2,500.00 3[rd] payment due after a further six month interval £2,500.00 4[th] payment due after a further six month interval £2,500.00
Insurance -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As we have no control over a third parties security, we request that you ensure that all equipment and materials, left on your premises during the trial period, is covered by your insurance, at your expense against the following: -
(a) accidental damage (b) damage by fire/water (c) theft (d) storm damage
In accordance with the guideline set down by the D. A. C. of Lincoln;
All loudspeakers, housings and cabling are painted to match the masonry on which they are mounted to make the system as unobtrusive as possible. This work is carried out on site to make sure that the colour is as close a match as possible.
All cables are glued and pinned using fire resistant fixings (to meet electrical regulations).
All equipment will be mounted using a one screw fixing into the mortar between the stonework.
The guidelines above are set down by the D. A. C. of Lincoln, these may differ from the guidelines set down by the diocese of York, if this is the case the installation will be altered to meet these regulations.
To make the implementation of the new equipment go as smoothly as possible we will provide a specification for the new equipment together with any photographs that may be required for you to forward to the D.A.C. and/or Archdeacon in order for you to obtain a faculty for the works. All of this is free of charge.
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On behalf of both of us, we thank you most sincerely for giving us the opportunity to tender for this audio installation. At the risk of repeating ourselves, we would welcome the opportunity to install a equipment 'on trial’, if at the end of the period you decide to purchase all or any part of the system, the components chosen will be installed permanently and only then will an account be raised.
This is the start of a relationship throughout which you can be assured of a total commitment on our part to support the system both in and out of guarantee. (Note; we are available 7 days a week and only a phone call away).
Finally, should you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact us.
Yours sincerely