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Fair

A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of goods, products, and services, and often include competitions, exhibitions, and educational activities. Fairs can be thematic, focusing on specific industries or interests.

Types
Variations of fairs include:
 * Art fairs, including art exhibitions and arts festivals
 * County fair (USA) or county show (UK), a public agricultural show exhibiting the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry.
 * Festival, an event ordinarily coordinated with a theme e.g. music, art, season, tradition, history, ethnicity, religion, or a national holiday.
 * Health fair, an event designed for outreach to provide basic preventive medicine and medical screening
 * Historical reenactments, including Renaissance fairs and Dickens fairs
 * Horse fair, an event where people buy and sell horses.
 * Job fair, event in which employers, recruiters, and schools give information to potential employees.
 * Regional or state fair, an annual competitive and recreational gathering. Including exhibits or competitors that have won in their categories at the local fairs.
 * Science fair, a competitive event for entries employ the scientific method to test a hypothesis.
 * A town/city's street fair or market, including charter fairs, celebrates character of a neighborhood and local merchants.
 * Temple fair or miaohui, yearly fair held in temples of various religions
 * Trade fair, an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, study activities of rivals, and examine recent market trends and opportunities.
 * Traveling funfair or carnival, an amusement show made up of amusement rides, food vending stalls, merchandise vending stalls, games of "chance and skill", thrill acts and (now less commonly) animal acts.
 * Village fair or fête, an elaborate periodic festival, party or celebration. Held by the locals to original to celebrate a good harvests or religious gatherings.
 * World's fair, an international exhibition designed to showcase achievements of nations

History
The Roman fairs were holidays on which work and business such as law courts were suspended. In the Roman provinces of Judea and Syria Palaestina, Jewish rabbis prohibited Jews from participating in fairs in certain towns because the religious nature of the fairs contravened the prescribed practice of Judaism.

In the Middle Ages, many fairs developed as temporary markets and were especially important for long-distance and international trade, as wholesale traders travelled, sometimes for many days, to fairs where they could be sure to meet those they needed to buy from or sell to. The most famous were the Champagne fairs in northern France, which were spread over six towns for a total period of about six weeks, drawing goods and customers from much of Europe. The Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany, still the largest trade fair for the publishing industry, began in the 12th century as a fair for manuscript books.

Fairs were usually tied to special Christian feast days, such as the day of the saint of the local church. Stagshaw in England, is documented to have held annual fairs as early as 1293 consisting of the sales of animals. Along with the main fair held on 4 July, the city also hosted smaller fairs throughout the year where specific types of animals were sold, such as one for horses, one for lambs, and one for ewes.

The Kumbh Mela, held every twelve years, at Allahabad, Haridwar, Nashik, and Ujjain is one of the largest fairs in India, where more than 60 million people gathered in January 2001, making it the largest gathering anywhere in the world. Kumbha means a pitcher and Mela means fair in Sanskrit.

In the United States, fairs draw in as many as 150 million people each summer. Children's competitions at an American fair range from breeding small animals to robotics, whilst the organizations National FFA Organization & 4-H have become the traditional associations.

Sirsi Fair
The Sirsi Marikamba Devi Fair of the deity is held every alternate year in the month of March and taken through the city Sirsi, Karnataka. It is attended by a very large number of devotees. It is also most famous and biggest fair (Jaatre) of the India. Devotees from all around the state participate in this enormous event indulging themselves in the procession. Amusements for children, circuses, variety of shops, dramas and plays and many such things are set up for the people. It depicts the story of the goddess killing Mahishasura.

Legal implications
Fairs attracted great numbers of people and they often resulted in public order issues and sometimes riots. The holding of fairs was, therefore, granted by royal charter. Initially they were only allowed in towns and places where order could be maintained due to the presence of a bishop, sheriff or governor. Later various benefits were granted to specific fairs, such as the granting of a holiday status to a fair or protections against arrest for specific laws for the duration of the fair. Officials were authorised to mete out justice to those who attended their fair; this led to even the smallest fair having a court to adjudicate on offences and disputes arising within the fairground. These courts were called a pye powder court (from Old French pieds pouldres, literally "dusty feet", meaning an itinerant trader, from Medieval Latin pedes pulverosi).

In art and language
The chaotic nature of the Stagshaw Bank Fair with masses of people and animals and stalls inspired the Newcastle colloquialism "like a Stagey Bank Fair" to describe a general mess.

The American county fair is featured in E. B. White's Charlotte's Web.

title: Fair


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Public address system

A public address system (or PA system) is an electronic system comprising microphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers, and related equipment. It increases the apparent volume (loudness) of a human voice, musical instrument, or other acoustic sound source or recorded sound or music. PA systems are used in any public venue that requires that an announcer, performer, etc. be sufficiently audible at a distance or over a large area. Typical applications include sports stadiums, public transportation vehicles and facilities, and live or recorded music venues and events. A PA system may include multiple microphones or other sound sources, a mixing console to combine and modify multiple sources, and multiple amplifiers and loudspeakers for louder volume or wider distribution.

Simple PA systems are often used in small venues such as school auditoriums, churches, and small bars. PA systems with many speakers are widely used to make announcements in public, institutional and commercial buildings and locations—such as schools, stadiums, and passenger vessels and aircraft. Intercom systems, installed in many buildings, have both speakers throughout a building, and microphones in many rooms so occupants can respond to announcements. PA and Intercom systems are commonly used as part of an emergency communication system.

The term sound reinforcement system generally means a PA system used specifically for live music or other performances. In Britain, any PA system is sometimes colloquially referred to as a Tannoy, after the company of that name, now owned by Music Tribe, which supplied many of the PA systems used previously in Britain.

Megaphone

From the Ancient Greek era to the nineteenth century, before the invention of electric loudspeakers and amplifiers, megaphone cones were used by people speaking to a large audience, to make their voice project more to a large space or group. Megaphones are typically portable, usually hand-held, cone-shaped acoustic horns used to amplify a person's voice or other sounds and direct it towards a given direction. The sound is introduced into the narrow end of the megaphone, by holding it up to the face and speaking into it. The sound projects out the wide end of the cone. The user can direct the sound by pointing the wide end of the cone in a specific direction. In the 2020s, cheerleading is one of the few fields where a nineteenth century-style cone is still used to project the voice. The device is also called “speaking-trumpet”, “bullhorn” or “loud hailer”.

Automatic Enunciator
In 1910, the Automatic Electric Company of Chicago, Illinois, already a major supplier of automatic telephone switchboards, announced it had developed a loudspeaker, which it marketed under the name of the Automatic Enunciator. Company president Joseph Harris foresaw multiple potential uses, and the original publicity stressed the value of the invention as a hotel public address system, allowing people in all public rooms to hear announcements. In June 1910, an initial "semi-public" demonstration was given to newspaper reporters at the Automatic Electric Company building, where a speaker's voice was transmitted to loudspeakers placed in a dozen locations "all over the building".

A short time later, the Automatic Enunciator Company formed in Chicago order to market the new device, and a series of promotional installations followed. In August 1912 a large outdoor installation was made at a water carnival held in Chicago by the Associated Yacht and Power Boat Clubs of America. Seventy-two loudspeakers were strung in pairs at forty-foot (12 meter) intervals along the docks, spanning a total of one-half mile (800 meters) of grandstands. The system was used to announce race reports and descriptions, carry a series of speeches about "The Chicago Plan", and provide music between races.

In 1913, multiple units were installed throughout the Comiskey Park baseball stadium in Chicago, both to make announcements and to provide musical interludes, with Charles A. Comiskey quoted as saying: "The day of the megaphone man has passed at our park." The company also set up an experimental service, called the Musolaphone, that was used to transmitted news and entertainment programming to home and business subscribers in south-side Chicago, but this effort was short-lived. The company continued to market the enunciators for making announcements in establishments such as hospitals, department stores, factories, and railroad stations, although the Automatic Enunciator Company was dissolved in 1926.

Magnavox

Peter Jensen and Edwin Pridham of Magnavox began experimenting with sound reproduction in the 1910s. Working from a laboratory in Napa, California, they filed the first patent for a moving coil loudspeaker in 1911. Four years later, in 1915, they built a dynamic loudspeaker with a 1 in voice coil, a 3 in corrugated diaphragm and a horn measuring 34 in with a 22 in aperture. The electromagnet created a flux field of approximately 11,000 Gauss.

Their first experiment used a carbon microphone. When the 12 V battery was connected to the system, they experienced one of the first examples of acoustic feedback, a typically unwanted effect often characterized by high-pitched sounds. They then placed the loudspeaker on the laboratory's roof, and claims say that the amplified human voice could be heard 1 mi away. Jensen and Pridham refined the system and connected a phonograph to the loudspeaker so it could broadcast recorded music. They did this on a number of occasions, including once at the Napa laboratory, at the Panama–Pacific International Exposition, and on December 24, 1915, at San Francisco City Hall alongside Mayor James Rolph. This demonstration was official presentation of the working system, and approximately 100,000 people gathered to hear Christmas music and speeches "with absolute distinctness".

The first outside broadcast was made one week later, again supervised by Jensen and Pridham. On December 30, when Governor of California Hiram Johnson was too ill to give a speech in person, loudspeakers were installed at the Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, connected to Johnson's house some miles away by cable and a microphone, from where he delivered his speech. Jensen oversaw the governor using the microphone while Pridham operated the loudspeaker.

The following year, Jensen and Pridham applied for a patent for what they called their "Sound Magnifying Phonograph". Over the next two years they developed their first valve amplifier. In 1919 this was standardized as a 3-stage 25 watt amplifier.

This system was used by former US president William Howard Taft at a speech in Grant Park, Chicago, and first used by a current president when Woodrow Wilson addressed 50,000 people in San Diego, California. Wilson's speech was part of his nationwide tour to promote the establishment of the League of Nations. It was held on September 9, 1919, at City Stadium. As with the San Francisco installation, Jensen supervised the microphone and Pridham the loudspeakers. Wilson spoke into two large horns mounted on his platform, which channelled his voice into the microphone. Similar systems were used in the following years by Warren G. Harding and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Marconi
By the early 1920s, Marconi had established a department dedicated to public address and began producing loudspeakers and amplifiers to match a growing demand. In 1925, George V used such a system at the British Empire Exhibition, addressing 90,000 via six long-range loudspeakers. This public use of loudspeakers brought attention to the possibilities of such technology. The 1925 Royal Air Force Pageant at Hendon Aerodrome used a Marconi system to allow the announcer to address the crowds, as well as amplify the band. In 1929, the Schneider Trophy race at Calshot Spit used a public address system that had 200 horns, weighing a total of 20 tons.

Late 1920s–1930s
Engineers invented the first loud, powerful amplifier and speaker systems for public address systems and movie theaters. These large PA systems and movie theatre sound systems were very large and very expensive, and so they could not be used by most touring musicians. After 1927, smaller, portable AC mains-powered PA systems that could be plugged into a regular wall socket "quickly became popular with musicians"; indeed, "... Leon McAuliffe (with Bob Wills) still used a carbon mic and a portable PA as late as 1935." During the late 1920s to mid-1930s, small portable PA systems and guitar combo amplifiers were fairly similar. These early amps had a "single volume control and one or two input jacks, field coil speakers" and thin wooden cabinets; remarkably, these early amps did not have tone controls or even an on-off switch. Portable PA systems you could plug into wall sockets appeared in the early 1930s when the introduction of electrolytic capacitors and rectifier tubes enabled economical built-in power supplies that could plug into wall outlets. Previously, amplifiers required heavy multiple battery packs.

Electric megaphone
In the 1960s, an electric-amplified version of the megaphone, which used a loudspeaker, amplifier and a folded horn, largely replaced the basic cone-style megaphone. Small handheld, battery-powered electric megaphones are used by fire and rescue personnel, police, protesters, and people addressing outdoor audiences. With many small handheld models, the microphone is mounted at the back end of the device, and the user holds the megaphone in front of her/his mouth to use it, and presses a trigger to turn on the amplifier and loudspeaker. Larger electric megaphones may have a microphone attached by a cable, which enables a person to speak without having their face obscured by the flared horn.

Small systems
The simplest, smallest PA systems consist of a microphone, an amplifier, and one or more loudspeakers. PA systems of this type, often providing 50 to 200 watts of power, are often used in small venues such as school auditoriums, churches, and coffeehouse stages. Small PA systems may extend to an entire building, such as a restaurant, store, elementary school or office building. A sound source such as a compact disc player or radio may be connected to a PA system so that music can be played through the system. Smaller, battery-powered 12 volt systems may be installed in vehicles such as tour buses or school buses, so that the tour guide and/or driver can speak to all the passengers. Portable systems may be battery powered and/or powered by plugging the system into an electric wall socket. These may also be used for by people addressing smaller groups such as information sessions or team meetings. Battery-powered systems can be used by guides who are speaking to clients on walking tours.

Public address systems consist of input sources (microphones, sound playback devices, etc.), amplifiers, control and monitoring equipment (e.g., LED indicator lights, VU meters, headphones), and loudspeakers. Usual input include microphones for speech or singing, direct inputs from musical instruments, and a recorded sound playback device. In non-performance applications, there may be a system that operators or automated equipment uses to select from a number of standard prerecorded messages. These input sources feed into preamplifiers and signal routers that direct the audio signal to selected zones of a facility (e.g., only to one section of a school). The preamplified signals then pass into the amplifiers. Depending on local practices, these amplifiers usually amplify the audio signals to 50 V, 70 V, or 100 V speaker line level. Control equipment monitors the amplifiers and speaker lines for faults before it reaches the loudspeakers. This control equipment is also used to separate zones in a PA system. The loudspeaker converts electrical signals into sound.

Large systems
Some PA systems have speakers that cover more than one building, extending to an entire campus of a college, office or industrial site, or an entire outdoor complex (e.g., an athletic stadium). A large PA system may also be used as an alert system during an emergency.

PA systems by size and subwoofer approach

Telephone paging systems
Some private branch exchange (PBX) telephone systems use a paging facility that acts as a liaison between the telephone and a PA amplifier. In other systems, paging equipment is not built into the telephone system. Instead the system includes a separate paging controller connected to a trunk port of the telephone system. The paging controller is accessed as either a designated directory number or central office line. In many modern systems, the paging function is integrated into the telephone system, so the system can send announcements to the phone speakers.

Many retailers and offices choose to use the telephone system as the sole access point for the paging system, because the features are integrated. Many schools and other larger institutions are no longer using the large, bulky microphone PA systems and have switched to telephone system paging, as it can be accessed from many different points in the school.

PA over IP
PA over IP refers to PA paging and intercom systems that use an Internet Protocol (IP) network, instead of a central amplifier, to distribute the audio signal to paging locations across a building or campus, or anywhere else in the reach of the IP network, including the Internet. Network-attached amplifiers and intercom units are used to provide the communication function. At the transmission end, a computer application transmits a digital audio stream via the local area network, using audio from the computer's sound card inputs or from stored audio recordings. At the receiving end, either specialized intercom modules (sometimes known as IP speakers) receive these network transmissions and reproduce the analog audio signal. These are small, specialized network appliances addressable by an IP address, just like any other computer on the network.

2-Way Radio Wireless PA
A 2-Way Radio Wireless PA receiver and horn speaker is designed to facilitate the direct delivery of voice messages from a base station or mobile 2-way radio to a PA speaker located at distances that can measure in miles. The receiver and PA speaker combination is ideal in situations where traditional hard-wired PA installations are impractical, prohibitively expensive, or temporary. These receivers operate in business-band UHF and VHF 2-way licensed frequency bands, or in the MURS unlicensed frequencies. Installation requires setting the frequency you want to use on both the radio and the PA system, plus powering the wireless PA receivers.

WMT PA Systems
Wireless Mobile Telephony (WMT) PA Systems refers to PA paging and [intercom] systems that use any form of Wireless mobile telephony system such as GSM networks instead of a centralized amplifier to distribute the audio signal to paging locations across a building or campus, or other location. The GSM mobile Networks are used to provide the communication function. At the transmission end, a PSTN Telephone, mobile phone, VOIP phone or any other communication device that can access and make audio calls to a GSM based mobile SIM card can communicate with it. At the receiving end, a GSM transceiver receives these network transmissions and reproduce the analogue audio signal via a Power Amplifier and speaker. This was pioneered by Stephen Robert Pearson of Lancashire, England who was granted patents for the systems, which also incorporate control functionality. Using a WMT (GSM) network means that live announcements can be made to anywhere in the world where there is WMT connectivity. The patents cover all forms of WMT i.e., 2G, 3G, 4G ..... ××G. A UK company called Remvox Ltd (Remote Voice experience) has been appointed under license to develop and manufacture products based on the technology.

Long line PA
A Long-Line Public Address (LLPA) system is any public address system with a distributed architecture, normally across a wide geographic area. Systems of this type are commonly found in the rail, light rail, and metro industries, and let announcements be triggered from one or several locations to the rest of the network over low bandwidth legacy copper, normally PSTN lines using DSL modems, or media such as optical fiber, or GSM-R, or IP-based networks.

Rail systems typically have an interface with a passenger information system (PIS) server, at each station. These are linked to train describers, which state the location of rolling stock on the network from sensors on trackside signaling equipment. The PIS invokes a stored message to play from a local or remote digital voice announcement system, or a series of message fragments to assemble in the correct order, for example: " / the / 23.30 / Great_Western_Railway / Night_Riviera_sleeper_service / from / London_Paddington / to / Penzance / .... / will depart from platform / one / this train is formed of / 12_carriages /." Messages are routed via an IP network and are played on local amplification equipment. Taken together, the PA, routing, DVA, passenger displays and PIS interface are referred to as the customer information system (CIS), a term often used interchangeably with passenger information system.

Small venue systems
Small clubs, bars and coffeehouses use a fairly simple set-up, with front of house speaker cabinets (and subwoofers, in some cases) aimed at the audience, and monitor speaker cabinets aimed back at the performers so they can hear their vocals and instruments. In many cases, front of house speakers are elevated, either by mounting them on poles or by "flying" them from anchors in the ceiling. The Front of House speakers are elevated to prevent the sound from being absorbed by the first few rows of audience members. The subwoofers do not need to be elevated, because deep bass is omnidirectional. In the smallest coffeehouses and bars, the audio mixer may be onstage so that the performers can mix their own sound levels. In larger bars, the audio mixer may be located in or behind the audience seating area, so that an audio engineer can listen to the mix and adjust the sound levels. The adjustments to the monitor speaker mix may be made by a single audio engineer using the main mixing board, or they may be made by a second audio engineer who uses a separate mixing board.

Large venue systems
For popular music concerts, a more powerful and more complicated PA System is used to provide live sound reproduction. In a concert setting, there are typically two complete PA systems: the "main" system and the "monitor" system. Each system consists of a mixing board, sound processing equipment, amplifiers, and speakers. The microphones that are used to pick up vocals and amplifier sounds are routed through both the main and monitor systems. Audio engineers can set different sound levels for each microphone on the main and monitor systems. For example, a backup vocalist whose voice has a low sound level in the main mix may ask for a much louder sound level through their monitor speaker, so they can hear their singing.
 * The "main" system (also known as Front of House, commonly abbreviated FOH), which provides the amplified sound for the audience, typically uses a number of powerful amplifiers that drive a range of large, heavy-duty loudspeakers—including low-frequency speaker cabinets called subwoofers, full-range speaker cabinets, and high-range horns. A large club may use amplifiers to provide 3000 to 5000 watts of power to the "main" speakers. An outdoor concert may use 10,000 or more watts.
 * The monitor system reproduces the sounds of the performance and directs them towards the onstage performers (typically using wedge-shaped monitor speaker cabinets), to help them to hear the instruments and vocals. In British English, the monitor system is referred to as the "foldback". The monitor system in a large club may provide 500 to 1000 watts of power to several foldback speakers; at an outdoor concert, there may be several thousand watts of power going to the monitor system.

At a concert using live sound reproduction, sound engineers and technicians control the mixing boards for the "main" and "monitor" systems, adjusting tone, levels, and overall volume.

Touring productions travel with relocatable large line-array PA systems, sometimes rented from an audio equipment hire company. The sound equipment moves from venue to venue along with various other equipment such as lighting and projection.

Acoustic feedback
All PA systems have the potential for audio feedback, which occurs when a microphone picks up sound from the speakers, which is re-amplified and sent through the speakers again. It often sounds like a loud high-pitched squeal or screech, and can occur when the volume of the system is turned up too high. Feedback only occurs when the loop gain of the feedback loop is greater than one, so it can always be stopped by reducing the volume sufficiently.

Sound engineers take several steps to maximize gain before feedback, including keeping microphones at a distance from speakers, ensuring that directional microphones are not pointed towards speakers, keeping the onstage volume levels down, and lowering gain levels at frequencies where the feedback is occurring, using a graphic equalizer, a parametric equalizer, or a notch filter. Some 2010s-era mixing consoles and effects units have automatic feedback preventing circuits.

Feedback prevention devices detect the start of unwanted feedback and use a precise notch filter to lower the gain of the frequencies that are feeding back. Some automated feedback detectors require the user to “set” the feedback-prone frequencies by purposely increasing gain (during a sound check) until some feedback starts to occur. This process is often referred to as "a ring out" or "an EQ" of a room/venue. The device then retains these frequencies in its memory and it stands by ready to cut them. Some automated feedback prevention devices can detect and reduce new frequencies other than those found in the sound check.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Public address system


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A Case of Identity

"A Case of Identity" is one of the 56 short Sherlock Holmes stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and is the third story in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. It first appeared in The Strand Magazine in September 1891.

Plot summary
Mary Sutherland, a working-class girl who possesses a generous income as a result of a bequest from a relative, comes to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson for help after her fiancé, Hosmer Angel, disappears on their wedding day. Angel, Holmes learns, was a quiet and secretive man who always wore a pair of tinted glasses and would not give Sutherland his address, insisting that she leave letters at the local post office instead. He would only meet her when her disapproving stepfather, James Windibank, was out of the country on business.

Holmes easily deduces that Windibank and Angel are the same person. Windibank knew that he could only benefit from his stepdaughter's income while she remained unmarried, and so he hatched a plan to keep her single indefinitely. As "Hosmer Angel", he successfully sought her hand; he then engineered Angel's disappearance before the marriage could take place. As he had hoped, Sutherland remained loyal to Angel, saying she could never love another.

Holmes chooses not to divulge his findings to Sutherland, knowing she will not believe him anyway. He advises her to forget about Angel, though his words have little effect on her. As for Windibank, Holmes predicts that his wicked ways will eventually lead him to the gallows.

Publication history
"A Case of Identity" was first published in the UK in The Strand Magazine in September 1891, and in the United States in the US edition of the Strand in October 1891. The story was published with seven illustrations by Sidney Paget in The Strand Magazine. It was included in the short story collection The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, which was published in October 1892.

Film and television
This story was the basis for the third Holmes adventure (released in 1921) in the silent Stoll film series starring Eille Norwood.

In 2001, this was the basis for the last episode of the animated television series Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century.

In 2014, it is seen in "The Empty Hearse", from the BBC television series Sherlock, as one of the cases Sherlock works on with Molly Hooper assisting him. Mary Sutherland was portrayed by Elizabeth Coyle. Molly Hooper was portrayed by Louise Brealey.

In the fourth episode of the 2014 Japanese puppetry television series Sherlock Holmes, Mary Sutherland is a pupil of Beeton School. She is in love with the senior Hosmer Angel who suddenly disappears in a cave at the back of the school. Holmes, a pupil who lives in room 221B of Baker Dormitory, suspects that Angel and Windibank, one of the childhood friends of Sutherland, are the same person and he and Watson find out that there is no pupil called Hosmer Angel in the school. Holmes appreciates Watson for consoling the broken-hearted Sutherland. Watson tells Holmes, who criticises novels as in the original story, that he is wrong to do so because various things can be learned from novels including how to understand the female mind.

Radio
Edith Meiser adapted the story as an episode of the radio series The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, which aired on 5 May 1932, starring Richard Gordon as Sherlock Holmes and Leigh Lovell as Dr. Watson. Another episode adapted from the story aired on 21 April 1935 (with Louis Hector as Holmes and Lovell as Watson).

Edith Meiser also adapted the story for the radio series The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes with Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Watson. The episode aired on 30 November 1941. Another adaptation of the story aired in the same series on 30 May 1948 (with John Stanley as Holmes and Alfred Shirley as Watson).

John Gielgud played Sherlock Holmes and Ralph Richardson played Dr. Watson in a radio adaptation that aired on the BBC Light Programme on 2 November 1954. It was broadcast on NBC radio on 23 January 1955.

A radio adaptation aired in 1969, as part of the 1952–1969 BBC radio series starring Carleton Hobbs as Holmes and Norman Shelley as Watson. It was adapted by Michael Hardwick.

The story was adapted in 1990 by Peter Mackie as an episode of the 1989–1998 BBC radio series, starring Clive Merrison as Holmes and Michael Williams as Watson, and featuring Susannah Corbett as Mary Sutherland.

A 2014 episode of the radio series The Classic Adventures of Sherlock Holmes was adapted from the story, with John Patrick Lowrie as Holmes and Lawrence Albert as Watson.

Other media
Colin Dexter, known for writing the Inspector Morse novels, wrote a short story based on this called "A Case of Mis-Identity", in which Holmes's brother Mycroft is involved in the case's deduction; in this story, Holmes's theory about the 'Hosmer Angel' character is the same, while Mycroft deduces that 'Hosmer Angel' is a fiction created by the mother and daughter to eliminate the step-father, only for Watson to reveal that 'Hosmer Angel' is actually a real person who was attacked and robbed on the way to his wedding, hospitalized, and eventually treated by Watson, who used his own detective skills to verify the man's identity.

The story was adapted as the beginning of the third case in the 2016 Frogwares video game Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter. Watson is not present when Mary Sutherland arrives and Sherlock is accompanied by Orson Wilde, an American actor training to play him. The player can come up with different conclusions to the case and also make a choice concerning telling her the results of his deduction.

Keith R. A. Decandido's short story, "Identity: An Adventure of Shirley Holmes and Jack Watson" updates the story to modern-day Manhattan. Here, the explanation is changed from nearsightedness to prosopagnosia, or face blindness.

title: A Case of Identity


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Ocular micrometer

An ocular micrometer or eyepiece micrometer is a glass disk, engraved with a ruled scale, that fits in an eyepiece of a microscope, which is used to measure the size of microscopic objects through magnification under a microscope. When the eyepiece micrometer is calibrated using a stage micrometer, the length of the divisions on the scale depends on the degree of magnification.

title: Ocular micrometer


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Carnforth

Carnforth is a market town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster in Lancashire, England, situated at the north-east end of Morecambe Bay. The parish of Carnforth had a population of 5,560 in the 2011 census, an increase from the 5,350 recorded in the 2001 census. The town is situated around 7 miles north of Lancaster, 17 miles south of Kendal, 40 miles east (bisected by Morecambe Bay) of Barrow-in-Furness and 28 miles northwest of Settle. The town is also close to the Cumbria/Lancashire border.

Carnforth grew in the 19th century through the presence of the railway and ironworks. Due to the closeness of the coast and the hills, Carnforth is a popular base for walkers and cyclists exploring the area. The River Keer, the West Coast Main Line (WCML), the A6 and the Lancaster Canal pass through the town. The M6 motorway passes just to the east, linked to Carnforth by the A6070 (formerly the A601(M)) which was originally part of the Lancaster bypass before the M6 was extended north.

History
The name "Carnforth" is thought to derive from its old function as a ford of the River Keer on which it is situated. Over time the descriptive name "Keer-ford" may have morphed into the modern "Carnforth". An alternative explanation is that the name derives from 'Chreneforde' and is Anglo-Saxon in origin, as cited in the Victoria County History of Lancashire.

Much of the history of Carnforth revolves around the railway and ironworks. Vast deposits of limestone located locally made Carnforth an ideal place for an ironworks, as limestone is a key component of the smelting process. In 1846 the Carnforth Ironworks Company established a works, located near the railway station. In the same year a recession occurred in the Earl of Dudley ironworks in Worcestershire, this meant there was a surplus of workers. A number of workers moved to the ironworks and lived in the nearby company village of Dudley (now called Millhead). In 1864 the Carnforth Haematite Company took over the works and production was vastly increased due to iron ore that was brought in by rail from the Furness Peninsula. By 1872 steel production became the main focus for the works using the new Bessemer process. By 1889 this process had failed. Iron production continued at the works until 1929 when it eventually closed down. The site was taken over by the War Department as an ordnance depot and remained as such until the 1960s. From then to the present the site is now an industrial estate housing several businesses.

In the 19th century, Carnforth grew from a small village into a railway town when it became the junction of three major railways. Carnforth Motive Power Depot was located to the west of the West Coast Main Line and was one of the last to retain an allocation of steam locomotives until mid-1968. The buildings are now occupied by West Coast Railways who still maintain and overhaul steam locos in their premises. The concrete locomotive coaling tower is a rare survivor.

With the closure of Carnforth MPD in 1968, Carnforth railway station facilities were reduced. The main line platforms were closed in May 1970 and subsequently removed when the line was electrified two years later, although services still run on the Furness line and the Leeds–Morecambe line (the Bentham line).

From the 1920s to the 1980s Morphy's Mill, in Oxford Street, was a major employer of women in Carnforth. Contrary to its name it was not a mill but a factory making blouses and other garments.

Brief Encounter
In 1945, Carnforth railway station was used as a location for the David Lean film Brief Encounter, starring Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard. Fans of this film were one of the major factors in the recent refurbishment of the railway station, including construction of a refreshment room to match the studio set used in the film. This reopened in 2021 as the Brief Encounter Refreshment Room Bistro and Bar. There are also exhibitions and a heritage centre which is now run by the Carnforth Station Trust. The 2018 novel Past Encounters by local writer Deborah Swift is set, in part, in Carnforth during the filming of Brief Encounter.

 * Gallery of film locations

Governance
An electoral ward in the same name exists. This ward is smaller than the parish with a total population of 4,439.

Carnforth is in the parliamentary constituency of Morecambe and Lunesdale, represented since 2024 by Lizzi Collinge of the Labour Party.

Geography
Carnforth is on the A6 road 7 mi north of Lancaster, Lancashire, to the west of the M6 motorway.

The River Keer runs through the north-north-west of the town with the mouth of the river flowing into Morecambe Bay. It forms the parish boundary between Carnforth and Warton. A bridge between Carnforth and Millhead is the lowest road crossing of the river, although there is a footbridge a little further downstream.

Demography
The Office for National Statistics recognises an area described as Carnforth Built-up area, defined algorithmically, which includes Carnforth and Warton. It is divided into two parts: Carnforth subdivision, which includes the Millhead area within Warton parish, and Warton subdivision. The ONS definition of a built-up area includes built-up land separated by 200m from another settlement.

Health service
There is a general practice surgery in the town with eleven partners and four associate GPs. It has smaller surgeries in Arnside, Bolton-le-Sands, Halton, and Silverdale, to serve patients in outlying villages. It is within the North Lancashire clinical commissioning group and patients are served by the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust.

There is also an NHS clinic, adjacent to the GP practice, used for a variety of services.

Transport
Carnforth lies on the A6 road, which is served by buses southwards to Lancaster and Morecambe and northwards to Milnthorpe, Kendal and Keswick, including the 555 bus, described as one of the longest and most scenic bus routes in England. The M6 motorway passes to the east of the town, and its junction 35 is on the outskirts of Carnforth, connected by either the A601(M) motorway or the B6254 road.

The West Coast Main Line railway from London to Scotland passes through Carnforth railway station but the trains do not stop there: passengers must travel south to Lancaster or north to Oxenhoime for connections to that line. Trains from Carnforth serve the Leeds–Morecambe line and the Furness line.

The Lancaster Canal passes through Carnforth; there is a marina for pleasure boats. Historically the canal connected Lancaster to Kendal, but it is now closed beyond Tewitfield, north of Carnforth.

Both the Lancashire Coastal Way and the Bay Cycle Way skirt the western side of Carnforth, crossing the River Keer by the footbridge north west of the town.

Media
Local TV coverage is provided by BBC North West and ITV Granada. Television signals are received from the Lancaster relay TV transmitter.

Local radio stations are BBC Radio Lancashire on 104.5 FM, Heart North West on 96.9 FM, Smooth North West on 100.4 FM, Greatest Hits Radio Lancashire on 96.5 FM and Beyond Radio, a community based station which broadcast from its studios in Lancaster on 107.5 FM.

The town is served by these local newspapers:
 * Lancaster Guardian (formerly The Visitor)
 * The Westmorland Gazette
 * Lancashire Evening Post

Education
Primary schools:
 * Carnforth Community Primary School, North Road
 * Christ Church C of E Primary School, North Road
 * Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School, Kellet Road

Secondary schools:
 * Carnforth High School

There is also a public library branch in the town.

Religious sites
The Anglican parish church of Christ Church, on Lancaster Road, was built in 1875 with later additions, and is a grade II listed building. It worships in the Anglo-Catholic tradition. It is in the Deanery of Tunstall in the Diocese of Blackburn.

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic church, on Kellet Road, is a small building in modern romanesque style, which opened in 1967, replacing a temporary church which had opened in 1926. It is a joint parish with St Mary's Church, Yealand Conyers and St Mary's Church, Bolton-le-Sands, in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lancaster.

Emmanuel Congregational Church, on Hawk Street, was established in 1884 and is a member of the Congregational Federation.

Carnforth Free Methodist Church was established in 1995. It holds services at Carnforth High School on Kellet road and has a community centre adjacent to the school.

The Salvation Army have a church in Preston Street and also run a charity shop on Market Street.

The Jehovah's Witnesses have a Kingdom Hall on the outskirts of Carnforth at Mill Lane, Warton.

Sport
The town is home to Carnforth RUFC rugby union club, Carnforth Rangers football club and Carnforth Cricket Club.

Notable people
The Conservative Party politician Cecil Parkinson was born in Carnforth in 1931 and became Baron Parkinson of Carnforth in 1992.

The birthplace of Rugby League player Robert Wilson, born in the first quarter of 1879 and died in 1916.

Wealthy English merchant, Sheriff of London and builder of Hengrave Hall, Sir Thomas Kitson who was born in 1485 and died in 1540 was born in Warton/Carnforth.

Musician Steve Kemp attended Carnforth High School.

Myers Danson was Dean of Aberdeen and Orkney from 1907 to 1909, he was born in Carnforth in 1845.

Adam Thistlethwaite, born in 1988, is from Carnforth, and is a member of the band Massive Wagons.

title: Carnforth


text:
Chondroitin sulfate

Chondroitin sulfate is a sulfated glycosaminoglycan (GAG) composed of a chain of alternating sugars (N-acetylgalactosamine and glucuronic acid). It is usually found attached to proteins as part of a proteoglycan. A chondroitin chain can have over 100 individual sugars, each of which can be sulfated in variable positions and quantities. Chondroitin sulfate is an important structural component of cartilage, and provides much of its resistance to compression. Along with glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate has become a widely used dietary supplement for treatment of osteoarthritis, although large clinical trials failed to demonstrate any symptomatic benefit of chondroitin.

Medical use
Chondroitin is used in dietary supplements as an alternative medicine to treat osteoarthritis. It is also approved and regulated as a symptomatic slow-acting drug for this disease (SYSADOA) in Europe and some other countries. It is commonly sold together with glucosamine. A 2015 Cochrane review of clinical trials found that most were of low quality, but that there was some evidence of short-term improvement in pain and few side effects; it does not appear to improve or maintain the health of affected joints.

Chondroitin, along with commonly used glucosamine, should not be used to treat people who have symptomatic osteoarthritis of the knee as evidence shows that these treatments fail to provide relief for that condition., which cites

Chondroitin has shown to be promising in the treatment of coronary artery disease. In a 6-year double-blind placebo-controlled study involving 60 test subjects published in 1973, the chondroitin sulfate group showed a 350% reduction in fatal heart attacks compared to the control group. When analyzing the data for non-fatal cardiovascular events, the control group experienced non-fatal heart attacks at a rate of 16%, while those in the chondroitin sulfate-treated group came in at 0%.

Adverse effects
Clinical studies have not identified any significant side effects or overdoses of chondroitin sulfate, which suggest its long-term safety. In 2003 the Task Force of the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) committee ranked the level of toxicity of chondroitin sulfate 6 in a 0–100 scale.

Chondroitin sulfate is not metabolized by cytochrome P450.

Mechanisms of action
The effect of chondroitin sulfate in people with osteoarthritis is likely the result of a number of reactions including its anti-inflammatory activity, the stimulation of the synthesis of proteoglycans and hyaluronic acid, and the decrease in catabolic activity of chondrocytes, inhibiting the synthesis of proteolytic enzymes, nitric oxide, and other substances that contribute to damage the cartilage matrix and cause death of articular chondrocytes. A recent review summarizes data from relevant reports describing the biochemical basis of the effect of chondroitin sulfate on osteoarthritis articular tissues.

Bioavailability and pharmacokinetics
Pharmacokinetic studies performed on humans and experimental animals after oral administration of chondroitin sulfate revealed that it can be absorbed orally. Chondroitin sulfate shows first-order kinetics up to single doses of 3,000 mg. Multiple doses of 800 mg in people with osteoarthritis do not alter the kinetics of chondroitin sulfate. The bioavailability of chondroitin sulfate ranges from 15% to 24% of the orally administered dose. More particularly, on the articular tissue, Ronca et al. reported that chondroitin sulfate is not rapidly absorbed in the gastro-intestinal tract and a high content of labeled chondroitin sulfate is found in the synovial fluid and cartilage.

Physical and chemical properties
Chondroitin sulfate chains are unbranched polysaccharides of variable length containing two alternating monosaccharides: D -glucuronic acid (GlcA) and N-acetyl- D -galactosamine (GalNAc). Some of these GlcA residues may be epimerized into L -iduronic acid (IdoA) at which point the resulting glycosaminoglycan is then referred to as dermatan sulfate, previously referred to as chondroitin sulfate B.

Chondroitin sulfate is sourced from natural products, with high variability in terms of chain length and sulfation pattern. The variability in chondroitin sulfate composition extends to its origin, making it possible to differentiate between chondroitin sulfate from terrestrial and marine sources. One way to look at this difference is in terms of the proportion of disaccharide units: chondroitin sulfate from terrestrial animals is almost exclusively composed of non-sulfated (O) and monosulfated (A and C) units, while in marine species the proportion of disulfated (D, E and B) units is higher. Furthermore, marine chondroitin sulfate chains tend to be longer, with molecular weight of up to 70 kDa in chondroitin sulfate from shark, while in terrestrial animals molecular weight is typically below 45 kDa.

Chondroitin sulfate chains are linked to hydroxyl groups on serine residues of certain proteins. Exactly how proteins are selected for attachment of glycosaminoglycans is not understood. Glycosylated serines are often followed by a glycine and have neighboring acidic residues, but this motif does not always predict glycosylation.

Attachment of the GAG chain begins with four monosaccharides in a fixed pattern: Xyl – Gal – Gal – GlcA. Each sugar is attached by a specific enzyme, allowing for multiple levels of control over GAG synthesis. Xylose begins to be attached to proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum, while the rest of the sugars are attached in the Golgi apparatus.

Chondroitin sulfate is highly soluble in water.

History
Chondroitin sulfate was originally isolated well before the structure was characterised, leading to changes in terminology with time. Early researchers identified different fractions of the substance with letters.

"Chondroitin sulfate B" is an old name for dermatan sulfate, and it is no longer classified as a form of chondroitin sulfate.

Chondroitin, without the "sulfate", has been used to describe a fraction with little or no sulfation. However, this distinction is not used by all.

Although the name "chondroitin sulfate" suggests a salt with a sulfate counter-anion, this is not the case, as sulfate is covalently bonded to the sugar. Rather, since the molecule has multiple negative charges at physiological pH, a cation is present in salts of chondroitin sulfate. Commercial preparations of chondroitin sulfate typically are the sodium salt. Barnhill et al. have suggested that all such preparations of chondroitin sulfate be referred to as "sodium chondroitin" regardless of their sulfation status.

In 2008 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) identified "oversulfated chondroitin sulfate" as a contaminant in heparin originating from China.

Clinical trials for osteoarthritis
In 2004, a petition was submitted to the FDA that a dietary supplement of chondroitin sulfate be labeled as reducing the risk of osteoarthritis, cartilage deterioration, and osteoarthritis-related joint pain, tenderness, and swelling. The FDA denied the request, stating that experiments conducted by the company did not sufficiently demonstrate the effectiveness of the claim. Among other comments, the FDA noted the poor experimental design of some trials.

In 2007, Reichenbach et al. used explicit methods to conduct and report a systematic review of 20 trials and concluded "large-scale, methodologically sound trials indicate that the symptomatic benefit of chondroitin is minimal or nonexistent. Use of chondroitin in routine clinical practice should therefore be discouraged." In contrast, and also in 2007, Bruyere et al. concluded that "there is compelling evidence that glucosamine sulfate and chondroitin sulfate may interfere with progression of OA."

As of 2015 the largest trial conducted with the product was the Glucosamine and Chondroitin Arthritis Intervention Trial (GAIT), a double-blind, randomized, multicenter clinical trial sponsored by the US National Institutes of Health in 1583 people with knee osteoarthritis, which was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2006. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of five orally administered treatments: two 250 mg capsules of glucosamine hydrochloride three times daily, two 200 mg capsules of chondroitin sulfate three times daily, two capsules of 250 mg of glucosamine hydrochloride plus 200 mg of chondroitin sulfate three times daily, 200 mg of celecoxib daily, or placebo. Treatment was administered for 24 weeks. It showed no difference from placebo.

Sawitzke A, et al. 2010 evaluated the efficacy and safety of glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate, alone or in combination, as well as celecoxib and placebo on painful knee osteoarthritis over 2 years as a continuation of the GAIT trial. This was a 24-month, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, enrolling 662 people with knee osteoarthritis who satisfied radiographic criteria (Kellgren/Lawrence grade 2 or 3 changes and baseline joint space width of at least 2 mm). This subset continued to receive their randomized treatment (glucosamine 500 mg three times daily, chondroitin sulfate 400 mg three times daily, the combination of glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate, celecoxib 200 mg daily, or placebo) over 24 months. The primary outcome was a 20% reduction in pain over 24 months as measured by the Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC). Secondary outcomes included an Outcome Measures in Rheumatology/Osteoarthritis Research Society International response and change from baseline in WOMAC pain and function. Over 2 years, none of the treatments (not even the positive control celecoxib) achieved a clinically important difference in WOMAC pain or function as compared with placebo. Adverse reactions were similar among treatment groups and serious adverse events were rare for all treatments.

Research
A 2021 study showed a remarkable (about 40%) reduction of the acute myocardial infarction risk in current chondroitin sulfate users in the high risk cardiovascular subgroups.

Manufacture
Most chondroitin appears to be made from extracts of cartilaginous cow and pig tissues (cow trachea and pig ear and nose), but other sources such as shark, fish, and bird cartilage are also used. Since chondroitin is not a uniform substance, and is naturally present in a wide variety of forms, the precise composition of each supplement will vary. In fact, although many food supplement companies produce their products in compliance with human food processing Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), most of them do not produce their products in compliance with the GMP regulations for pharmaceuticals, resulting in products not meeting pharmaceutical requirements.

Legal status
While it is a prescription or over-the-counter drug in 22 countries, chondroitin is regulated in the U.S. as a dietary supplement by the Food and Drug Administration. In Europe, chondroitin sulfate formulations are approved as drugs with evidenced efficacy and safety demonstrated by clinical trials in people with osteoarthritis. Adebowale et al. reported in 2000 that of 32 chondroitin supplements they analysed, only 5 were labeled correctly, and more than half contained less than 40% of the labeled amount. With the introduction of GMP regulations for dietary supplements in 2008, chondroitin sulfate preparations are subject in the US to mandatory labeling standards as well as testing requirements for identity, purity, strength, and composition. United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) testing standards for the identification and quantification of chondroitin are well-established.

There are no FDA regulations on chondroitin sulfate as a food additive, as it is recognized by the FDA as a component of food and is "generally recognized as safe". However, a proposed application of chondroitin sulfate dietary supplement as a means of preventing joint degeneration was highly scrutinized by the FDA, who stated:

"' For conventional foods, this evaluation involves considering whether the ingredient that is the source of the substance is generally recognized as safe (GRAS), approved as a food additive, or authorized by a prior sanction issued by FDA (see 21 CFR 101.70(f)). Dietary ingredients in dietary supplements, however, are not subject to the food additive provisions of the act (see section 201(s)(6) of the Act (21 U.S.C. § 321(s)(6)). Rather, they are subject to the adulteration provisions in section 402 of the Act (21 U.S.C. 342) and, if applicable, the new dietary ingredient provisions in section 413 of the Act (21 U.S.C. 350b), which pertain to dietary ingredients that were not marketed in the United States before October 15, 1994.'"

In the same letter, the FDA found that studies performed on the dietary supplement form of chondroitin sulfate were insufficient to substantiate claims that it is efficacious in the prevention of joint deterioration, and denied the request to be allowed to label the supplement as such. They further denied the request to market it as safe, given that no human clinical trials were done, citing that animal studies are not sufficient for the approval of a dietary supplement.

Veterinary use
Chondroitin and glucosamine are also used in veterinary medicine for osteoarthritis.

title: Chondroitin sulfate


text:
Katharine O'Shea

Katharine Parnell (née Wood; 30 January 1846 – 5 February 1921), known before her second marriage as Katharine O'Shea, and usually called Katie O'Shea by friends and Kitty O'Shea by enemies, was an English woman of aristocratic background whose decade-long secret affair with Charles Stewart Parnell led to a widely publicized divorce in 1890 and his political downfall.

Background
Katharine was born in Braintree, Essex, on 30 January 1846, the daughter of Sir John Page Wood, 2nd Baronet (1796–1866), and granddaughter of Sir Matthew Wood, a former Lord Mayor of London. She had an elder brother who became Field Marshal Sir Evelyn Wood and was also the niece of both Western Wood MP (1804–1863) and Lord Hatherley, Gladstone's first Liberal Lord Chancellor.

Relationship with Parnell
In 1867, Katharine married Captain William O'Shea, a Catholic Nationalist MP for County Clare from whom she separated around 1875. Katharine first met Parnell in 1880 and began an affair with him. Three of Katharine's children were fathered by Parnell; the first, Claude Sophie, died early in 1882. The others were Claire (born 1883) and Katharine (born 1884). Captain O'Shea knew about the relationship. He challenged Parnell to a duel in 1881 and initially forbade his estranged wife to see him, although she said that he encouraged her in the relationship. However, he kept publicly quiet for several years. Although their relationship was a subject of gossip in London political circles from 1881, later public knowledge of the affair in an England governed by "Victorian morality" with a "nonconformist conscience" created a huge scandal, as adultery was prohibited by the Ten Commandments.

Out of her family connection to the Liberal Party, Katharine acted as liaison between Parnell and Gladstone during negotiations prior to the introduction of the First Irish Home Rule Bill in April 1886. Parnell moved to her home in Eltham, close to the London-Kent border, that summer.

Captain O'Shea filed for divorce in 1889; his reasons are a matter for speculation. He may have had political motives. Alternatively, it was claimed that he had been hoping for an inheritance from Katharine's rich aunt whom he had expected to die earlier, but when she died in 1889 her money was left in trust to cousins. After the divorce the court awarded custody of Katharine O'Shea and C.S. Parnell's two surviving daughters to her ex-husband.

Katharine's November divorce proceedings from Captain O'Shea, in which Parnell was named as co-respondent, led to Parnell's being deserted by a majority of his own Irish Parliamentary Party and to his downfall as its leader in December 1890. Catholic Ireland felt a profound sense of shock when Katharine broke the vows of her previous Catholic marriage by marrying Parnell on 25 June 1891. With both his political life and his health essentially ruined, Parnell died in her arms at the age of 45 on 6 October 1891 in Hove, less than four months after their marriage. The cause was cancer of the stomach, possibly complicated by coronary heart disease inherited from his grandfather and father, who also died prematurely.

Katharine published a biography of Parnell in 1914 as "Katharine O'Shea (Mrs. Charles Stewart Parnell)".

Though to her friends she was known as Katie O'Shea, Parnell's enemies, in order to damage him personally, called her Kitty O'Shea because at that time "kitty", as well as being a Hiberno-English version of Catherine/Katherine/Katharine, was also a slang term for a prostitute. She lived the rest of her life in relative obscurity and is buried in Littlehampton, West Sussex, England.

Her daughter by Parnell, Claire O'Shea (1883–1909), married Dr. Bertram Sydney Osmund Maunsell, and their only son, Assheton Clare Bowyer-Lane Maunsell (1909–34), died of enteric fever while serving with the British army in India. Katharine’s other daughter by Parnell, Katharine O'Shea (1884–1947), married Arthur Moule of the East Lancashire Regiment and died in an asylum.

Captain Henry Harrison, MP, who had acted as Parnell's bodyguard and aide-de-camp, devoted himself after Parnell's death to the service of his widow, Katharine. From her he heard a completely different version of the events surrounding the divorce from that which had appeared in the press, and this was to form the seed of his later two books defending Parnell published in 1931 and 1938. They had a major impact on Irish historiography, leading to a more favourable view of Parnell's role in the O’Shea affair.

title: Katharine O'Shea


text:
Talk:Public address system

Merge?
The decision was to RETAIN BOTH sound reinforcement system and public address.

Shouldn't the information in this article be merged with that in sound reinforcement system? I think the info in this article is somewhat better, so moving stuff over would be advisable IMHO (then this article could just become a redirect). Or we could just remove info on PA's from the sound system article. What does everyone else think? —Frecklefoot 19:12, 4 Mar 2004 (UTC)

 * Agree with a merge, but I think that sound reinforcement system should be merged into public address system because: sound reinforcement system gets about 7410 Google hits, but public address system gets about 117,000 Google hits. --Lexor|Talk 12:21, 8 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Hi, this is a tricky issue, because I think most non-musicians or non-sound engineers use the term PA, regardless of whether it is a 50-watt amp-mixer at a local coffee shop or a 10,000 watt pro touring rig at a rock concert. Yet from a pro-sound point of view, I imagine that "PA system" just refers to relatively simple institutional/commercial setups permanently installed in schools, hockey rinks, and churches, and "sound reinforcement system" would be used to refer to a pro setup with dozens of speakers, racks of poweramps, a mixing board with effects gear, etc. IMHO I think that it would be a good idea to keep a PA system article, but keep it limited to the relatively simple institutional/commercial setups permanently installed in schools, hockey rinks, and churches--and perhaps the small, portable systems that bar bands use in small and mid-sized venues (which seem to be universally called "the PA" by patrons and musicians!! : )...... The article could then indicate that larger concert systems are typically called "sound reinforcement", and direct readers to the sound reinforcement page.NatMor 17:01, 10 March 2006 (UTC)

 * Ill put an official tag upMartijn Hoekstra 13:10, 22 April 2006 (UTC)

Can this be merged in as well? Live sound reproduction For the record, a sound reinforcement system is one which is subtley "reinforcing" the sound as in a church or meeting room, Larger "Concert Systems" are referred to as PA systems. I am a Live sound engineer of 12 years experience --Badger 22:41, 10 July 2006 (UTC)

It seems that everyone has a different opinion of what these systems are called. I, for one, understand the terms much as NatMor does. Perhaps it might not be a bad idea, though, to put them all on one page and redirect all of the others to that page. Whether the title of that page should be PA Systems, Sound Systems, or Sound Reinforcement Systems is what we should be debating. I suppose PA System is as good as any, because that's probably what most of the public knows them as... cluth 20:26, 12 July 2006 (UTC)

I agree Cluth. --Badger 09:04, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

 * How about merging it all into Tannoy? My question is rhetorical = not a real question. But "sound reinforcement" has been an accepted term for what a PA-system does for at least a few decades, whether it's subtle or rock-concert levels involved.  It remains a sticky question unfortunately.  However, Live sound reproduction is erroneous; it's a made-up word, among many made up words that find their way into WP. ... Kenosis 14:14, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

Seeing as Tannoy is a registered trademark of Tannoy, I think that would be a bad idea.... Kind of like Hoover / Vacuum Cleaner analogy. --Badger 12:50, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

I removed the merge templates as this discussion wasn't really going anywhere. Public Address and Sound Reinforcement are really only alike in that they amplify sounds for a lot of people to hear. PA is usually for one voice, and Sound Reinforcement is usually for entire musical groups. Furthermore, Sound Reinforcement requires an operator and is considered an art form by many, whereas PA is just a system. --Ortzinator 22:16, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

Use as a mixer
In a public bandpractice studio (im lost for a better word) we have a PA (intended for mic amplification) with 2 speakers. We have used this setup as a mixer, running the instruments trough it, and sending the result to a 8 track recorder (Boss Br-8). We were told that this could damage the PA as it has "no way to release its power". To me this sounds like nonsense, but then, what do I know. Anyone know if this is true? Martijn Hoekstra 13:10, 22 April 2006 (UTC)

 * The mixer doesn't care whether you plug tape decks or amplifiers into its line-out jacks. In fact, plugging *nothing* into its line out jacks won't hurt it. There's no such thing as "needing to release its power." If your "PA system" is an all-in-one deal that includes a built-in amplifier, it may not be the best thing to leave an amplifier on that's not connected to a speaker, but in any case, I've done so for months on end with no damage to the amplifier. Far more damage would result from putting a super-low-impedance load on the outputs (say, if the amp's outputs are rated for expecting 4 ohms, putting a 1-ohm load on them could result in overheating and damage). No damage will occur by putting a higher-impedance load (and plugging nothing in is effectively an infinite impedance) than the outputs expect. cluth 20:23, 12 July 2006 (UTC)
 * There is one case of an amp-mixer needing to be plugged into speakers. If you happen to have a vintage TUBE amp-mixer, you should note that tube amplifiers need to be plugged into a speaker(s), so that there is a load on the amplifier.

Commercial links
The following was placed on my talk page today. I'm placing the discussion here in the most relevant place. ... Kenosis 19:17, 12 July 2006 (UTC)
 * Hi, I added those 2 links to the PA article page, which you called spam and removed. The PA systems primer, from Yorkville, explains how to plug in and set up a basic PA system. You stated that the article is supposed to provide the info, but in this case, these guides are very "how-to" and practical, more detailed info than you'd want in an encyclopedia. So I think that the link to the PDF document is helpful. I'm going to check what the wikipedia policy is, as far as what qualifies as spam, and what is legit.--ThanksNatMor 18:53, 12 July 2006 (UTC)
 * Hi again, I had a similar discussion on the bass amplification page, and so I posted this note to Lightcurrent (an editor); he responded by sending a policy quote:
 * Leave out the adverts [left unsigned 19:10, 12 July 2006 by 198.103.196.130 ]
 * The article is about bass amplification, and the specific subsection is about amplifying the upright bass. Including the names of manufacturers seems reasonable. I believe an article about sports cars, specifically Italian sports cars would list the names Lambourghini, Ferrari, etc. There is even more justification in the bass amplification/upright bass preamp example, because whereas Lambourghini and Ferrari are well-known names, even to those outside the field of sports cars, the names of manufacturers of impedance-matching preamplifiers are probably unknown to most non-upright bassists.NatMor 02:07, 12 June 2006 (UTC)

 * Links to the manufacturers are at the bottom of the page. I believe this is the acceptable place to put them, not in the body of the article.8-|--Light current 02:12, 12 June 2006 (UTC)

 * Policy quote:
 * Advertising. Articles about companies and products are acceptable if they are written in an objective and unbiased style. Furthermore, all article topics must be third-party verifiable, so articles about very small "garage" or local companies are not likely to be acceptable. External links to commercial organizations are acceptable if they can serve to identify major corporations associated with a topic (see finishing school for an example). Please note Wikipedia does not endorse any businesses and it does not set up affiliate programs. See also WP:CORP for a proposal on corporate notability.
 * ....The policy quote indicates that external links to commercial organizations are acceptable -- and yet in my case, I wasn't even trying to link to the PA company's website, only to a PDF primer on PA systems.NatMor 19:11, 12 July 2006 (UTC)
 * The Sweetwater link was a commercial link, pure and simple. The Yorkville primer is a closer call in my estimation.  I have no objection to its inclusion. ... Kenosis 19:21, 12 July 2006 (UTC)
 * Hi, thanks Kenosis...I wasn't sure which forum you'd respond in---I thought you might respond on your Talk page. Thanks for your letter : )NatMor 18:46, 21 July 2006 (UTC)

Commercial Links, Part II
Wikipedia does not allow “Links that are added to promote a site, that primarily exist to sell products or services, with objectionable amounts of advertising, or that require payment to view the relevant content.” “Wikipedia does not allow the insertion of links that appear to promote products by pointing to obscure or not particularly relevant commercial sites. (Also called commercial links.)” “adding a small number of relevant external links can be a valuable service to our readers.” External links should be to “Sites that contain neutral and accurate material not already in the article. Ideally this content should be integrated into the Wikipedia article, then the link would remain as a reference, but in some cases this is not possible for copyright reasons or because the site has a level of detail which is inappropriate for the Wikipedia article.” …..... External links to commercial organizations are acceptable if they can serve to identify major corporations associated with a topic. “Advertising. Articles about companies and products are acceptable if they are written in an objective and unbiased style. Furthermore, all article topics must be third-party verifiable, so articles about very small "garage" or local companies are not likely to be acceptable. External links to commercial organizations are acceptable if they can serve to identify major corporations associated with a topic (see finishing school for an example). Please note Wikipedia does not endorse any businesses and it does not set up affiliate programs. See also WP:CORP for guidelines on corporate notability.” ·	What is impedance ·	How to calculate the total impedance ·	microphone types (dynamic, condenser and ribbon) ·	equalizers (including parametric equalizers) ·	What are crossovers ·	How do mixers work ·	Connecting the various parts of a P.A. system ·	What are decibels ·	How do amplifiers work ·	How to deal with noise in a P.A (e.g., magnetic fields, radio stations, ground hums, hiss) ·	Does length or thickness of speaker cable matter ·	What is “clipping” ? ·	Why do speakers “blow”? ·	What is feedback (loud squealing sound)NatMor 17:23, 11 August 2006 (UTC)
 * This rule seems to prohibit commercial websites from manufacturers, because a PA company's website's main purpose is to sell products or services. However, I suppose if you add a link that doesn’t exist primarily to sell products or services (such as the “Basic PA systems Primer”), then that would be OK.
 * Yorkville is a manufacturer of PA systems and equipment that sells their products in North America and Europe, and so this rule would not seem to disallow the inclusion of a Yorkville link.
 * It is argued that the Yorkville “PA systems Primer” would provide a service to the readers that are interested in knowing how to set up a PA system.
 * Well, in this case, the Yorkville “PA Systems Primer” seems to qualify, because it has detailed information on how to set up, plug in, and sound check a basic PA system, which is arguably too much detail to put into an encyclopedia article about PA systems.
 * I guess an editor proposing a company would have to show proof that the company in question is a major corporation associated with the topic.
 * Yorkville Sound is a Company that designs and manufactures all of its products at the 150,000 square foot facility. In the 1960's Yorkville sold PA and amplifier products in North America. In 1972 Yorkville expanded distribution into Europe.
 * Please see the paragraph above on Yorkville Sound
 * The PA systems primer makes no reference to any Yorkville products in the text, even when the text is discussing the different types of microphones, amplifiers and speakers. Nor are there any references to the purported attributes or benefits of using Yorkville products.
 * Summary of content of proposed link: BASIC P.A.SYSTEMSA PRIMER FOR USING P.A. SYSTEMS

Monitor systems in PA
In the Large venue PA systems section, it is claimed that monitor systems are a part of PA systems. It is my understanding that having a monitor system is one of the significant lines which divides a Public Address system from a Soun Reinforcement system. Unless anybody begs to differ, I will take the liberty to edit this section extensively. I will do my best to cite sources so that the editing and discussion on this topic will be as progressive as possible --Davidkazuhiro 11:49, 12 February 2007 (UTC)
 * Sounds incorrect to me. --Ortzinator 03:38, 14 February 2007 (UTC)
 * Was that an agreement or a disagreement? --Davidkazuhiro 04:21, 14 February 2007 (UTC)
 * I don't mean to be trite, but perhaps monitor systems are more accurately categorized as " 'semi-private' address systems". ... Kenosis 04:30, 14 February 2007 (UTC)
 * valid =D --Davidkazuhiro 07:04, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Other PAs
I think this should mention the PA systems that are used in schools and offices, which can he hooked up to telephones as well as microphone. --D-Day 22:48, 26 March 2007 (UTC)

The quantification of what really is good sound has always been a very slippery subject. How do one explain to an average person, what is a good quality sound, without sounding like one is ramming one's opinion down a throat? Most DJs automatically think they are indeed the ultimate expert on this subject and all they ussually do is to qoute brand names and talk pretentiously around the subject like they have some GOD given power to hear sound that no one else can. I think it is about time someone should find a way to classify sound into different category eg. Class A, Class B, Class C, Class D, in a way that ordinary people can somewhat differentiate them. I am refering more to general background music and paging system. How? What about by using these factors? eg. STI(Speech Transmission Index), Frenquency Response, Sound pressure level above ambience noise, Even coverage of direct sound. Actually, through experiment, by varying these four criteria, one can create up to four diferent quality of sound which an average person can diffrentiate. Anyone tried this? Afterall when one pay for a sound system one is 'buying sound' not some high-tech box for the sake of being high-tech or well advertised brandname. 8 may 2007.AEXsystem.com

I'm not sure whether the was originally more discussion on this. From the discussion at the top of this page, it is not clear to me what the justification was for the decision to leave this as a separate article from Sound reinforcement. I support a merge for the following reasons. Can anyone list reasons for not doing the merge? In the original discussion, I don't see any that are particularly relevant or that are not already covered in the SVC reference. --Kvng (talk) 15:11, 28 June 2010 (UTC)
 * 1) The public address article is viewed 20 times more often than sound reinforcement. The sound reinforcement article has received more attention from editors and is higher quality. A merged article would give more visibility to higher quality Wikipedia content.
 * 2) The content of the public address article appears to be largely a subset of the content in sound reinforcement. The discussion of PA vs SR needs to be repeated verbatim in the lead to each article. These structural issues would be resolved by a merge.
 * 3) The SVC reference makes it clear that it is not a cut-and-dried question. In my opinion, this gives us latitude to organize the material in a manner which works best for the editors.

 * Let's make public address into a disambiguation page so that the reader can figure out what kind of sound system they are looking for. We should make a list of such sound systems and then write the articles not yet written. Some possibilities:
 * Concert sound system
 * Discotheque sound system
 * Nightclub sound system
 * Public safety or paging sound system Binksternet (talk) 21:36, 28 June 2010 (UTC)

 * That's a different idea and arguably the opposite of a merge. Does this mean you do not support a merge or are you just brainstorming? --Kvng (talk) 06:21, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

 * I wasn't around back then or I might have preferred a merge. There are very large sound reinforcement systems that are set up for public address, and very large sound systems that do not "reinforce" existing acoustic sound, but only amplify recorded sound. A lot of guys in the concert sound reinforcement business refer to the huge main array of speakers as the "PA", hearkening back to a time when it was called "public address", though only the abbreviation is left for those guys. The various terms blend one into the next far too often. Perhaps the public address article can be retooled as a public safety system and paging system, the kind found in institutions such as schools. Binksternet (talk) 21:32, 28 June 2010 (UTC)

 * Too keep all discussion in one place, I took the liberty of moving the above comment from Talk:Sound reinforcement system.
 * This rings true to what the SVC reference says which I would over summarize as, "There are various ideas and much overlap between the two terms." I don't think this tells us whether or not a merge is appropriate. We have to look for other motivations. --Kvng (talk) 06:21, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

 * I've put up some merge banners to solicit more input on this. --Kvng (talk) 14:42, 30 June 2010 (UTC)

 * Somewhat Oppose: Firstly: I'm not at all a specialist here, and I'm only commenting since I happened to notice the banners Kvng helpfully placed at the top of the article. As I see it, and as the disambiguation at the start of both articles seems to reinforce, a SR system assists an individual or group in situ to be heard by their audience. By comparison, a PA system is designed to reach an audience which is not in situ. Since they have different roles, they should remain distinct articles. While it's unfortunate the PA article gets more views (likely due to lower use of "SR"), that in itself is a shortcoming of visitors' vocabulary, and we shouldn't lump two subjects together for convenience. I do support however, either making an expanded disambiguation page (which helps correct the vocabulary use), or to keep the disambiguation in the introductory paragraphs. That said, I can see the logic behind a merged article, particularly with regards to quality. If that becomes the endorsed course of action, perhaps "Sound Amplification Systems" would make a good title. Just my thoughts on the matter. Cheers! --Aidolon (talk) 18:26, 23 July 2010 (UTC)

 * I would like to know where it is that somebody defined "public address" as a term for use with an audience that is not sitting or standing or perhaps just expecting sound. Use of the term in situ makes the impression that the loudspeakers are carried to the potential listeners, rather than the loudspeakers being in place but the people near them move around. Both can be public address: in 1935, an early portable public address system was described in Popular Mechanics, to catch people wherever they may be found, and a portable lectern containing a public address system was described in the same magazine in 1945, for people in situ, but using portable electronics. In 1942, that magazine described a permanent 20-speaker public address system for a military post, with unmoving speakers but moving people.
 * Back in 1922, the Bell Telephone system made a very simple definition: "A public address system comprises electrical equipment to greatly amplify a speaker's voice so it will reach a much larger assemblage than he could speak to unaided." This definition covers a very wide span of sound systems.
 * In 1996, the American Society of Civil Engineers published standards that apply to transit system vehicles and stations, calling the speakers in a train car, and the speakers in a train station "public address".
 * In terms of fire safety, this book says that public address systems are for communicating to a building's occupants from a central fire command center.

 * In 1991, a construction inspection book described a useful fork in the definitions: a rudimentary sound system intended only for voice is a public address system, and is installed in buildings for multi-room communications. A high-fidelity sound system may be installed in a building's auditorium or other public space, the system tuned for accurate reproduction of music, a more difficult task. The author, Jay M. Bannister, did not supply a name for the higher fidelity system. Michael Talbot-Smith writing in 1991 about sound system operation says that public address systems can include two very different types: one being loudspeakers found at racetracks and railway stations whose sole purpose is intelligibility, the other being a system where the microphones, loudspeakers and audience are in the same room together, and the system, performing "sound reinforcement", is for high fidelity. Talbot-Smith writes that sound reinforcement' would generally be a more accurate term to use, but rightly or wrongly, 'public address', or 'PA' for short, has come to stay." Writing again 11 years later, Talbot-Smith divided "public address" into three categories:
 * Audience is far from the microphone(s). Examples include racetrack and railway station.
 * Audience and microphone are in the same hall. Examples include auditoriums and other performance spaces.
 * Large-scale concerts, such as a rock concert.
 * Talbot-Smith calls the first two cases outdoor PA and indoor PA respectively, and does not name the third case. Binksternet (talk) 20:40, 23 July 2010 (UTC)
 * Binksternet, do you have an opinion as to whether we should proceed with a merge? --Kvng (talk) 04:54, 24 July 2010 (UTC)
 * I can go two ways with this: I can see a merge being good, resulting in a longer article that contains all the cases, or I could go with this page being a disambiguation page directing the reader to the appropriate article, one more focused on a certain task. I am not in favor of the situation remaining as it is now, with two articles struggling to cover much of the same material. Binksternet (talk) 14:51, 24 July 2010 (UTC)

 * Opinion: I think a simple merge is NOT desirable here. While anyone in a general audience probably knows what a PA system is, very few would know what a sound reinforcement system is. Frankly, I have never heard the term outside of specialized or technical audio literature. However, I bet that everyone knows what a sound system is, which is the far better umbrella term for both, the PA system, and the obscured one. And it is pretty clear that the PA system also is a sound system. However, there are differences between PA systems and sound reinforcement systems, and this difference lies probably mostly in the second word, reinforcement. It amplifies what can be heard live. I am not so sure that applies to all PA systems. Also, I don't like the title of public address for this article; this article is clearly about public address SYSTEMS, not about the concept of public address, and should be changed in any case. When President Lincoln gave his last public address, he didn't have a PA system or a sound reinforcement system. That's the meaning of PUBLIC ADDRESS, the mistaken title of this article. But it suggests that there is also a difference in the historical origins of these terms, which should be examined in an encyclopedic article.  Kbrose (talk) 03:04, 12 August 2010 (UTC)

 * Have a look at Sound system history. It looks like it was originally set up as you describe. It would be prudent to understand why it was changed before proceeding down that road. Renaming this article Public address system is a sensible suggestion. Please read the SVC reference. This casts refutes assertions (that as far as I can tell are based on WP:OR) that there's a accepted difference between PA and Sound reinforcement. --Kvng (talk) 12:19, 15 August 2010 (UTC)

 * I read the SVC reference, reflected on it, and I think it probably discusses the difference in the correct light. This brought to mind the habit of musicians in even small bands, who set up a sound system every time they play at a bar or restaurant. They would sometimes say Give me the PA, when they wanted to address the audience verbally, but would not use the term for the sound reinforcement that the same system provided for their musical instruments. This supports the notion of limited bandwidth or limited purpose as discussed in the reference, even though the actual bandwidth of the equipment may be the same. Kbrose (talk) 15:51, 15 August 2010 (UTC)

A year later... Are we really confusing the 100,000 watt system that "Spinal Tap" sets up in a stadium to drive in the eardrums of 20,000 screaming fans with those little white grilles in the ceiling that say things like "The bake sale to raise funds for the carwash has been cancelled due to confusion." ? PA systems and SR systems are different in intent and application. I've removed the merge tag. --Wtshymanski (talk) 16:12, 17 June 2011 (UTC)

 * You also edited the article to indicate that PA was for voice. That's not what the reference says. You should either revert these changes or find another couple references supporting your position. --Kvng (talk) 21:41, 20 June 2011 (UTC)

Front of House: system or location?
In my experience (stagehand and setup/strike in the pacific northwest), "front of house" refers to the area for the main sound board and its associated gear (compressors, effects processors, and so on), rather than to the entire main system. Is this just where I work, or does the article need tweaking? Commodore Pedantic (talk) 19:41, 28 July 2010 (UTC)

 * I've seen "FoH" refer to both the location and the system. Where there would be ambiguity, "FoH system" and "FoH position" are used. I've reviewed use of "FoH" here and in Sound reinforcement system and I don't see any serious ambiguity. --Kvng (talk) 20:02, 28 July 2010 (UTC)

Move to public address system and disambiguate (2012)
This article needs to be moved to public address system. Since the're is not yet a specific article for public address (in the sense of the speech, like a presidential public address), until one is created both public address and public announcement must be redirected to Public speaking.--Sum (talk) 16:10, 12 September 2012 (UTC)

 * Support merge to public address system. Binksternet (talk) 18:11, 12 September 2012 (UTC)

 * Support the proposed move but would advocate redirecting Public address to Public address system until a proper Public address article exists. ---—Kvng 14:21, 14 September 2012 (UTC)

Requested move (2013)

 * The following discussion is an archived discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the move request was: Move to public address system. Jafeluv (talk) 10:16, 31 May 2013 (UTC)

Public address → PA system – This is about a public address system, not the act of addressing publicly. Unreal7 (talk) 19:06, 24 May 2013 (UTC)

 * Rename to Public address system as was discussed in 2012. -- 65.94.76.126 (talk) 22:22, 24 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Support public address system. Powers T 13:49, 25 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Move to Public address system. The article is about the equipment (the system), not about the act of getting in front of the public and addressing them. Binksternet (talk) 14:30, 25 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Move to Public address system. Trinidade (talk) 15:05, 25 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Move to Public address system. But not to Sound reinforcement system Robert.Harker (talk) 18:21, 25 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Support as per my statement in previous move discussion. ~KvnG 15:18, 28 May 2013 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

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Factoring
We have, as a recent editor pointed out, a pretty large Sound reinforcement system article. Should all the content here in Public address system about "small venues" and "large venues" be folded into that article where non-reducndant, and moved out of this one? This article seems more about voice announcements for operations or public safety and not about live musical or theatrical performances. --Wtshymanski (talk) 03:19, 15 June 2022 (UTC)

UK / US usage?
As far as I'm aware (and I used to work with them, albeit 30 or so years ago) the systems used for live concerts are only ever called PA systems here in the UK. I've never heard the term SR system until I came across the Wikipedia article today. So I'm wondering if it's a question of UK vs US usage? Can anyone confirm if SR is a widely used term in the States? 86.19.192.41 (talk) 20:31, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
 * Well, a Google Books search using the term "Sound reinforcement system Britain" turns up a 1955 reference in "British Radio and Television" talking about a sound reinforcement system installed at St. Paul's Cathedral. So the term is not unheard-of. I haven't checked the countries of origin of the innumerable "Handbooks of Sound Reinforcement" showing up in a Google Books result but I'm pretty sure the Wireless World references also show UK usage of the term. --Wtshymanski (talk) 18:29, 18 November 2023 (UTC)

 * The St. Paul's Cathedral system was a bit more complex than a simple public address system (hence the name). It was designed such that it featured a system of delay lines that ensured that the sound delivered by the speakers arrived at the listener's ear at the same time as the direct flight of sound from the pulpit or altar. I have no idea how successful it was as cathedrals are very echoey (is that a word?) places at the best of times.

 * The only snag that I can see is that the sound from a speaker near the listener should arrive at the same time as a sound from speakers nearer the sound source. However: sounds from speakers behind the listener will each arrive with a built in echo with a delay equal to twice the direct flight path (i.e. the delay plus the direct flight time back). This could give rise to an echo worse than if a straight PA system was used. One solution might be highly directional speakers. 2A00:23C8:9883:2601:4C6:6EA8:41A5:5E36 (talk) 13:59, 19 November 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:Public address system